Chicago VI

Chicago VI is the fifth studio album by American rock band Chicago and was released on June 25, 1973. It was the band's second in a string of five consecutive albums to make it to No. 1 in the US,[4] was certified gold less than a month after its release, and has been certified two-times platinum since.[5] It is the first album to feature percussionist Laudir de Oliveira,[6] who would become a full-fledged member of the band for Chicago VIII.[7][8]

Chicago VI
Studio album by Chicago
Released	June 25, 1973
Recorded	February 1973
Studio	Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado
Genre	Jazz rock
Length	38:21
Label	Columbia
Producer	James William Guercio
Chicago chronology
Chicago V (1972) Chicago VI (1973) Chicago VII (1974)
Singles from Chicago VI
"Feelin' Stronger Every Day" Released: June 1973 "Just You 'n' Me" Released: September 1973

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	C[2]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[3]

Background

After having recorded all of Chicago's first five albums in New York City (except for parts of the second album recorded at CBS in Los Angeles), producer James William Guercio had his own Caribou Studios built in Nederland, Colorado during 1972. It was finished in time for the band to record their sixth album the following February,[9] and would remain their recording base for the next four years.[8]

Robert Lamm authored half of the album's tracks, including his response to some of Chicago's negative reviewers in "Critics' Choice". James Pankow wrote the album's two hits, "Just You 'n' Me", which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[10] and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day", which peaked at No. 10.[11] The latter was co-composed with Peter Cetera, who also wrote "In Terms of Two", and sang lead vocal on all three songs.

Released in June 1973, Chicago VI was another commercial success, spending five non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US,[4][9] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) less than a month after its release.[5] It was certified two-times platinum in 1986, the first year the RIAA awarded platinum certification to albums released before 1976.[12] The album did not chart in the UK, although the band's first three studio albums had charted in the top ten there.[13]

The album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. The original US CD release (Columbia CK #32400) was mastered for CD by Joe Gastwirt. Chicago VI was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records in 2002, with two bonus tracks: a Terry Kath demo called "Beyond All Our Sorrows", and a recording of Al Green's "Tired of Being Alone", taken from the 1973 TV special Chicago in the Rockies. In 2013, the audiophile reissue company Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab remastered Chicago VI and released it on Hybrid SACD, which can be played on both CD players and SACD players.

Track listing

Side One

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
1.	"Critics' Choice"	Robert Lamm	Robert Lamm	2:49
2.	"Just You 'n' Me"	James Pankow	Peter Cetera	3:42
3.	"Darlin' Dear"	Lamm	Lamm	2:56
4.	"Jenny"	Terry Kath	Terry Kath	3:31
5.	"What's This World Coming To"	Pankow	Lamm, Cetera, Kath	4:58

Side Two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
6.	"Something in This City Changes People"	Lamm	Kath, Lamm, Loughnane	3:42
7.	"Hollywood"	Lamm	Lamm	3:52
8.	"In Terms of Two"	Peter Cetera	Cetera	3:29
9.	"Rediscovery"	Lamm	Lamm	4:47
10.	"Feelin' Stronger Every Day"	Cetera/Pankow	Cetera	4:15

Bonus tracks (2002 reissue)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
1.	"Beyond All Our Sorrows" (Terry Kath demo)	Kath	Kath	7:06
2.	"Tired of Being Alone" (with Al Green)	Green	Green	4:09

Personnel

Chicago

• Peter Cetera – bass, lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "In Terms of Two"
• Terry Kath – electric and acoustic guitars, slide guitar, lead and backing vocals
• Robert Lamm – acoustic piano, Hammond organ, clavinet, Wurlitzer electric piano, Fender Rhodes, ARP synthesizer, Hohner Pianet, lead and backing vocals
• Lee Loughnane – trumpet, backing vocals, percussion, co-vocals on “Something In This City Changes People”
• James Pankow – trombone, brass arrangements
• Walter Parazaider – saxophones, flute
• Danny Seraphine – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Laudir de Oliveira – congas
• Joe Lala – congas
• J. G. O'Rafferty – pedal steel

Production

• Produced by James William Guercio
• Engineered by Wayne Tarnowski
• Assistant Engineer – Jeff Guercio
• Mixed by Phil Ramone
• Mix Assistant – Richard Blakin
• Cover Design – John Berg and Nick Fasciano
• Photography by Barry Feinstein

Charts

Weekly charts

Year	Chart	Position
1973	Billboard Pop Albums	1[4]

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1973	"Feelin' Stronger Every Day"	Billboard Hot 100	10[11]
1973	"Just You 'N' Me"	Billboard Adult Contemporary	7 [14]
1973	"Just You 'N' Me"	Billboard Hot 100	4[10]

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – USA	Gold	July 18, 1973[5]
RIAA – USA	Platinum	November 21, 1986[5]
RIAA – USA	Double Platinum	November 21, 1986[5][12]

References

1. Planer, Lindsay. "Chicago VI - Chicago : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. Fletcher, Gordon (August 17, 1973). "Chicago: Chicago VI : Music Reviews: Rolling Stone". RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
4. "Chicago Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
5. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
6. Seraphine, Danny (2011). Street Player: My Chicago Story. John Wiley & Sons Inc. p. 132. ISBN 9780470416839.
7. Seraphine, Danny (2011). Street Player: My Chicago Story. John Wiley & Sons Inc. p. 138. ISBN 9780470416839.
8. Ruhlmann, William James (1991). Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) (CD booklet archived online) (Media notes). New York City: Columbia Records. p. 7. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
9. Rosen, Craig (1996). The Billboard Book Of Number One Albums. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 163. ISBN 0-8230-7586-9.
10. "Chicago Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. p. 1. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
11. "Chicago Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. p. 2. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
12. Grein, Paul (December 13, 1986). "CBS gets Pre-1976 Certs: 132 Honors Issued". Billboard. pp. 4, 67. Retrieved February 11, 2019 – via Google books.
13. "CHICAGO | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
14. "Chicago Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2019.