Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

Where did you hear that George Harrison's stuff would be released?

-John

    Damn!  I've been waiting for the early Chicago to show up.  I'd
    hoped that we wouldn't have to pay for 2 CD's.  I guess we should
    expect that kind of sleaze from Columbia.  Unfortunately I won't
    be able to resist buying it.  I love the music too much and my LP's
    will no longer cut it.  (Rather, they've been cut to ribbons and
    I no longer have the will to listen to them.)  Most likely, witholding
    my money in protest wouldn't hurt Columbia, but it might make them
    think about releasing the rest of the early Chicago CD's.  Not an
    acceptable solution.   Sigh!  When will they wake up.
    
    Gary

    Er... my previous reply should have read, "...but it might make
    them think *twice* about releasing the rest of the early Chicago
    CD's."  
    
    Lost a few characters between brain and fingers,
    Gary

    
    Paranoid is out.  Saw it at Strawberries this weekend.
    
    DFW

    A FEW OF MY FRIENDS WORK AT ROCKIT RECORDS IN SAUGUS. THEY USUALLY LET ME
    KNOW WHAT'S COMING OUT ON COMPACT DISC. THEY USUALLY POST A LIST
    UP ON THE WALL OVER THE DISCS. THERE IS A HUGE LIST OF NEW RELEASES.
    GEORGE HARRISON WAS DEFINITELY ON THERE AS WELL AS JOHN LENNON'S
    IMAGINE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. AFTER THEY LIST THEM THEY USUALLY
    START BEING RELEASED WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO. IF YOU CALL THEM
    THEY CAN USUALLY TELL YOU WHEN THEY WILL BE RECEIVING THE DISCS.
    MOST OF THE OTHER RECORD STORES GET THE DISCS AT THE SAME TIME SO
    IF YOUR NOT CLOSE TO SAUGUS HOLD ON FOR A DAY OR SO IT SHOULD BE
    AT A STORE CLOSE TO YOU. IT'S JUST GREAT TO KNOW WHAT IS COMING
    AHEAD OF TIME SO YOU'LL HAVE THE MONEY READY FOR THAT DISC THAT
    YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT.
    
                                                RICH
    

    I was really surprised to see Chicago II when I was CD shopping this
    weekend so I bought it right away.  My second surprise was when
    I got home and found that it would have fit on one CD. 
    
    I checked the timings for the other Chicago double albums. Chicago
    Transit Authority won't fit on one CD, but III and VII will fit
    should Columbia opt for improved customer satisfaction.
    
    Columbia has an 800 number for people who want to participate in a CD
    survey.  I plan to call them up to participate, and to give them a
    piece of my mind about their Chicago II packaging. 
    
    But I'll mix it with compliments too.  After all, Columbia put the live
    Bruce set on three 70+ minute CD's, and put out a 64 minute "Best of
    Elvis Costello" disc, so at times they have done an excellent job in
    putting rock music on CD without ripping people off. 
    
    As mentioned, the sound is OK with noticeable hiss on soft parts like
    Colour My World.  Chicago II has always struck me as having the worst
    sound of any of Chicago's studio albums - but having some of the best
    music. 
    
    Michael

	Well, I'm glad the early Chicago's are coming out. Although
	this news dashes my hopes they would dump "Free Form Guitar"
	to fit CTA on one disk...
	
	re .6: What's the 800 number? I saw it on the outer package of
	a Boston disk I just got, but threw it away.

	Mike

    Re: .7 
    Dump "Free Form Guitar"???!!! How could you even suggest such a
    thing???  :-) :-) :-)  Hell, it'll give us all a chance to use the
    Skip or programming features of our players.  
    
    Re: .6 I'm glad there's someone else who thinks that the recording
    quality of Chicago II is a little weak.  I thought it was just my
    copy of the LP.  Is great music though.
    
    Gary

    The Columbia CD number is 1-800-257-5858.  I tried once and there
    was no answer, so I'll try again later.
    
    I listened through Chicago II all the way through last night with
    headphones.  Besides the generally dull sound, you can hear several
    technical glitches (especially with the remote control's skip feature,
    to make sure that you really heard it).  There are a couple of dropouts
    and what sounds like really bad splices - especially on "The Road,"
    just before the line "When it's over, when I leave..." 
    
    They also took out the 30-second silence between "It Better End Soon"
    and "Where Do We Go From Here" - I guess they had to save space
    on their 33-minute CD.
    
    Still, the music is excellent.  If only they had cared as much about
    the packaging for this one as they did for Bruce.
    
    Michael

	I called the 800 number, I got an answering service that said
	the survey has been discontinued.
	
