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Stone of Sisyphus (XXXII)

Chicago

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Album Review

Recorded in 1993, Stone of Sisyphus didn't appear as scheduled in 1994 due to Chicago's record label, Warner, believing the album to be too uncommercial. As it often happens with unreleased records by major acts, a legend built up around the scrapped record, at least among devoted Chicago fans, the kind who would appreciate the musical stretching found on Stone of Sisyphus. Frankly, they may be the only group to appreciate the departures on Stone of Sisyphus, as it's a curious creature — a splashy, expensive mainstream album that's restless yet not quite experimental but entirely devoid of pop songs. If this had been the Chicago of the early '70s, who specialized in ten-minute jazz-rock songs on their series of double albums, perhaps it would have been easier for the label to accept the variety of sounds here, but this was a Chicago coming out of five years of big placid adult contemporary hits — songs that courted an audience that would bristle at the stiff funk of "Mah-Jong" or the Jordanaires singing harmonies on the airy "Bigger Than Elvis." Surely, any listener would shudder at "Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed," an absurd socially conscious rap track by Robert Lamm that almost certainly was the final nail in the coffin for Warner, as it's hard to imagine any audience that would find this appealing. "Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed" also goes a long way toward illustrating just how odd Stone of Sisyphus is: it's tame compared to any other record from 1993-1994, but judged alongside Chicago's other albums it's flat-out bizarre, the sound of a group desperate for a departure in the wake of a flop (1991's Chicago Twenty 1), so the bandmembers will try anything different within the confines of their sound. This means not abandoning the pristine productions — this time courtesy of Peter Wolf, not the guy from J. Geils — but it does mean leaving melody behind, switching up song constructions, getting a little jazzy again, and indulging a social consciousness, all things that reward the patience of loyal listeners and bewilder anybody else.

Customer Reviews

Good, but not revolutionary

This album, rejected by the band's label in 1993 and technically on the shelf ever since, has achieved almost (pardon the pun) mythical status, thanks to ample bootleg recordings and free downloads available on the Internet. Chicagophiles have long argued that the band simultaneously returned to its roots and tried innovative new sounds on this LP, leading label execs to dismiss the record as not being "Chicago" enough. (One suspects they were looking for another "Look Away" or "You're the Inspration.") But the songs themselves don't support the myth, at least not consistently. The title track, as well as "All the Years," "The Pull" and "The Show Must Go On," could have come from almost any Chicago album between "Hot Streets" and "21." Same with the ballads -- "Let's Take a Lifetime and "Here with Me" are as slightly cheesy and melancholy as anything off of "16" or "17," and the autobiographical "Bigger Than Elvis" -- arguably the album's most emotionally resonant number, thanks to the backstory involving bassist/songwriter Jason Scheff and his father, Jerry -- is, at least musically, nothing if not an earlier version of "The King of Might Have Been" from "Chicago XXX." The band does take a few risks, with mixed results: "Plaid" is a lyrical and musical home run, with ballsy time signature changes, an enthralling lead vocal from Bill Champlin, and the punchiest horn fills since "Run Away" from "Chicago 13." Scheff's "Mah-Jong" also has a smoky feel not typical of most Chicago tunes, with Champlin's lead vocal again showing the way. But "Cry for the Lost" is filler, "Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed" is a near-disastrous stab at rap by a bunch of middle-aged white guys, and "Get on This" -- a dense, noisy "rocker" with almost indecipherable lyrics -- was so bad it's not even included here, to the betterment of all involved. As a longtime Chicago fan -- and specific to this album, an avid repeat listener of "The Pull" and "Bigger Than Elvis" -- I'm pleased to see the album released, if only for the improved sound quality that comes with a truly mastered recording (my bootleg has some serious sonic flaws). And I hope it finds an audience. But it's not the second, third or 10th coming of Chicago, and it's not legendary. It's just the boys doing more of their solidly musical thing.

