Any kid who studied an instrument in the early 1970s saw the songs of Chicago  and the Doobie Brothers as worthy challenges that once commanded, were sources of pride Both had exceptional, gifted guitarists though Chicago's Terry Kath has never received his true due while Jeff Baxter's talent have been thoroughly examined. The horn section and the key songwriter, Robert Lamm, still lead Chicago, which can still impress in concert when they step away from the wall of hits and proffer their more adventurous music; the Doobies less so.
Endurance does not win prizes in the performing arts -- until the creators are beyond retirement age. Chicago could have called it quits after Kath's death and let their 10 or so studio albums be the entirety of their catalog or they could have imploded in the early 1980s when MTV started shaping pop music and examples of '70s excess were tossed aside. They not only soldiered on, they reinvented their sound, creating a new mainstream sound for adults. Not my cup of tea musically, but an achievement nonetheless.
Rhino Records will release on June 17, "Stone of Sisyphus (XXXII)," the album Chicago turned in to Warner Bros. in 1993 that the label refused to release. Produced by Peter Wolf, it was a return to the adventurousness of their early '70s output and was deemed not commercial enough. The guys in the band packed their things and left WB at that point, but have never seen fit to release this work.
I was a fan of the band between the ages of 11 and 16 - basically the classic "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"  through "Wishing You Were Here" - and was hired to write liner notes for their boxed set and few reissues in 2003. It feels far enough removed that I can return to writing about the band critically, which I have begged off for the last several years. Material on the boxed set, by the way, emphasized their deft compositional abilities, specifically the manner in which they used 20th century classical technique.
In the years since   I wrote those liner notes - and I went in thinking the band had been under-appreciated critically and deserving of the Hall of Fame - I have been appalled by the acts that have made it in ahead of them. It shows the bias of the hall's voters - they are either too old t have the wistful childhood memories of the early '70s or too young to fully appreciate how distinctive they were in the pop landscape at the time. Chicago made a difference back then.
Having taken in mostly theater since returning from Cannes ("Chorus Line," "Jersey Boys"), my one concert was Cher, leaving me with 69 concerts and 181 acts to go on the path to 100/300. At least summer is here.