Watch Chicago, Live at Tanglewood, at the Time of Their 2nd Album, July 21, 1970



This video of Chicago's 1970 concert at Tanglewood in Massachusetts is a superb document of an amazing band working at the peak of their powers. Listeners who only know them for their catalog of hits may be surprised to learn that they were not only one of the finest horn bands (in their early days, it was basically them and Blood, Sweat & Tears), but they were also one of the finest rock bands of the sixties and seventies. Formed in 1967 in Chicago, they fully embraced the anti-war movement that made Chicago the city such a hotbed of protest in 1968 during the Democratic National Convention. You can hear their anti-war sentiment in the 14+ minute epic live version of "It Better End Soon".

Chicago released their first album, Chicago Transit Authority, in 1969, their second, Chicago, in early 1970. Both were double albums, unprecedented output for a new band. This show draws nicely from both, plus two tracks that weren't recorded until the third album ("I Don't Want Your Money" and "Mother"). The whole double album thing may have been a reflection of the outsized ego of their manager, James William Guercio, but it totally worked to get them noticed. It helped that Chicago had a wealth of good material; there wasn't any filler on those first two albums. The same can't be said of the third album ("An Hour in the Shower"), or the fourth, a quadruple live album, after which there was a good deal of critical backlash.

It strikes me now, watching this show, just how much Terry Kath was the soul of the band, and how guitar-driven they were back then. Just watch Kath's solos right in the first song, or the thrilling guitar-centric "25 or 6 to 4" and "I'm a Man". Kath's guitar work places him in the same league as Clapton, Beck, and Page. Robert Lamm may have written more of the songs on the first two albums, but Kath wrote the next most, plus watching this show, his guitar and his distinctive deep voice characterize nearly every song. He is so passionate during "It Better End Soon", you'll have a new appreciation of the power of rock music. Kath's tragic death in 1978 left a hole in Chicago that many fans feel they never fully recovered from.

As a band they killed, playing live in 1969-70, so incredibly tight. This is why, when I first saw them in the fall of 1969, they were able to top a bill of Jesse Colin Young, Canned Heat (fresh from Woodstock), and Santana (also fresh from Woodstock). Both Santana and Chicago had only released their first albums. Santana truly blew everyone's mind, then Chicago took the stage and brought down the house. Enjoy this video.

The Setlist:
1. Introduction - 7:13
2. In the Country - 6:51
3. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? - 8:22
4. 25 or 6 to 4 - 7:03
5. Poem for the People - 5:38
6. I Don't Want Your Money - 6:44
7. Mother - 5:45
8. It Better End Soon - 14:39
9. Beginnings - 7:40
10. Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon - 12:35
11. I'm A Man (Encore) - 9:12
12. Terry Kath Outro/Bill Graham Closing Announcements





Comments

Unknown said…
Agreed. Saw Chicago at this same time period @ SPAC- lawn tickets were only $2.50 then. Might've even been the same tour. Changed direction from what I would call raw to smooth. Too bad. Was this at Tanglewood or Lenox? The names are used loosely-they're right through the woods from each other & I've seen this concert promoted with both names in the title.
7/18/2013
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the Main Point, 1964 - 1981

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #5 Begining in 1964, The Main Point in Bryn Mawr provided the Philadelphia area with one of its most enjoyable venues for live music. Although it started as a folk based coffeehouse, all styles of music were presented over the years. Financial problems continually plagued the Main Point, and in spite of frequent benefit shows by artists who loved the place as much as the audience, the club finally closed in 1981. The following brief history is contained in an obituary of Jeanette O. Campbell, one of the founders and owners of the Main Point who died on October 22, 2006, written by Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Sally A. Downey as reprinted on the Save Ardmore Coalition website. Jeanette Orndoff Campbell, 89, former owner of the Main Point, a music hall in Bryn Mawr where young talents including Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor were introduced to local audiences, died of complications from hip surgery Oct. 22 at Stap
Read more

Cream and Blind Faith at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, 1968 & 1969

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #3 (L-R) Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, & Eric Clapton I could not have foreseen it at the time, but looking back on a concert going history now entering it's fifth decade, my first three concerts were absolutely formative in the development of the music obsession that has driven life as we know it from that point forward. Attending a rock concert pre drivers license was no small feat, that I even got to these shows is the first indication that I knew I was onto something even if I couldn't quite explain it. I've already detailed my first concert (The Beatles at JFK Stadium) in my MMMM#1 . My second and third concerts took place at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, they were less than a year apart, and due to the fact that concerts never end at the time predicted, these concert experiences both ended with a very angry driver stuck waiting in the car outside the venue until the last encore had finished. I shot both concerts with the same starter
Read more

And We Danced - Filming the Hooters Video, 7/27/85

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #4 "And We Danced" (picture sleeve above) was released in 1985 as the second single from the album, Nervous Night , the Hooters' major label debut for Columbia Records. Here's the video. The call went out to the Hooters' mailing list the last week of July 1985 that an audience with cars would be needed on the coming Saturday for a video shoot. Participants would report to the Exton Drive-In by late morning and be prepared to stay all day until after dark. This stage set, early in the day, was a warm-up for the crowd and probably a dry run for the production team for the night-time performance to be filmed later. The banner backdrop does not appear in the video. Some of the antique and custom cars that were on hand for the shoot. The production crew prepares the ticket booth for its shot. This is the film crew shooting the acoustic intro part of the song. The acoustic intro was shot twice, first with t
Read more