Chicago Transit Authority (album): Difference between revisions

| artist = [[Chicago (band)|Chicago Transit Authority ]]

| caption = Back cover of LP releasereleases and front cover of CD reissues.

| genre = {{hlist|[[Jazz fusion#Jazz rock|Jazz rock]]|[[progressive rock]]<ref name="Hoffmann2004">{{cite book |author=Frank Hoffmann |title=Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FOSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA374 |date=12 November 2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-94950-1 |pages=374– }}</ref>|[[blues rock]]}}

| name = The Chicago Transit Authority

'''''Chicago Transit Authority''''' is the debut studio album by the American [[rock music|rock]] band [[Chicago (band)|Chicago]], known at the time of release as The Chicago Transit Authority. ItThis wasdouble recordedalbum andwas released inon April 28, 1969 and became a [[sleeper hit]], reaching number 17 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] by 1971. ''The Chicago Transit Authority'' spawned several successful singles, including "[[Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?]]", "[[Questions 67 and 68]]" and "[[Beginnings (Chicago song)|Beginnings]]". The album stayed on the ''Billboard'' chart for 171 weeks,<ref name=<ref name= "BB200 Jun75" /> beating the previous record for a rock album's longevity of 155 weeks<ref name=Whitburn /> and has been certified double [[Music recording certification|platinum]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)]].<ref name=RIAA /> For this inaugural recording effort, the group was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for 1969 [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist of the Year]].<ref name=Grammy1969>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/chicago |title=Grammy Awards: Chicago |date=March 17, 2014 |website=GRAMMY.com |language=en |access-date=January 17, 2019 |archive-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320024210/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/chicago |url-status=live }}</ref> The album was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]] in 2014.<ref name=GHOF>{{cite web |title=2014 GRAMMY HALL OF FAME® INDUCTEES |url=https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/the-recording-academy-announces-2014-grammy-hall-of-fame-inductees |website=www.grammy.org |access-date=2017-01-03 |archive-date=2017-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131193846/https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/the-recording-academy-announces-2014-grammy-hall-of-fame-inductees |url-status=live }}</ref>

Chicago was formed in early 1967, first as Thethe Big Thing, then The Chicago Transit Authority when producer [[James William Guercio]] took them on in 1968.<ref>{{cite book |title=Street Player: My Chicago Story |last=Seraphine |first=Danny |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc. |year=2011 |isbn=9780470416839 |pages=47–72}}</ref> Their trademark was fusing brass and [[jazz]] with a soulful [[rock and roll]] feel that Guercio thought would prove successful, lobbying for his label to sign the band.<ref name="Ruhlmannp1&2">{{cite AV media notes |title= Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) |year=1991 |url=http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Box_Set_-_Page_1.html |pages=1, 2 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |first=William James |last=Ruhlmann |format=CD booklet archived online |publisher=Columbia Records |location=New York City |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20171112155002/http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Box_Set_-_Page_4.html |archive-date=November 12, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The Chicago Transit Authority signed to [[Columbia Records]] late in 1968 and recorded their first album in late January 1969 at CBS studios on 52nd Street in New York City.<ref name="Seraphine 2011 86">{{cite book |title=Street Player: My Chicago Story |last=Seraphine |first=Danny |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc. |year=2011 |isbn=9780470416839 |page=86}}</ref> While Guercio had recently produced [[Blood, Sweat & Tears]]' [[Blood, Sweat & Tears (Blood, Sweat & Tears album)|second album]] (which proved to be a huge smash), he did so to raise capital for his band, and to secure the contract with Columbia (which was reluctant at first to have two jazz-rock bands since Blood, Sweat & Tears was already on their roster).<ref>{{cite book |title=Street Player: My Chicago Story |last=Seraphine |first=Danny |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc. |year=2011 |isbn=9780470416839 |page=85}}</ref><ref name=Ruhlmannp2>{{cite AV media notes |title=Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) |year=1991 |url=http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Box_Set_-_Page_2.html |page=2 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |first=William James |last=Ruhlmann |format=CD booklet archived online |publisher=Columbia Records |location= New York City |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20171112155002/http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Box_Set_-_Page_4.html |archive-date=November 12, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Chicago Story">{{cite web |url=https://chicagotheband.com/a-chicago-story/ |title=A Chicago Story – Chicago |website=Chicagotheband.com |language=en-US |access-date=January 17, 2019 |archive-date=October 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030061450/https://chicagotheband.com/a-chicago-story/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By the end of the ''Chicago Transit Authority'' sessions, the band had decided they wanted it to be a [[double album]]. Skeptical, as the band had no track record, Columbia agreed to the concept only if the group would take a royalty cut.<ref name=Ruhlmannp2 /><ref name="Chicago Story" />

