{"id":39923,"date":"2006-09-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-09-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/hot-streets\/"},"modified":"2006-09-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-09-07T00:00:00","slug":"hot-streets","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/hot-streets\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Streets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ladies and gentlemen\u2026.I present to you the forgotten Chicago album Hot Streets! <\/em><\/p>\n

I mean that in all seriousness. Chicago XIV and 21 are notorious for being the band’s worst, while 13 contained Chicago\u2019s stab at disco, \u201cStreet Player,\u201d which didn\u2019t do that badly. Sandwiched right in between Terry Kath\u2019s last record and Chicago Does Disco was this forgotten album.\u00a0 When listening to Hot Streets<\/i>, I get the feeling that this unintentionally ended up being Chicago\u2019s disco record. That whole empty, vacuous vibe that disco tended to give off rears its ugly head a few times, but for the most part this is a fairly enjoyable album. <\/p>\n

Things get off to a great start with the disco rock \u201cAlive Again,\u201d interpreted as a farewell to Kath and the beginning of a new phase in the band\u2019s career. Peter Cetera, who from this point on practically was Chicago until he left to pursue a solo career, is in fine voice. The tight harmonies the band have as the proverbial ace up their sleeves are on display, with great effect considering the incredibly catchy refrain. Newcomer guitarist Donnie Dacus even gets a chance to throw in a solo, but unfortunately the only thing it accomplishes is to serve as a reminder of what Kath had brought to the table.<\/p>\n

It was around this time that Chicago had pretty much given on being an avant-garde jazz\/rock group, but on the flipside they could still craft great pop. Without the pressures of former manager\/producer James Guercio, the band certainly sounds much fresher, though that freedom doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to good music. Dacus certainly does not make a good impression with his turns at the mic, but in all fairness not many could have replaced Terry Kath. The other big hit, \u201cNo Tell Lover,\u201d has never been a favorite of mine; the proceedings come off as just a bit too lethargic.<\/p>\n

There are a few tracks that reach the level of songs the band played on records like VI <\/i>or VIII<\/i>. The title track genuinely recaptures the jazz roots of Chicago; Walt Parazaider gets to unleash a little jazz flute, Ron Burgundy-style, round the midpoint of the track. Once he finishes, the full horn section reenters into the fray, sporting some of James Pankow\u2019s best arranging for the next few years. \u201cGone Long Gone\u201d must have been Cetera\u2019s attempt to fulfill his dream to be either a Beatle or a Beach Boy; this rolling acoustic number could have come straight off of Band On The Run<\/i>. <\/p>\n

In all honesty, this is the perfect record for a fan to put on when they just want a well-produced, professional Chicago record. This record didn\u2019t turn heads or inspire a new generation of musicians, but it deserves more than to be the forgotten Chicago record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":28470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5830],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-39923","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-chicago","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39923"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}