1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 147. Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

 

This is the band later known simply as Chicago, who to me are purveyors of soft rock ballads like If You Leave Me Now, but here they’re a much funkier outfit, blending soulful horns with chunky funky basslines and some jazzy rock guitar riffs.

The track Freeform Guitar is probably another inspiration for Spinal Tap, and Nigel Tufnel’s lengthy indulgent guitar “solos” - imagine somebody creating the sound of a Formula One race on guitars; that’s kind of what you get here from, I assume, lead guitar Terry Kath. It’s an astonishing sound, but not exactly “music”. Not even Mingus got that abstract.

Kath returns to this sound during the extended jam track Liberation, 14 minutes of jazz-rock insanity during which he plays some finger-bleeding fast licks that made me wonder where virtuosity ended and self-indulgence begins. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing bit of musicianship from the band all around.

This jazz-themed rock is spread throughout the album, but it’s also gloriously funky. There’s a cover of the Spencer Davis Group’s I’m A Man that leads into soul horns and chunky Hammond, as does the magnificent South California Purples (which is written by keyboardist Robert Lamm, so no surprises).

There’s a lot more than soft-rock ballads here, and a lot more guts. The lengthy jams and solo stuff stays just about on the right side of outstaying their welcome, and it’s an interesting fusion of rock, jazz, and soul that (revving engine guitars aside) manages to avoid the psychedelia/prog/art-house pitfalls of having a section of random noise.