Street Player: My Chicago Story by Danny Seraphine

Next to the Beach Boys, Chicago is the top selling American rock group with well over 100 million albums sold worldwide.  While a couple of books have been written about them over the years, many of those books had to pass the muster of the band and thus the portrayal of the band's history was rose-colored at best and revisionist at worst.  Depending on what history you've read of this band and when the roles of different band members were either substantial or inconsequential.  Finally having a book written by a founding former member, a disgruntled one at that, is long overdue and something many fans have been waiting for!

I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Seraphine via e-mail about 13 years ago.  At the time he was living a self-imposed exile in Colorado after his acrimonious split from the band in 1990.  He struck me as still smarting from the wounds of his departure from the band, understandably so, and it's only been within the past four years or so that he's returned to the music scene with his new band, California Transit Authority.

Chicago was featured in a VH1 Behind the Music special in 2000 that focused primarily on the untimely accidental death of guitarist Terry Kath and the departure of Peter Cetera.  Danny was included in that special and his comments regarding his former bandmates more than hinted at his continued hostility.

That being said, I'm really looking forward to this book as it touches on a lot of the behind the scenes stories about Terry's death, rubbing elbows with rock greats like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, rumors of the band's ties to the mob, and even the story behind Seraphine's own acrimonious departure from the band.

If you're looking for a good rock and roll autobiography to add to your Christmas Wish List this may be it!

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Is it better to burn out or fade away?

There's a scene in the film High Fidelity where Barry (played by Jack Black) asks Rob (played by John Cusack) if the latter day "sins" of a musician nullify their earlier career achievements/succeses.  He was referring specifically to Stevie Wonder asking if a musical atrocity like I Just Called to Say I Love You suddenly made null and void the brilliance of material like Songs in the Key of Life. That's just an example of course... With that in mind what do you feel are some of the most egregious musical offenses of great bands?

Here are some of the more profoundly putrid musical atrocities perpetrated on the public by some of rock's most preferred performers:

Emerson Lake & Palmer - Love Beach 
How could they do this to us?!  How could the same group that gave us such brilliant albums as Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery inflict this fetid festering pile of musical dung upon us?  And please don't feed me a line about "contractual obligations" as there are other ways to get around that than to scar the eardrums of their fans and leave such a fecal stain on their otherwise brilliant legacy.

Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4 (1986)
I actually heard THIS version first.  Having never heard the original version up to that point.  I kind of liked it.  Then I heard the original and it begged the question, "Huh?"  Meaning, "How the hell could they do this to themselves?"  David Foster resurrected Chicago from their abysmally bad late 70s material and gave them a renaissance of sorts with Chicago 16 and 17... And then Peter Cetera leaves, Foster sticks around for one more album and I've heard that this remake was actually HIS idea...  If it ain't broke... don't fix it.  The only good thing I'll say about this remake is that it's better suited to Peter's replacement, Jason Scheff's voice than the original.  If I have to hear Jason Scheff sing 25 or 6 to 4 I'd much rather hear him sing this remake than try to sing the original. 

Blood Sweat & Tears - Sympathy For the Devil
It takes stones to cover the Stones and cover them well.  David Clayton-Thomas & Co. did not have said stones to pull it off.  The greatest mistake BS&T ever made was firing Al Kooper and replacing him with David Clayton-Thomas.  While they briefly recaptured the brilliance of Child Is Father to the Man with their self-titled follow-up subsequent albums showed what a mistake DCT was... And nothing put it on display more than BS&T's abysmal cover of Sympathy for the Devil.

The Who - Live @ the Super Bowl
Some musicians age well, some actually even get better with age.  Pete can still play a mean guitar but as much as I love The Who's early catalog, Daltrey's voice is now shot.  Please please please don't tarnish my memories of how great Roger once sounded by making me listen to how poor he sounds today by comparison.  Not to mention, to me it's just not The Who any more without John and Keith.

Styx - Cyclorama
Styx put out a halfway decent album in 1999, Brave New World.  I'd argue that it hearkens back to their pre-Kilroy Was Here days.  Then Dennis DeYoung was forced out/fired/let go/whatever.  In 2003 with Tommy Shaw steering the Styx ship and DeYoung replaced by Lawrence Gowan they released this flat, bland, uninspired piece of crap-- Cyclorama.  I gave it a chance, I really did but it was unoffensive and boring.  Without DeYoung's contributions the only thing this album excelled at was its own mediocrity.

Chicago XIII
I know Chicago already made the list once, but this album deserves at least a dishonourable mention.  This was Chicago's foray into disco just as it was coming OUT of vogue.  The only shining star on this album is guest trumpeter, Maynard Ferguson's killer trumpet work on Street Player.  The band was a generally coked up mess still coping with the death of guitarist Terry Kath.  And while he performed at least respectably on Hot Streets (aka XII), guitarist Donnie Dacus was at best a disappointment and at worst a downright embarassment on XIII.  This was Chicago's rock bottom. 

What albums/songs/moments/etc. would make your list?  Do you think when once great bands release real lemons it tarnishes their legacy?  Why or why not?  And to Barry's (Jack Black) corollary question-- is it better to burn out or fade away?