fans of chicago (the band) a question.

[mopinko]

i was a big fan early on. crazy high school girl fan. catholic high school. i started to burn out at about 8 or 9. plus i had a kid, and.....

so, my kid the drummer listens to the classic rock station. and turns out he is a big fan. so i download the 1st 3, which i havent heard in forever, but remember every word.

and i kinda knew they were still around, but was still a little shocked to see XXX. rly?

so my question for fandom- which ones are really worth listening to? i'm not going to live long enough to listen to all 30+however more there are.
i am iffy about live albums. usually the hits are not my favorites.

anybody seen them live lately?

[TM99]

1. Minus the greatest hits albums

really anything up to Chicago XIV is fantastic.

Once David Foster took over as producer with 16 & 17 and Peter Cetera left I really couldn't get into their later albums. It became really pop & adult contemporary instead of the blues based rock that it was up until 1978 and kind of a funk disco rock until 1982. I am also a big fan of EWF & Tower of Power so I did not mind the shift into more funk & disco then.

That's my opinion though, and others may disagree. My favorite albums are III, V, Hot Streets, XIII and XIV.

[WinkyDink]

2. Hated 3, so I stopped cold right there. Yet I adore James Pankow!

[mike in raleigh]

3. Liked them up to Chicago VII

I really think they should have disbanded after Terry Kath's death, like Led Zep did after Bonham. They just weren't the same after.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

4. I was on board through VI, maybe VII.

Just glanced at the album covers and I'm pretty sure VI is the last one I actually bought.
Favorite was always the Carnegie Hall album.

[LanternWaste]

5. The LPs through 1978 featuring Terry Kath on guitar.

The LPs through 1978 featuring Terry Kath on guitar. From where I sit, he was the heart, soul and grit of Chicago. Even up to Chicago X, though they'd become a ballad-band by then, Kath was still illustrating creative composition and guitar styles (e.g., Once or Twice from X).