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Title: Excellent and a half
Review: In general, Chicago became more commercial as they went along. By the mid 1970s, they were mainly a singles band.But you would not spot the trend listening to this album. It opens with an excellent side-long jam which at times reminds me of Santana's jazzier excursions around this time.There is also fantastic, sophistcated pop, such as "Happy Man," and "Wishing You Were Here." Bossa nova, spanish guitar and layered writing and production put this work on the top scale of Top 40 70s pop.James Gurrcio's production is even tighter here. He is smart enough to seperate the pop from the jazz, and this worked better when this was a doulbe LP set. The genre leaping that marred some of those early Chicago double sets is cut away here, leaving this a tight, coharent yet diverse album--probably Chicago's last stab at early 1970s progressiveism before they became a singles unit.
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