The Chicago Transit Authority (Remastered)

This album is right up there with Appetite For Destruction, Hi Infidelity, and Boston for studio albums that are absolute perfection. Every song should be on the greatest hits album.

If you like Chicago this is their first album I think you’ll really enjoy it and you can’t beat the price

I saw this band in a three show night at the INGLEWOOD FORUM. 1 Cat Mother and the All Night News Boys (Jimi was producing them) 2 Chicago Transit Authority 3 Jimi Hendrix Experience 13 years old... lucky me!

This one takes me back to my early high school days. Experimental on so many levels, trying on some classical piano approaches on the intro to "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", then going full-tilt psychedelic with "Free-Form Guitar"; there's the grafting of some of the political chanting from the Democratic National Convention in '68 to "Someday" on side four, and of course, there's jazz infusion all over the record; yet all of it seems so radio-friendly. Underrated songs are "Listen" and the tri-vocal version of "I'm A Man", but the best cut on the album is "Poem 58" which rocks like few songs have ever done, thanks to Terry Kath's blistering guitar work.

Pretty sure poem 58 is the best song ever made

As a DJ in 1968, Chicago Transit Authority arrived on the heels of Blood, Sweat, and Tears' post-Al Kooper/David Clayton Thomas offering. When I reviewed them together, I gave CTA the higher marks, mainly because (due to Terry Katz's guitar work, no doubt) they sounded looser and less "charted." A more subtle influence on that verdict is the involvement of James William Guerrcio as producer. He had cut his chops producing The Buckinghams, a Top Ten favorite of similar composition and musical feel. The Buckinghams had blown up after an arrest for marijuana possession in Iowa, Nebraska or some such place (not South Dakota!}. The Buckinghams' and Chicago's sound was an extension of what had been coming out of Lawrence, KS, for several years -- The Roaring Red Dogs, for example. they split the difference between the white soul cover bands of the day and the psychedelic bands begining to emerge. Downloading this earlier today, I am blown away how good this remains with the passage of what seems a massive amount of time (a half-century, for crying out loud!). I really am officially an old fart. But to these old ears that have stayed on top of all that has emerged since, this still sounds brilliant and the re-mastering is excellent.

The soda went flat. I prefer the one on my vinyl, even with the clicks and pops.

For me this is the best first album by any band ever. Terry Kath’s guitar work leaves no doubt he was only second to Jimi Hendrix even though Hendrix said he was better. Every song is a winner and Free Form Guitar feeds your inner beast that hungers for scorching hot madness that was Terry Kath’s guitar playing.Southern California Purples will get you rocking and “greasing it up”. I’m a Man is a full fledged team effort as everybody enters into the song as seamlessly as a hot rock band can!! Album almost has the feel of a garage band playing a gig at a Holiday Inn and loving every minute of it. I know I love every minute of it!!!!