Chicago 13
Chicago 13 is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Chicago, released on August 13, 1979 by Columbia Records. Chicago 13 was the band's final release featuring lead guitarist Donnie Dacus, who had followed the late founding member, guitarist Terry Kath. All band members contributed to the songwriting (one of only two albums where this is the case, the other being Chicago VII).
| Chicago 13 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 13, 1979 | |||
| Recorded | May - June 1979 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:59 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Phil Ramone and Chicago | |||
| Chicago chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Record Mirror |  [3] |
Background
After recording sessions in Morin-Heights, Quebec and Hollywood, Chicago 13—which saw the band return to numbering its albums (the first album to use an Arabic numeral in its numbering) and displaying its logo—was released in August 1979, and was preceded by Donnie Dacus's "Must Have Been Crazy" as lead single. Chicago 13 is the first Chicago album to bear no significant hit singles.
Despite negative reviews, Chicago 13 reached No. 21 and went gold, although it was the band's first album to miss the Top 20 and was then the lowest charting release since their debut album. Shortly after the tour to support the album ended, Dacus was fired from the band without explanation.
In 2003, Chicago 13 was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records with a B-Side, featuring Dacus's "Closer to You" (an outtake from the Hot Streets sessions), and the 12-inch single mix of "Street Player" as bonus tracks.
The opening track, the disco-fueled extended jam "Street Player" was also released as a single and hit the R&B singles chart on 12/1/1979 at 91 on the charts. The songs "Street Player" and "Closer to You" had previously been released by other artists: "Street Player" by Rufus, who recorded it before Chicago, and "Closer" by Stephen Stills, though with Donnie Dacus on lead vocals. "Street Player" did eventually reach hit status, being sampled for the 1995 hit "The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)" by The Bucketheads, the 2009 hit "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" by Pitbull and the 2013 remix by dance music producer "Tradelove".[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Street Player" | Daniel Seraphine, David Wolinski | Peter Cetera | 9:11 |
| 2. | "Mama Take" | Cetera | Cetera | 4:14 |
| 3. | "Must Have Been Crazy" | Donnie Dacus | Dacus | 3:26 |
| 4. | "Window Dreamin'" | Walter Parazaider, Lee Loughnane | Cetera | 4:11 |
| 5. | "Paradise Alley" | Robert Lamm | Dacus | 3:39 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Aloha Mama" | Seraphine, Wolinski | Cetera | 4:11 |
| 7. | "Reruns" | Lamm | Lamm | 4:29 |
| 8. | "Loser with a Broken Heart" | Cetera | Cetera | 4:43 |
| 9. | "Life Is What It Is" | Laudir de Oliveira, Marcos Valle | Cetera | 4:37 |
| 10. | "Run Away" | James Pankow | Cetera and Dacus | 4:18 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Closer to You" | Dacus, Stephen Stills, Warner Schwebke | Dacus | 4:54 |
| 12. | "Street Player" (Dance mix) | Seraphine, Wolinski | Cetera | 8:44 |
Personnel
Chicago
- Peter Cetera – bass, lead and backing vocals
- Donnie Dacus – guitars, lead and backing vocals
- Laudir de Oliveira – percussion
- Robert Lamm – keyboards, lead and backing vocals
- Lee Loughnane – trumpet, backing vocals
- James Pankow – trombone, brass arrangements
- Walter Parazaider – woodwinds
- Danny Seraphine – drums
Additional personnel
- P.C. Moblee – lead vocals on "Window Dreamin'" and "Aloha Mama" (Moblee was actually Peter Cetera singing in a lower register. His appearance on the album is credited as "courtesy of the Peter Cetera Vocal Company").
- David "Hawk" Wolinski – synthesizer on "Street Player"
- Airto Moreira – percussion on "Street Player", "Paradise Alley", "Life Is What It Is" and "Run Away"
- Maynard Ferguson – trumpet soloist on "Street Player"
Production
- Produced by Phil Ramone and Chicago
- Production Assistant – Michele Slagter
- Engineered and Mixed by Jim Boyer
- Assistant Engineers – Nick Blagona, Roger Ginsley, John Beverly Jones, Bradshaw Leigh, Peter Lewis and Robbie Whelan.
- Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York City, NY).
- Cover Design Concept – Tony Lane
- Logo Design – Nick Fasciano
- Back Cover and Sleeve Photography – Gary Heery
Charts
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 24 |
| United States (Billboard 200)[6] | 21 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[7] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[8] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- "Chicago brings 'rock with brass' to bear in Sarasota's Van Wezel". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. May 31, 2002. pp. 4, 8. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
- https://www.allmusic.com/album/r33031/review
- Sexton, Paul (October 13, 1979). "Chicago: Street Player". Vol. 26, no. 41. Record Mirror. p. 16.
{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires|magazine=(help) - Beatport, LLC. "Tradelove - Street Player (Club Mix) [LoudBit] :: Beatport". Beatport. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 62. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "Billboard 200: Chicago III". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
- "Canadian album certifications – Chicago – Chicago 13". Music Canada. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- "American album certifications – Chicago – Chicago XIII". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 21, 2023.