Released in April 1969, ''The Chicago Transit Authority'' (sometimes informally referred to simply as "CTA") was not an immediate hit, eventually reaching No. 17 in the [[United States|US]]<ref name=BB200>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/chicago/chart-history/tlp/ |title=Chicago Chart History: Billboard 200 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 17, 2019 |archive-date=October 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023201309/http://www.billboard.com/music/chicago/chart-history/billboard-200 |url-status=live }}</ref> and No. 9 in the [[United Kingdom|UK]].<ref name=UKalbums>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/13861/chicago/ |title=CHICAGO {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company |website=www.officialcharts.com |access-date=January 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224023924/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/13861/chicago/ |url-status=live }}</ref> While critical reaction was generally favorable, sales were slow at first and the album initially failed to produce any hit singles, with the group seen as an album-oriented collective. Meanwhile, FM radio, with its album-oriented format, helped push sales along.<ref>{{cite book |title=Street Player: My Chicago Story |last=Seraphine |first=Danny |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc. |year=2011 |isbn=9780470416839 |page=105}}</ref> In 1970 and 1971, "[[Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?]]" (No. 7),<ref name= BBHot100>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/chicago/chart-history/hsi/|title=Chicago Chart History: Hot 100|magazine=Billboard|access-date=January 17, 2019|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812044927/https://www.billboard.com/music/chicago/chart-history/hot-100|url-status=live}}</ref> "[[Beginnings (Chicago song)|Beginnings]]" (No. 7)<ref name= BBHot100 /> and "[[Questions 67 and 68]]" (No. 71 and No. 24 for the 1971 re-release)<ref name= BBHot100 /> all made it into the Billboard Hot 100 belatedly. Buoyed by the success of their later albums, ''The Chicago Transit Authority'' had stayed on the charts for 171 weeks as of June 1975,<ref name= "BB200 Jun75">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200 |title=Top 200 Albums {{!}} Billboard 200 chart for week of June 7, 1975 |magazine=Billboard |date=2 January 2013 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130052316/https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2019-02-02 |url-status=live }}</ref> setting the then record for a rock album's chart longevity by October 1974 at 155 weeks,<ref name=Whitburn>{{cite news |title=Joel Whitburn's Record Research Report |date=October 19, 1974 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |newspaper=Billboard |page=10 |url={{Google books|tAcEAAAAMBAJ|page=PT9|plainurl=yes}} |access-date=January 18, 2019 |via=Google Books}}</ref> and was certified [[Music recording certification|gold]] (and later platinum and double platinum) by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)]].<ref name=RIAA>{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Chicago+Transit+Authority#search_section |title=Gold & Platinum: Chicago Transit Authority |website=RIAA |language=en-US |access-date=January 17, 2019 |archive-date=August 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812044942/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Chicago+Transit+Authority#search_section |url-status=live }}</ref>

Keyboardist [[Robert Lamm]], guitarist [[Terry Kath]] and bassist [[Peter Cetera]] shared lead vocals, while [[James Pankow]], [[Lee Loughnane]] and [[Walter Parazaider]] handled all brass and woodwinds ([[trombone]], [[trumpet]] and [[saxophone]], [[clarinet]] and [[flute]] respectively) and [[Danny Seraphine]] played drums. (Parazaider is pictured in the album package playing flute, but doesn't actually play it on the album.) Band members added percussion during sections of a song when they weren't playing their main instrument. For example, on "I'm a Man", Pankow was on cowbell, Parazaider on tambourine, and Loughnane on claves.<ref name="Seraphine 2011 86"/> Lamm, Kath and Pankow were the band's main composers at this time. According to the band's producer, James William Guercio, [[Jimi Hendrix]] was an avowed fan of Kath's playing.<ref name=Ruhlmannp8>{{cite AV media notes |title=Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) |year=1991 |url=http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Box_Set_-_Page_8.html |page=8 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |first=William James |last=Ruhlmann |format=CD booklet archived online |publisher=Columbia Records |location=New York City |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20171112155002/http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Box_Set_-_Page_4.html |archive-date=November 12, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Chicago Story" /> According to the album's original liner notes, the solo performance of Kath on "Free Form Guitar" was created without the use of any pedals.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://aln2.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Transit.html|title=Chicago Transit|website=aln2.albumlinernotes|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=January 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119230810/http://aln2.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Transit.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In a nod to Hendrix's guitar expressionism (Hendrix most notably used wah and fuzz pedals),{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} Kath instead plugged directly into his studio amplifier and improvised the entire track in one take for the purpose of pure tone.<ref name=":1" /> "Free Form Guitar" was an influence on the genre of [[noise music]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

