BOOK’S JOOK: Chicago’s “Colour My World” b/w “I’m A Man”

Book’s Jook is a column dedicated to placing a record within my dream jukebox, if I were to have one. The Seeburg jukebox shown below is similar to the one I have wanted since I was a kid. To read more on why I started this column, click here.

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If there is a place where my love of Chicago started, this is one of the first places. I was always told that my Uncle Wayne loved “Colour My World” and that it was one of the easiest songs to play on piano. My next door neighbor had a piano so when I was able to pay a visit, I tried it out. I realized it was very easy and in my mind, I knew how to play the piano. It was about the song that made me like it, from Terry Kath’s sensitive vocals to Walter Parazaizer’s flute solo, that just set it off for me.

This pressing is notable because it’s part of Columbia Records’ Hall Of Fame series, which was a part of their “Oldies But Goodies” series where music fans could have the hits “back to back”, or have two older hits on the same record. There was a special section near the regular 45’s where you could specifically buy the older material, and it seemed like a bargain because you were getting two popular sons on one 45 opposed to the hit plus “a piece of junk” on the B-side. This was a mentality before I got into collecting and realized the B-side can sometimes be where the true winner is. Anyway, it was a chance to have two Chicago hits on the same record, so I was happy.

The B-side of this record had a solid rocker, and I believe I heard this version of “I’m A Man” before I heard The Spencer Davis Group’s original version of it. While the label listed it simply as Chicago, this was done by Chicago Transit Authority from their debut album, I knew that before I even had the full album because my neighbor had the CTA album plus CHICAGO II. “I’m A Man” was awesome not only because it’s the one Chicago/CTA song sans horn section, but because of the drum break from Daniel Seraphine. I loved how jazzy it was, even though I wasn’t aware at the time of his jazzy roots, it just sounded like something I might’ve heard on one of my uncle’s jazz albums, yet there was something else about his drumming too. As a kid who admired the drums and wanted to play the drums so bad, I’d find myself playing this song over and over and doing air drums to it, properly accurate to the 45 edit on the record. When I bought the CTA album, I realized there was three extra minutes, which means more air drum learning.

The record seemed perfect: delicate ballad on the A-side, mean rocker on the B. At the time, Chicago’s bit hits were “Alive Again” and “No Tell Lover” and I wondered “how come the Chicago on my record sounds better than what’s on the radio?” In time, it would lead me to buy Chicago’s entire U.S. discography, all except Chicago 21. Yet. As I’m wrapping this article up, I was positive that this was my formal introduction to Chicago but I realized that it was not. It’s a respectful introduction but I now know that my parents showed me the yellow brick road with a different Chicago record. I’ll share that title next week Monday.

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SOME STUFFS: Audio Fidelity to release two volume “Legends” CD compilation

Steve Hoffman has released a wide range of CD remasters and compilations that have demanded his expertise, and how he’s handling a new compilation, this one a two volume series in cooperation with Time-Life Music. Called Legends, one volume is called Crank It Up while the other is called Get It On, bringing together 34 of some of the best classic rock ever made, most of which were radio staples back then, as they are now.

A few of these tracks have been remastered by Hoffman before while others are brand new to the scene. The compilations feature music from the likes of Chicago Transit Authority, Grateful Dead, Foghat, Elton John, The Doobie Brothers, Phil Collins, Alice Cooper, Bad Company, T. Rex, Deep Purple, and many more. If you haven’t bought the full album remasters Hoffman has gone recently for some artists, consider these tracks a preview of what you’re missing out on.

Each album will be released on a hybrid SACD, which means they’ll play on standard CD players as they will on Super Audio CD players. All of these were taken from the original master tapes, which means they may be the best you’ll ever hear these songs. Both volumes will hit stores on June 4th.

SOME STUFFS: Chicago Transit Authority’s 1969 set from Fillmore West released by Wolfgang’s Vault

When these gentlemen shot this photo, little did they know they would become one of the soft rock kings of not only the 1970’s, but the 1980’s, at a time when most bands who came up during the same time were long gone. Before they were simply Chicago, they were the Chicago Transit Authority, and they played at a number of colleges and made it through the normal hippie spots, including the Fillmore West. As over 200,000 music fans congregated to Bethel, New York for the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, CTA did a three night stand at the Fillmore West 3000 miles away from August 15-17th (so if any of you ever wondered where Chicago were when Woodstock was happening, now you know.) The band played two sets a night, an early show and a late show, customary for a lot of groups back then. CTA had released their debut album that were becoming staples of freeform FM radio, and their late show set from August 17, 1969 has been widely bootlegged over the years. You can now purchase an official recording of the show from Wolfgang’s Vault, the official site for anything and everything that had to do with Bill Graham‘s venues. Graham was able to have almost every artist documented in his venues, primarily audio but occasionally video. Wolfgang’s Vault have opened up their collection to fans, and now they’re able to hear this CTA set officially, available as MP3’s or in beautiful FLAC (lossless) files.

You can find out about this show by heading to WolfgangsVault.com.

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