It wasn't just Chicago who felt pressure to adapt, it was everyone. Look at Pink Floyd, but then again, they were always outsiders doing their own thing, unlike Chicago who were having genuine hits. When "If You Leave Me Now" became their biggest hit up to that point (and ever), someone said "oh, so people like this?" Lather, rinse, repeat. Chicago became shampoo, and knew that there was another side to their fans. They catered to that "other side". When they reached the disco era, they were pressured to conform "a bit", like everyone else. Donnie Dacus had that Peter Frampton hair, he was young, he wore tight clothes, he's perfect for the new and improved Chicago, and yet he was not enough to endure after two albums.

Another way to look at it. They were close friends with the Beach Boys. When they did background on "Wishing You Were Here", the Beach Boys were considered washed-up. Everyone wanted "Surfin' USA" and "Good Vibrations' but "Sail On Sailor" was considered "different". By 1976, the Beach Boys cashed in by becoming a nostalgia act, where they could play their old songs forever and never have to wonder if Brian Wilson will come out of his cocoon. Chicago did not want to do that, at least not in the late 70's. They were a band who were friends with all of the "studio rats", and once the 80's came around, they had to deal with a musical reality that did not cater to them. What do you do? Get a few of those studio rats, get a hot "producer of the moment" and become pop. How do you carry the success of "If You Leave Me Now" into the 80's? Make more ballads.

Yet with that said, I love their 80's stuff. I like a bit of schmaltz, and they did that to the limit, but within that was some incredible music. Bill Champlin may not have been the equivalent of Terry Kath, but I don't think they wanted that. Yet at Chicago's lowest points in the 80's, Champlin was truly the band's balls, plain and simple. Go to "Will You Still Love Me". When that bridge comes in, that's all Champlin. His background vocals in "Hard Habit To Break": awesome. "Look Away": beautiful. The funny thing about this is: I was fully aware of bands like Sons Of Champlin and The Sons, but was not aware that Bill Champlin was the man behind them until he was in Chicago. I thought "oh shit, I dig for records and always see their stuff, that's the same guy?" You then realize how trippy and freaky Champlin was with his bands, how he was a perfect fit for Chicago. He may not have executed the wild side, and yet he helped to give the songs a nice punch when it might have been missing.

After 1990, their albums are hard to listen to. Then again,you have NIGHT & DAY, which has the members of Jade ("Don't Walk Away", "5-4-3-2 Yo Time Is Up") in a number of songs. Yet to this day, if I'm mailing a package to Chicago, I write it out with their logo each and every time.




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