The Return of the Rock Back with Horns

When the seven guys formed the band that became Chicago, they had a mandate: create a sound that was a rock band with horns. And they did. Brilliantly. Chicago walked the tightrope between longer pieces and radio-friendly shorter songs. As the hits kept piling up, so, too, did the pressure from the record labels to write singles. When they had their first #1 hit, wouldn’t you know it was a ballad. From then on, for better or worse, Chicago became a ballad band. Sure, the fans knew the truth, but the casual radio audience (and the record executives) knew only one thing. This kind of pressure had side effects. Outside writers were brought in to write a “Chicago ballad.” The horns became less of the fourth vocal component of the band’s sound and was relegated to the background. The composition of the band changed, whether through death or departure. Through it all, Chicago adapted. They made disco records that sounded pretty good. They incorporated the 1980s synth sound. And, as good as those 1980s records were, some folks got the impression that their heart was not in it. Until 1993. After Twenty-1 (1991), Chicago had had enough. They wanted to make a record that *they* wanted to make. And they found a producer, Peter Wolf, who shared their vision. Walt Parazaider recalled that Wolf told him to bring all his woodwinds: all his saxes, flutes, clarinets. In that interview, Walt’s grin was huge. What was also huge was the enthusiasm within the band. You don’t believe me? Just listen. The album that emerged was to be Chicago 22. It had heart and it had soul. And it had a lot of things unexpected. The song “Stone of Sisyphus” kicks the socks off a lot of the material from the 1980s. Sappy love songs have fake emotions but I dare anyone to listen to the song “Bigger Than Elvis” and not get a lump in their throat. You see, Jason Scheff’s dad, Jerry, was the bass player for Elvis. The song is about a young Jason watching TV, seeing his dad, and thinking it was his show. Rock songs: check. Emotional ballads: check. How about funk? Check, with “Mah-Jong” given voice by the blue-eyed soul crooner Bill Champlin. How about rap? That’s right, rap with “Sleeping in the Middle of the Bet Again.” Granted, it ain’t Eminem but it doesn’t sound wrong. It sounds good to say nothing about the lyrics. Lyrics. Remember back in the day when Chicago wrote songs wishing Richard Nixon would quit, the plight of pollution, the burden of war, or the general dilapidated state of America? Well, that’s okay. No one else does, either. They stopped recording those kinds of songs by the mid 70s. Not on SOS. Those kinds of songs came roaring back, with “Cry for the Lost” and “All the Years.” The latter song has a bit of Chicago’s own history throughout the lyrics and, in a bridge section late in the song, a direct link back to their first record. So happy were the guys of Chicago to be making a record they liked that they even penned a song lambasting the modern recording industry. “Plaid” told it like it was for all of us who didn’t know. It was like a shot across the bow that culminated with the iPod and downloadable music. Remember when I wrote that Walt was asked to bring in all his woodwind instruments? You got bass clarinet on this tune. Bass clarinet in a rock song! Can someone say Miles Davis and “Bitches Brew”? When it was all said and done, all recorded and put on tape, the album that was to have been Chicago 22 had it all. They loved it, they were proud of it. They even decided to name the album “Stone of Sisyphus” instead of Chicago 22. It was to have been something different, something special. They were ready to redefine themselves as a rock band. Give you one guess what the suits thought. Upon listening to this CD, the suits knocked Chicago to its knees. The suits shelved the CD because “it didn't sound like Chicago.” I bet these were the suits who thought 16 was Chicago’s first album. When the suits locked the demo tapes in a vault, never to be heard by anyone, some of Chicago’s heart and soul stayed in that vault. The band's reaction was where we are now. In effect, Chicago ceased to be a *rock* band with horns. The bootlegs began filtering out in the mid 1990s. I’ll admit that I acquired one. And I took tremendous joy in playing certain cuts of the album and asking people to guess who was singing. They rarely guessed right. You see, SOS is a unique album. It was an album by eight guys plus their producer making music that they liked. Not the suits. Not even their more recent fans. This was an album that lived and breathed freedom, the freedom they used to have back in the early days. I still consider Chicago’s first two records to be their best. I put SOS at #3. It’s that good. And, with it being a bootleg, I could rarely share it with anyone other than to play songs in the car or at home. I never ever thought I’d get a chance to go to Target and buy an official copy of this monumental album. Next week I can. And I will. And I hope you do, too. Let’s show all those suits that they made a mistake back in 1993. Chicago 22 was the return of the Rock Band With Horns mentality. Chicago 22 may not have burned up the charts but the music was real. It was honest. It had heart. It had soul. Isn’t that what we want from our music anyway?

Chicago's long lost album

Well, I'm sure you've read that this is newly released but recorded in the early 90s and then shelved. It's gained cult status in those years and is trumpeted as a return to form for this progressive acid rock band turned pop outfit. Well, that's not exactly true. There are tons of power ballads on here that are smothered in late 80s-early 90s production. Lots of electric drums and synthesizers. In short, many tracks are overproduced and someone looking for an album that sounds like Chicago in the 60s or 70s won't be pleased (try Robert Lamm's Subtlety and Passion!). That said, there are some more complicated musical passages here, some rockers (albeit 80s hard rock, not 60s classic rock), and some experimentation. You'd think Chicago trying rap would fail miserably, but I love Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed. All the Years is another great tune, showing that Robert Lamm is still the band's best overall songwriter. The non-Lamm songs don't have the best lyrics in the world. They're cliche ridden. Overall, though, it's like a summer movie with explosions: if you're in the mood to just have fun and not overthink it, it IS a lot of fun. Yeah, even the ballads. ;)

Biography

Formed: February 15, 1967 in Chicago, IL

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s

According to Billboard chart statistics, Chicago is second only to the Beach Boys as the most successful American rock band of all time, in terms of both albums and singles. Judged by album sales, as certified by the R.I.A.A., the band does not rank quite so high, but it is still among the Top Ten best-selling U.S. groups ever. If such statements of fact surprise, that's because Chicago has been singularly underrated since the beginning of its long career, both because of its musical ambitions (to...
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