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Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
Formed in its namesake city in 1967, Chicago is the first American band ever to chart albums in Billboard's Pop Top 40 in five consecutive decades. In 2002, Rhino entered into a long-term partnership with this extraordinary group to restore their extensive, genre-defying catalogue as well as develop new projects (such as 2006's XXX, their first new studio album in a decade). Now Rhino adds to Chicago's legacy and salutes their 40th anniversary with a newly compiled 2-CD collection that spans their entire recording history, from the stellar 1969 debut LP Chicago Transit Authority to Chicago XXX. With a career encompassing five consecutive #1 albums, 13 platinum albums, 21 Top 10 singles, and many other laurels, Chicago is among the most successfully charting American groups of all time.

Customer Reviews: Read 38 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

40th Anniversary Horns October 2, 2007
19 out of 23 found this review helpful

This year has marked some majoe milestones for some of the best rock groups of all time. The Police, who've celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a reunion tour and a new hits album, proved that they can show that even with all the time away, Sting & The Boys rocked on. Genesis, who've celebrated their 40th Anniversary, have still proven after all this time, they sound even better than ever, and reissued their catalog in a much better sound than before. That could possibly be said for Chicago, who've also celebrated their 40th Anniversary as a unique blend of horns, Rock N' Soul. Yet, they were overlooked in the radar, and their music hasn't had the recognition it once showed on radio, and that also could be said for their anniversary record.

The Best Of Chicago 40th Anniversary, the bands 2007 album, showcases 30 tracks from the groups five decades of making history. The songs have been remastered well, but the feeling for the record just doesn't measure as a double album, unlike their 2002 hits package Only the Beginning. The album is more like a reintroduction to new fans of a younger generation, rather than something die hard longtime fans could rock out to. The album though includes a lot of great tracks that've still proven to be standards like Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?, Saturday In the Park, the somber Colour My World, all the way to their recent tracks from the overlooked 2006 album Chicago XXX on lesser-driven songs like Feel and Love Will Come Back. Unfortunately, the album does overshadow a lot of great hit songs like the driven Street Player, Along Comes A Woman, and Stay the Night from Chicago 17, as well as their overlooked 90's tracks like Chasin' The Wind and Show Me A Sign.

All in all, The Best Of Chicago 40th Anniversary isn't a bad album, but just doesn't completely do the job, unlike previous hits collections like 2003's The Box, or Only The Beginning did well for from 2002 which delivered more for music lovers. Still, if you don't as of yet own a Chicago album or haven't heard their music, than this would be a good sampler for beginners, but just doesn't feel like it is hard to say you're sorry.

Album Cover: B+

Songs: B-

Price: C+

Remastered: B 1/2-

Overall: C+

4 out of 5 stars

Chicago - The Radio Hits October 17, 2007
16 out of 18 found this review helpful

People are misinformed about this release. On the front of the CD, it says 30 radio hits, which means these are the songs in the original forms they were released to radio. There is no fooling people unless you don't look at the CD cover (this is on the outside on the plastic packaging, regarding what this oompilation is).

The only exception to this is What Kind of Man which is the LP version, a mistake by the record company.

This edition has comments provided by the band.

So, it is not at all a diservice to the band, but a collection of the songs as they were heard on the radio.

It was only after Chicago was a sucess that radio stations started playing the album versions of the hit singles.

This collection could have been titled: "Chicago: 40 years of radio hits" - so that so many of you would have not have been fooled into thinking it was something the collection is not.

I think it is nice to have all of the original radio releases all in one collection with the insight provided by the band members.

This is what Rhino does, compilations and re-issues, and this is a worthy collection for completists and the casual fan that needs an introduction to Chicago.

