Live In Japan

This is how I want to remember the favorite band of my youth! Danny Serafine is smoking! The horn section is blowing like a hurricane."State of the Union" is worth the price of admission all by itself. Buy this album and enjoy!

Possibly the best live album I ever heard. Terry Kath was so underated as a guitarist, and the band was so tight on this cd. Many thanks to those that took the time to write a review on this and help me decide on this album!

Overall this one gets the nod as the best live Chicago album. The Carnegie Hall album had various problems that have been noted by both the band itself as well as various critics. Chicago 26 Live In Chicago gives you just a small slice of a Chicago concert as they sound currently. If you long for Terry Kath's amazing artistry as both a rhythm and lead guitarist, if you prefer the old-school Chicago sound with better sound quality, stronger performances, and you can tolerate two tracks sung in Japanese by Peter Cetera, then this one is for you. The most interesting track on this release is track 14 which would not appear for another five years until 1977's Chicago XI. Since it was recorded in the Spring of 1972, it lacks the hits from the remainder of the Terry Kath era. Overall, a satisfying live album catching Chicago at or near its creative peak.

I had a conversation with Peter Cetera in the early 80's and the conversation moved to live albums. I mentioned how so many bands put out live albums and go on to say the performances were okay but not great. Even the Allman Brothers had told me they played better nights at the Fillmore. I then shared that I wasn't a fan of Chicago's Carnegie Hall album and lamented why the great performances weren't ever recorded? He responded by telling me that the best single live performance of Chicago was recorded and out in Japan. This is that record and if you like the tunes you'll love this disc. It's precise and propulsive with big-time energy, spot on performances, and raw emotion in the vocals and the soloing. It's a mix of Chicago the hitmakers, Chicago the experimentors, Chicago the jammers, and The "Make Me Smile" suite is fabulous. For an extra zinger Lowdown and Question 67 are sung in Japanese.

My Dad was an Executive with Sony at the time this came out in Japan. He went to Tokyo for a meeting a month or so after it was released to the "home" market... and when he returned he had this in hand.. straight from Japan. The LPs were jacketed in a very fine, woven paper... and the cover (front and back) was done in a very heavy texure. it was so different from what we were used to seeing in the US. The LP set also had a full set of pictures of the band and a full write-up of the concerts. If I remember it was recorded over a 3 or 4 night gig. The sound was engineered by JVC in concert with Sony Japan. The LPs were pressed in pure virgin vinyl ... their wasn't a single pop or click on either LP! The sound was basically done in quadraphonic (for those who remember that). The music itself was, in my personal opinion, the best live material Chicago has ever done. For anyone who loves the Chicago of the late 60's through the 1970's... this is an absolute must have. Without question a must have!!

I am a little late coming to see how tallent Chicago really is. I only remembered some of their music form the 80's and I was very much not impressed. However the drumer in our band was playing some one evening and I suddenly realized how amazing they really were and I just had to purchase this CD. I highly recommend it and think many would agree it is an excellent CD and group.

Japan makes great cars, great electronics, and great live recordings of American artists! I first heard about this album from a friend of mine many years ago. Then one day I found this two CD set at Tower Records, less than $15.00. Well, that store no longer exists, however, now you can download this great album from iTunes with just a click of your mouse!!! Thanks Chicago for buying back the rights on your songs!

This was the long-time standard for Chicago live. That said, I believe the Carnegie Hall remaster is now a better, if not only for the breadth of material, version than this. But a live music lovers delight--powerful and representive of this great band's early performances!

Chicago is one of the most consistent and talented bands around. To say that they are "a bad band" is ridiculous. Cleary goodopinions doesn't know good music. This album captures the great sound of chicago at their prime with all six original members. All true Chicago fans must own!

This recording is molten, and worth every penny. Considering that people have been dropping hundreds for this album in the past, this is a complete steal. Anyone who is into early (hairy) Chicago has no excuse not to buy this. All of you whiners who hate the ballad years, the disco years, and the Scheff years have nothing to worry about. This is pure unsucky gold. One minor downside is that my favorite song, "Lowdown," is sung in Japanese, which not only means that I can't sing along, but it also renders something that normally comes off as sincere and soulful into something a little crowd-pleasery. (Not to mention the total loss of rhyme.) Also, it's slowed-down, presumably to help little Pierre sing the song in a non-Western language while simultaneously playing bass, chewing Wrigley, and of course, getting wriggley. Speaking of which, the song "Saturday in the Park" has become quite chewed and flavorless in the mouth of the Classic Rock radio format over the last 20 years. So much so that I normally skip the track altogether. HOWEVER, one of the sweetest treats of this album is that due to the incredibly clean mix, you can really taste Peter's exceptional bass candy, converting the old wad into something to savor once more. The roar of the Japanese crowd shouting "SHI! KA! GO! SHI! KA! GO! SHI! KA! GO!" after "25 or 6 to 4" almost brought a tear to my eye. I would love so much for someone to invent a time machine so I can see this band play live in 1971. Since that'll never happen, this recording is the closest I will ever get.