Maps of Music

Chicago VI (1973)

Where the lyrics of Chicago VI take you, and where it was really made.

Chicago's sixth album was the first made at the Colorado studio that producer James William Guercio built in 1972, after the band's first five albums were recorded in New York.

Key places

Caribou Ranch studio in Nederland, Colorado (1973)

Recording site Caribou Ranch — Producer James William Guercio built the Caribou studio in Nederland, Colorado, in 1972. The band recorded their sixth album there, and the studio stayed their recording base for four years. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Chicago VI: fifth studio album by American rock band Chicago
• Released June 25, 1973 by Columbia Records
• Second in a string of five consecutive albums to reach No. 1 in the US
• Certified gold less than a month after release; two-times platinum since
• First album to feature percussionist Laudir de Oliveira, who became a full member for Chicago VIII
• Among studio albums, the first to show the original band members on the cover before the death of Terry Kath; the other is the 1975 compilation Chicago IX

Background

• Producer James William Guercio built Caribou Studios in Nederland, Colorado in 1972
• The band's first five albums were recorded in New York City, except parts of the second album recorded at CBS in Los Angeles
• The studio was finished in time for the sixth album and remained the band's recording base for four years
• Robert Lamm wrote half the album's tracks, including 'Critics' Choice', his response to some negative critics
• James Pankow wrote the two hits 'Just You 'n' Me' (No. 4 on Billboard Hot 100) and 'Feelin' Stronger Every Day' (No. 10)
• Peter Cetera co-wrote 'Feelin' Stronger Every Day' and wrote 'In Terms of Two'
• Peter Cetera sang lead on 'Just You 'n' Me', 'Feelin' Stronger Every Day' and 'In Terms of Two'

Recording

• Engineered by Wayne Tarnowski with assistant Jeff Guercio; mixed by Phil Ramone
• Discogs credits the recording location as Caribou Ranch
• Mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic versions
• The original US CD (Columbia CK #32400) was mastered by Joe Gastwirt

Cover

• Cover design by John Berg and Nick Fasciano; photography by Barry Feinstein
• Gatefold cover with artwork by American Bank Note Company, using silk-screened raised ink

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1967.
• The band described itself as a "rock and roll band with horns" and blended classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop.
• The group first called itself the Big Thing, became Chicago Transit Authority in 1968, and shortened its name to Chicago in 1969.

Members

• The original line-up was Peter Cetera (bass), Terry Kath (guitar), Robert Lamm (keyboards), Lee Loughnane (trumpet), James Pankow (trombone), Walter Parazaider (woodwinds), and Danny Seraphine (drums).
• Lamm, Loughnane, and Pankow have remained constant members since 2009.
• Terry Kath died in 1978 after an accidental gunshot wound.

Career

• The band's debut double album, Chicago Transit Authority (1969), was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
• In 1971 Chicago became the first rock act to sell out a week at Carnegie Hall.
• "If You Leave Me Now" (1976) became the group's first number-one single and won its only Grammy.
• Billboard placed the band among the most successful chart acts in its history, and it has sold more than 100 million records.
• The original line-up was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
• Chicago received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on October 16, 2020.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Five non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart
• Did not chart in the UK, though the band's first three studio albums had reached the top ten there
• Certified gold by the RIAA less than a month after release

Records

• Second of five consecutive US No. 1 albums in the string
• Certified two-times platinum in 1986, the first year the RIAA gave platinum certification to albums released before 1976
• 'Just You 'n' Me' peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100; 'Feelin' Stronger Every Day' peaked at No. 10
• Mixed and released in stereo and quadraphonic versions

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Discogs notes the gatefold cover artwork was made by American Bank Note Company with silk-screened raised ink, and says it was probably made to look like old currency.
• A 2002 Rhino reissue added a Terry Kath demo, 'Beyond All Our Sorrows', and Al Green's 'Tired of Being Alone' from the 1973 TV special Chicago in the Rockies.
• In 2013, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a hybrid SACD that plays on both CD and SACD players.
• When WLS switched to an all-talk format on 23 August 1989, 'Just You 'n' Me' was played just before 7 p.m.
• The album did not chart in the UK, although the band's first three studio albums had charted in the top ten there.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · ja.wikipedia.org

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