In 2002, ''The Chicago Transit Authority'' was remastered and reissued on one [[compact disc|CD]] by [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Records]] and [[Columbia Records]].<ref name=Waller>{{Cite news|title=Killer Catalog: Ambitious Rhino Reissues Program Salutes "One of the Great Groups" |date=July 20, 2002|last=Waller|first=Don|newspaper=Billboard|page=42|url={{Google books|_AsEAAAAMBAJ|page=PA42|plainurl=yes}}|access-date=January 18, 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> Rhino Records trimmed some of the songs, noticeably the fadeouts on "Questions #67 and #68" (six seconds longer on the LP) and "Free Form Guitar" (five seconds longer), the 10 second gap between "Someday" and "Liberation", and some studio chatter.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

On June 26, 2019, Rhino Records announced a 50th Anniversary Remix edition of The Chicago Transit Authority, offering it in both CD and double [[LP record|LP]] formats.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rhino.com/article/chicago-transit-authority-50th-anniversary-remix|title=Chicago Transit Authority 50th Anniversary Remix|date=June 26, 2019|website=www.rhino.com|access-date=January 26, 2020|archive-date=September 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904024155/https://www.rhino.com/article/chicago-transit-authority-50th-anniversary-remix|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the press release announced an August 30, 2019 release date, the date was pushed back to September 13, 2019 outside of Canada.{{Citation needed|reason=not supported with citation |date=January 2020}} The band worked with engineer Tim Jessup, who also mixed the band’s ''Live at the Isle of Wight Festival.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theseconddisc.com/2019/06/26/beginnings-rhino-remixes-chicago-transit-authority-for-50th-anniversary/|title=Beginnings: Rhino Remixes "Chicago Transit Authority" For 50th Anniversary|last=Marchese|first=Joe|date=June 26, 2019|website=The Second Disc|language=en-US|access-date=January 26, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126153206/https://theseconddisc.com/2019/06/26/beginnings-rhino-remixes-chicago-transit-authority-for-50th-anniversary/|url-status=live}}</ref> Robbie Gerson, reviewing the vinyl release for ''Audiophile Audition'', gave an overall positive review, saying, "Rhino has done an outstanding job in re-mastering ''The Chicago Transit Authority'' to 180-gram vinyl."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.audaud.com/chicago-transit-authority-50th-anniversary-remix-rhino-entertainment/|title=Chicago Transit Authority - 50th Anniversary Remix - Rhino Entertainment|last=Gerson|first=AudiophileRobbie|date=October 4, 2019|website=Audiophile Audition|language=en-US|access-date=January 26, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126153233/https://www.audaud.com/chicago-transit-authority-50th-anniversary-remix-rhino-entertainment/|url-status=live}}</ref> In his review for ''[[All About Jazz]]'', Doug Colette gave the CD four out of five stars, noting that there's "less precedence for the harmony singing," but that there's "wallop to the drums," "edge to the guitar," and "great care throughout to highlight, without overstatement but with proportionate accuracy and impact, the tightly-fused rhythm work of drummer Danny Seraphine and bassist Peter Cetera: both sound equally vigorous and muscular in their playing."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/chicago-transit-authority-50th-anniversary-remix-chicago-rhino|title=Chicago: Chicago Transit Authority 50th anniversary Remix album review @ All About Jazz|last=Collette|first=Doug|date=October 12, 2019|website=All About Jazz|language=en|access-date=January 26, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126153205/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/chicago-transit-authority-50th-anniversary-remix-chicago-rhino|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2014, ''The Chicago Transit Authority'' was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref name=GHOF />

''The Chicago Transit Authority'' is the only Chicago album listed in ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/1001albums.htm|title=Rocklist.net...Steve Parker...1001 Albums|publisher=Rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=2012-01-05|archive-date=2012-01-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130151506/http://rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker//1001albums.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

! scope="col"| Chart (1969-1971)

{{album chart|NetherlandsCanada|610|artist=Chicago|album=Chicago Transit Authority|chartid=6040|rowheader=true|access-date=MarchJune 2420, 20212024}}

{{album chart|NorwayNetherlands|86|artist=Chicago|album=Chicago Transit Authority|rowheader=true|access-date=MarchJune 2420, 20212024}}

{{album chart|UKNorway|98|artist=Chicago|album=Chicago Transit Authority|rowheader=true|access-date=MarchJune 2420, 20212024}}

{{album chart|Billboard200UK2|179|artistdate=Chicago19700201|rowheader=true|access-date=MarchJune 2420, 20212024}}

! scope="row"| US ''[[Billboard'' 200]]''<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1970/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1970|magazine=Billboard|date=2 January 2013|access-date=March 24, 2021|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603003348/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1970/top-billboard-200-albums|url-status=live}}</ref>

! scope="row"| US ''[[Billboard'' 200]]''<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1971/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1971|magazine=Billboard|date=2 January 2013|access-date=March 24, 2021|archive-date=June 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604052252/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1971/top-billboard-200-albums|url-status=live}}</ref>