Chicago 16 finally gave
Chicago a big hit after a four-year drought, thanks in large part to new producer
David Foster, who steered the
jazz-rock veterans toward a streamlined, crisply produced
pop direction on that 1982 effort. Given that success, it's no surprise that the septet teamed with
Foster again for its next album, 1984's
Chicago 17 (apparently Roman numerals were left behind along with their progressive
jazz-rock). It's also no surprise that
Foster took an even greater control of
17, steering the group further down the
adult contemporary road and pushing
Peter Cetera toward the front of the group, while pushing the horns toward the back. Indeed, it's often possible to not notice the horns on
17; they either fade into the background or meld seamlessly with the synthesizers that are the primary instruments here, providing not just the fabric but foundation of nearly all the arrangements, as synth bass and drum machines replaced the rhythm section. This did not sit well with many longtime fans -- and it may have also caused some tension within the group, since
Cetera left after this album -- but it did make for the biggest hit album in
Chicago's history, going quadruple platinum and peaking at number four on the
Billboard charts. A big reason for its success is the pair of hit
ballads in
"Hard Habit to Break" and
"You're the Inspiration," two big and slick dramatic
ballads that each peaked at number three on the charts and helped set the sound for
adult contemporary pop for the rest of the decade; the likes of
Michael Bolton and
Richard Marx are unimaginable without these songs existing as a blueprint (in fact,
Marx sang backup vocals on
"We Can Stop the Hurtin'" on
17).
Ballads were a big part of
17 -- in fact, these hits and album cuts like
"Remember the Feeling" are among the first power
ballads,
ballads that were given
arena rock flourishes and dramatic arrangements but never took the focus off the melody, so housewives and preteens alike could sing along with them. Power
ballads later became the province of
hair metal bands like
Bon Jovi and
Poison, but
Foster's work with
Chicago on
17 really helped set the stage for them, since he not only gave the
ballads sweeping
rock arrangements, but the harder, punchier tunes here play like
ballads. Even when the band turns up the intensity here --
"Stay the Night" has a spare, rather ominous beat that suggests they were trying for
album-oriented rock;
"Along Comes a Woman" has a stiff drum loop and a hiccupping synth bass that suggests
dance-pop -- the music is still slick, shiny, and soft, music that can appeal to the widest possible audience.
17 did indeed find the widest possible audience, as it ruled radio into late 1985, by which time there were plenty of imitators of
Foster's style. There may have been plenty of imitators -- soon, solo
Cetera was one of them, making music that was indistinguishable from this -- but nobody bettered
Foster, and
Chicago 17 is his piece de resistance, a record that sounded so good it didn't quite matter that some of the material didn't stick as songs; as a production, it was the pinnacle of his craft and one of the best
adult contemporary records of the '80s, perhaps the best of them all. Certainly, it's hard to think of another
adult contemporary album quite as influential within its style as this -- not only did it color the records that followed, but it's hard not to think of
Chicago 17 as the place where
soft rock moved away from the warm, lush sounds that defined the style in the late '70s and early '80s and moved toward the crisp, meticulous, synthesized sound of
adult contemporary pop, for better or worse, depending on your point of view. [
Rhino reissued
Chicago 17 in 2006 with remastered sound and a bonus track:
Robert Lamm's previously unreleased
"Where We Begin."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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