Kategorie: CD-Reviews | Genre: Jazz/Jazzrock/Fusion, Mainstream/AOR | Heft: Jahrgang 2014, eclipsed Nr. 162 / 7-8-2014 | VÖ-Jahr: 2014 | Wertung: 6/10 | Label: Frontiers | Autor: ML
After the band, founded in 1967, became more and more shallow and musically insignificant from the eighties on, but commercially more and more successful, they have caught themselves musically again as a live band for about a decade. "Now" with the subtitle "Chicago XXXVI" - including all albums, whether live or Christmas - contains the first new studio material in eight years and shows with a rocky guitar solo in the opener and title track that the band is willing to resurrect their almost inimitable mixture of jazzy brass parts, rocky guitar parts and pop melodies in full bloom again. Of course this is neither innovative nor particularly exciting after almost five decades, so that the nine-man band, still working with four original members, is thrown back to the - at least in the USA still huge - fan base. Especially since she rarely plays the all too shallow pop card ("Love Lives On"). Before "Now" was released, Chicago released four singles from the album last summer.
Top Track: Free At Last