	I bought CTA last night, indeed it would have fit on one CD if
	they'd dumped "Free Form Guitar". At least it's at the
	beginning of the second disk, so I don't have to take the time
	to program to skip it:-). Incidentally, it's credited to James
	William Guercio - can someone with the record verify if it was
	originally credited to Terry Kath? On the same note,
	Liberation is credited to "J. Fankow".
	
	The sound's pretty good in general, although the hiss gets in
	the way (particularly on South California Purples). The vocals
	and horns sound clearer than ever, and the drums and bass are
	clearly audible (to the point of being distracting,
	particularly since Cetera and Seraphine were "active"
	players). At the beginning of "I'm a Man" I can hear the
	hi-hat keeping the beat, which I had never heard before!
	
	I also picked up the latest Schwann catalog, in addition to
	CTA and Chicago II, Chicago V is listed among the new
	releases. And, just for contrast to Columbia, MCA is issuing
	single-record albums by Jimmy Buffett and Joe Walsh two to a
	disk.
	
	Mike

    According to the little red label on the LP itself,  "Free Form
    Guitar" was "written" by the late, mostly great, Terry Kath.  And
    "Liberation" was written by Jimmy Pankow.  Did it really say "Fankow"?
    
    No word on Chicago III?  I'm probably the only one on earth who
    likes it, so it'll probably take forever to get to CD
    
    Gary
    

    The Chicago II CD gives the copyright for "It Better End Soon"
    to Robert Lamm and Jerry Kath.

    I saw Chicago V and VI last night.  Didn't buy them `cause I was
    spending too much money on CTA.  I'm particularly interested in
    the albums up through VII.  After that they got a little too syrupy.
    
    "The Whole World's Watching"
    
    Gary

	I also saw V and VI, I'm hoping to see VII myself. Not that
	I'd mind III...
	
	Of course there's always IV:-)! Nah, Columbia would probably
	put it out on four CD's...
	
	Mike

    I put this in the Music conference, but it's worth repeating here...
    
    The Chicago V CD is a big improvement over my copy of the LP.
    That's the first time I've been able to say that about a rock
    CD in my small collection, aside from the obvious improvements
    in reduced noise, pops, etc.  In the CD of V the high end is
    much, much better; especially noticeable in the much-improved
    cymbal sound.  I A-B'ed the CD with the LP and the CD was
    like lifting a veil off of the sound.
    
    Chicago II doesn't get you much improvement in sound unless
    your LP is in bad shape, but V makes a noticeable difference.
    
    Still waiting for VII (on one CD, please???)
    
    Michael

    Chicago VIII and XI have now been released on Columbia's Collector
    Series discount line of CD's, so you should be able to pick these
    up for $9 or $10 in your favorite store.
    
    I passed over VIII, but XI is one of my favorites so I got that
    right away.  As with V, the sound improvement from the LP is quite
    noticeable, again primarily with a better high end that results
    in a much-improved cymbal and drum sound.
    
    Since I really like 7 of the 11 tracks on the album, and don't like
    the other 4 much at all, CD programming really helps with this disc!
    
    By the way, the Collector's Series packaging is REALLY cheap.  They
    shrink the cover art even more than usual on CD's.  There is nothing
    on the inside of the insert - just the small cover art on the front
    and the name of the songs on the back.  No names of band members,
    no lyrics (standard for previous Chicago releases), no pictures,
    nothing.  A&M releases Joe Jackson albums for discount prices with
    the full LP packaging, but Columbia continues with it's who-cares
    packaging of the Chicago CD's.

>    nothing.  A&M releases Joe Jackson albums for discount prices with
>    the full LP packaging, but Columbia continues with it's who-cares
>    packaging of the Chicago CD's.

Columbia's "who-cares" attitude is why Paul Simon, Miles Davis and Chicago all 
eventually switched from CBS to Warner Brothers.

How many penies do they save by such cheap packaging?  They ought to at least 
allow the puchaser to send $1 (or pay the store an extra $1) to receive the 
FULL booklet.  This practice has been used for years on classical opera boxed 
sets, for the libretto (I know this, having worked in a classical record store
from 1980-1981).  So, I can't see that they're trying to make up for the "lost 
dollars" suffered by moving the CD into the mid-priced range.

It's unfortunate that the best CD labels (RCA, A&M, MCA and associated labels) 
have the lowest ratio of artists I enjoy.


				Mark

    Chicago III has now been released, and believe it or not:
    
      - It's on one CD, over 71 minutes long;
      - The sound improvement is similar to that on V and onwards (i.e.,
        much clearer high end, better cymbals);
      - It's mid-priced, costing more than XI and VIII, but less than the
        full-priced single CD's like V and VI;
      - It has reasonable packaging, not the tacky junk like on XI; and
      - Nobody's name is misspelled.
    