5 out of 5 stars

Chicago celebrates 40 years with yet another Best of CD October 2, 2007
13 out of 17 found this review helpful

Since my parents were Chicago fans I have enjoyed their music for most all my life. I became a big fan in 1985 after getting to know the Chicago 17 album on tape when I was in the 6th grade. At that time I began collecting most all their albums. Today I am not as big of a fan as I once was. Some of their albums haven't held up well over time and I had lost interest. One thing that I never lost interest was Chicago's radio hits. That was the Chicago I first knew before I bought any of their albums. So that brings me to their new greatest hits album that came out today (Oct 2nd, 2007) celebrating 40 years of service.

Chicago has become famous for releasing more hits collections than albums over the past decade upsetting a lot of fans who feel the compulsion to buy anything that features the Chicago logo. I can't blame them, especially when they release two new songs on each collection to get the fans to buy yet another copy of "If You Leave Me Now". This collection, though it features the same songs featured on most of the other recent compilations, deviates from the formula a bit. The goal here was to present all the hits in the form they were released to the radio back in the day in the order they were released. The single edits. That means songs that were extended suites on the album were cut back to become more acceptable for radio play in the decade they were released. For example the song "Beginnings" in unedited form runs 7:51, on this collection it is 2:49. At first this was frustrating to me that they could use butchered versions of these songs. But after thinking about it as a fan I already own the 7:51 minute version and so it is interesting that I now have a digital representation of what new fans purchased on 45s back in the early 70s. This is a goldmine for collectors and completists.

The Liner notes. This collection features special one or two sentence commentary by the original band members who are still in the band. This in some cases is very informative and in other tracks the band members share their frustrations with different periods/songs in the bands history. Surprisingly honest on some of the 80s tracks.

Some nice surprises. The last track "Love Will Come Back" from their 2006 album "XXX" is actually better than the album version. The album version features Rascal Flatts on vocals and it isn't a bad song but was far from my favorite. Presented here for the first time on CD is the version without the Flatts. This version has much more punch to it and I am finding myself actually enjoying it. Another plus is the song "Feel" presented here not as the single version but as the album version with the prominent horn section (the original single version did not feature the horn section). This was the version that was released to radio stations so it made sense. This song was my favorite off of their 2006 album and features heart felt vocals by Robert Lamm who hasn't been featured on a hit Chicago single since the 70s. It is very touching to read his opinions of this song in the liner notes.

The mastering. The mastering of this album sounds much warmer than the 2002 Very Best of Collection. That was my biggest complaint with the 2002 collection that made it hard to listen to. Not that they did a bad job but when I was used to the warm sound of the vinyl and older CDs it didn't feel the same to me.

If you are a casual fan and don't have any Chicago collections this could be the one to get. Rhino managed to keep the tracks down to 30 and have released it at a very reasonable price that is just as inexpensive as many single disk collections. If you are a completists for the radio edits alone this will be an interesting collection. Also this album is the perfect length that doesn't overstay it's welcome; perfect for playing in the background. If you already have a Chicago best of collection that you enjoy I would recommend you pass on this. You may be disappointed in what is missing.

For me this collection is perfect background music for a road trip or just a lazy weekend day. I found the Very Best of from 2002 just way too long and I could never get through both CDs without getting tired of listening. This collection is short and concise. If I am in the mood for the extended versions of these songs all I have to do is pull out the albums from my collection.

3 out of 5 stars

Good...with one exception July 21, 2008
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

Overall this is a good compilation if you're a fan of Chicago. However, I felt compelled to right this review to warn potential buyers of one serious problem with it. The included version of '25 or 6 to 4' is the radio edit/shortened version of the song. Yes, on the Best of Chicago 40th Anniversary album, their greatest song (in my opinion) has been butchered. I almost threw the CD case across the room when I found this out. What were they thinking? "Oh lets just cut up one of their biggest hits. Don't worry about ripping out some great guitar soloing; nobody cares about that." I care. And that's why I'm warning people. In case anybody else cares.

3 out of 5 stars

Skip this release October 6, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Although this set does include a few of Chicago's hits in the 2000s, it is seriously lacking compared to 2002's The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning. That excellent compilation has 39 tracks; this one has 30. You do the math.

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