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Oct 26, 2021 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis

The release of Chicago’s first live album was an audacious move. The first rock band to play a week’s worth of shows at Carnegie Hall had issued three double albums between 1969 and 1971, and Chicago at Carnegie Hall hit the marketplace in October of ’71 as a four-record set. Label concerns over the size of the package were eased when Carnegie Hall went gold only two weeks after its release, a clear indication of how popular Chicago was at the time.

To celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary, the 16-CD Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete presents all eight shows from their six-night run on April 5-10, 1971, including two matinees. Those in attendance were treated to plenty of the band’s most popular material, including “25 or 6 to 4,” “Make Me Smile,” “Colour My World,” and “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” Not surprisingly, multiple shows feature some of the same material, though the varied setlists that include the then-new “A Song for Richard and His Friends” (“Kind of a wishful thought that President Nixon would quit”) and one-offs such as “I’m a Man” and “An Hour in the Shower” provide some freshness throughout this set.

While the album was originally met with mixed reviews, with some seeing it as indulgent, this complete set of the full Carnegie Hall run is undoubtedly intended for fans who remember it fondly. As a document of the early Chicago at the height of their powers with founding guitarist/vocalist Terry Kath, those fans literally couldn’t ask for more than these 16 CDs, at least from this particular venue. (www.chicagotheband.com)

Author rating: 6.5/10