    Looks like Columbia finally got one right!  I sure hope they keep this
    up for VII, the only Kath-era studio album not yet released (unless
    it too was just released).
    
    If you ever wanted to auto-repeat a toilet flushing in full digital
    sound on your CD player, now's your chance.  Listen to this avant-garde
    precursor of industrial groups like Boy Dirt Car :-).  
    
    If you're not familiar with this album, it has some good Chicago tunes
    on it, but it's *really* inconsistent in the quality of compositions.

Chicago V, VI and X recently had their prices slashed to $12.99.
Hot Streets was just released at the budget price.
Chicago III and V clearly say "remastered", and give proper credits.  I am not 
sure if the other titles do this.  I saw III for $15.99.
I suspect that I and II were not remastered (Michael can verify this by looking 
at his copies), but I think they're too long to squeeze onto one CD so doubt 
they'll be rereleased.
Chicago XIV and XV are the only two not yet released, besides VII.  Although I 
don't think Carnegie Hall (and certainly not the Osaka concert) has been 
released on CD (no loss).


				Mark

    
    
    I can't believe it, but holding out for Chicago III paid off. I
    picked up my copy for $11.99 the other night. And like everyone
    else, I was surprised. Columbia gave someone credit for remastering
    and it sounds as bright as if it were recorded during the 17/18
    era. Kath sparkles and Cetera & Lamm sounded gritty as I remember
    them (Cetera ?? gritty?? in those days anyway !). There was no
    discernable hiss, and those horns....took me back to Chicago as
    they should've stayed.
    
    As for CTA and II, I'm probably the only one satisfied with the
    sound. I've gone through 2 copies each on vinyl and am simply glad
    to have a non-volatile medium for them. Anyone notice that on the
    title listings for II that the lazy a__es at CBS didn't even preface
    the medley as "Ballet for a girl in Buchanan?" After hearing III,
    I would think that digital remastering may have helped the first
    two, and like a sucker, if they ever decide to do it..I'll run out
    and get my copies.
    
    Has anyone ever seen the soundtrack (speaking of Chicago) of the
    only movie the group appeared in ?? It was "Electra-glide in Blue"
    with Robert Blake as an (Arizona ?? New Mexico??) state trooper.
    James William Guercio (the groups first producer) got credit for
    the music, but Chicago did play & sing in it. I believe the group
    played members of a motorcycle gang - and even looked it. Kath &
    Pankow could look like real bums when they wanted to.
    
    				The Cruiser
    
    

    ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE is a two LP set on United Artists (UA-LA062-H).  
    It's highly doubtful that the soundtrack from this 1973 box office
    bomb will appear in CD, but stranger things have happened.
    
    >R.Michael

    
    
    Thank you a thousand times. Looks like a trip to TOWER is in order!!
    
    				The Cruiser
    
    

    Re .14
    
    Mike was joking about "Chicago at Carnegie Hall" coming out on CD, but
    it's here - on 3 CD's, not 4.  That's 3 full-priced CD's, too.
    
    I've never heard "A Song for Richard and his Friends", and have always
    been curious about it, so I picked up a used copy of 3rd and 4th vinyl
    LPs at a used record store in San Francisco for $3.50 total.  Seems
    like a more reasonable price to pay for (half of) an album that at
    least one Chicago member said he used as lining for his wastebaskets.
    
    Will Columbia please stop teasing me with this stuff and finally release 
    VII, on 1 CD?  Please???

        re .19 and
        
>I suspect that I and II were not remastered (Michael can verify this by looking 
>at his copies), but I think they're too long to squeeze onto one CD so doubt 
>they'll be rereleased.
        
        Chicago II would have fit on a single CD.

    Finally, Chicago VII is available!  It's on a single CD on CBS'
    lowest-priced line, so I was able to pick up this double-album for
    $8 at Tower.  That's close to what it cost as an LP in 1974, and
    is certainly lower in constant 1974 dollars.  It is SO nice to
    have a clean-sounding CD to replace my worn LP, and to capture all
    the nice percussion playing on this album.
    
    All of Chicago's albums with Terry Kath are available on CD.  I
    believe the only non-CD holdouts are XIII and XIV, both of which
    sold poorly on LP (I don't think either one had even one hit
    single).

    Good news, folks!
    Last night I picked up Chicago II at Strawberries and it is finally on
    "ONE" disk. I haven't played it yet, but I made sure that no songs were 
    missing by comparing it to my old scratched album. Can't wait to get
    home and give it a listen.
    Jim T.
    

    
    
    Did it list on the package whether it's been "remastered" or not.
    I have the original 2 disc release, but there's no mention of
    remastering.
    
    				The Cruiser