CHICAGO

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11. Closer To You ^4'54

(Donnie Dacus / Stephen Stills / Warner Schwebke)

Lead Vocal by Donnie Dacus

COLUMBIA Single #1-1 1061 (8/79)

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12. Street Player (Alternate Mix) ^8'44

(Danny Seraphine / David Wolinski)

Lead Vocal by Peter Cetera

COLUMBIA [12"] Single #43-11 138 (I 1/79)

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Total Time: 60:45

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Robert Lamm - Keyboards, Vocals, Percussion

James Pankow - Trombone, Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion

Peter Cetera - Bass, Vocals

Lee Loughnane - Trumpet, Vocals

Walter Parazaider - Woodwinds

Danny Seraphine - Drums, Percussion

Donnie Dacus - Guitar

Laudir Soares De Oliveria - Percussion

With Guest Appearances by:

Maynard Ferguson, Courtesy of CBS: Trumpet on "Street Player"

Airto Moreira, Courtesy of WARNER Bros RECORDS Inc.: Percussion on "Street Player," "Paradise Alley," "Life Is What It Is" & "Run Away"

David "Hawk" Wolinski, courtesy of Mrs. WOLINSKI and MCA RECORDS, Inc.: Synthesizer on "Street Player"

Produced by Phil Ramone and CHICAGO®
Jim Boyer - Engineer
Michele Slagter - Production Assistant
Nick Blagona - Engineering Associate
Robbie Whelan and Roger Ginsley at Le STUDIO, Montreal, Canada - Engineering Associates
John Beverly Jones at A&M STUDIOS, Los Angeles, CA - Engineering Associates
Peter Lewis and Brad Leigh at A&R STUDIOS, New York, New York - Engineering Associates
Assistants to CHICAGO - Don Johnson, Ken Jones

This Reissue:
A&P / Project Supervision: Lee Loughnane, Jeff Macid, David McLees &
Gary Peterson Remastering: David Donnelly at DNA MASTERING, Studio City, CA Product Manager: MIKE ENCSTROM Editorial Supervision: CORY FRYE Art Direction: MARIA VILLAR Design: VALERIE VALERA Project Assistance: Bob O'Neill, Tim Scanlin, Steve Woolard & Steven Chean

Personal Management:

Jeff S. WALD ASSOCIATES, Beverly Hills, CA

Jack E. Goudie

Special Thanks To:

Les Kaufman

Ken Kleinberg

Terry Powell

Schatzi Hageman

Yael Brandeis

Andre Perry

Lorraine Cordeau.

Cover Envisioned by Tony Lane
Art Direction & Painting and Painted by Gary Meyer in the grand tradition of John Berg
Back Cover and Sleeve Photography by Gary Heery
positively influenced by Danny Seraphine

Mastered at STERLING SOUND by Ted Jensen
Remixed on NECAM and M.E.S.M.
Recorded at Le STUDIO, Montreal, Canada, and A&M RECORDING, Los Angeles, CA
Mixed at A&R RECORDING, New York, New York

CHICAGO and are Marks owned by CHICAGO MUSIC, Inc.

These Marks are Registered in the U.S. PATENT OFFICE, and in foreign countries, and licensed for use to WARNER STRATEGIC MARKETING, Inc.

NOTE:This album was Originally issued as COLUMBIA #FC-36I05 (8/79); LPs #2/. Numbers in italics (following Original release information) denote peak positions attained by singles on Sillboard's "Hot 100" and "Adult Contemporary" charts, respectively, and by this album on the "Top LP's & Tapes" chart - courtesy BPI Communications and Joel Whitburn's Record Research Publicaoons.

Chart Information:

Sept. '79 - Chicago 13 - Street Player - Aug. '79 Chart Position 21

Aug. '79 - Must Have Been Crazy / Closer To You - Chart Position 83

For CHICAGO, life at the end of the 70s was like a Dickens novel: the best of times and the worst of times.

The good times came in the form of Hot Streets, the band's 12th album. Released in late 1978, it reached #12 on the U.S. billboard Pop Album chart and featured two Top 20 Pop singles. Not only was it a commercial success, but it also seemed to prove that the octet had rebounded from the tragic loss of singer/guitarist/founding member Terry Kath, who had died that past January after accidentally shooting himself in the head. But as the group arrived in Canada to record Chicago 13, with producer Phil Ramone, the success of Hot Streets couldn't mask the pain

"At that point I think there was a lack of focus for us", admits sax player Walt Parazaider. Adds trombonist James Pankow:"lt was an album that represented a growing pain thing for us. We were still getting our sea legs back after losing Terry, and I think we were in flux musically and in terms of our identity". They weren't alone. Popular music as a whole was in flux. Disco was clinging to life two years after Saturday Night Fever, and the charts were still filled with dance tunes like Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and Donna Summer's "Bad Girls". Even veteran rocker Rod Stewart had gone to the other side with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Meanwhile, punk and new wave were starting to capture critical acclaim, thanks to talents like the Ramones and Elvis Costello. "The country was coming out of the disco era, trying to find something new, and we were hoping to survive", says trumpet player Lee Loughnane."We seemed like the tortoise after years of being the hare. It was kind of our 'What Do We Do Now?' period". This time of transition affected the group internally as well, with questions regarding new vocalist and guitarist Donnie Dacus, who had stepped in for the departed Kath on Hot Streets. As CHICAGO began work on the follow-up LP, it became apparent that this new relationship just wasn't clicking. Although he made it through the sessions, Dacus would leave soon after the album's release. The band members did have some sympathy for the man, who had previously worked in Stephen Stills' band. He'd been given an almost impossible task: replace a best friend and founding member of one of the world's most successful recording acts. "We all try to work hard at our stage presence, but it didn't seem like he had the same understanding the rest of us had," says Parazaider."And how could he? He came after the rest of us had been together for 13 years." With all this uncertainty in the air, CHICAGO brought back Hot Streets producer Phil Ramone. "It was important to have him, because we knew him from our previous project", says vocalist and keyboardist Robert Lamm. "But I think we overwhelmed him. I don't think he was prepared to be the firm dictator it would take to be our producer at the time". According to Parazaider, Ramone's well-intentioned desire to "get everyone's songs on the record and not hurt anyone's feelings" was a good idea, but ultimately it contributed to the lack of focus they all felt in the studio. Still, CHICAGO was trying to stay on track when it came to packaging the new album. On Hot Streets they had departed from the twin traditions of numbered titles and no band shots on the cover. But, as Loughnane explains, "After we used our faces on Hot Streets, they did a survey, and the results came back that people wanted to see the logo on the cover again.The logo is like a household symbol that shows who we were.We went back to it, and we've stayed with it ever since". By the time the record was released in August 1979, the number 13 didn't seem to be so unlucky, once the band heard the finished product. It may have been hard to concentrate during the recording, but the music that eventually made its way onto vinyl was a diverse collection of intriguing tunes. The most talked-about track was the opener, drummer Daniel Seraphine's "Street Player", CHICAGO's first and last foray into disco. Jazz legend Maynard Ferguson contributes a trumpet riff. "It was our answer to disco", says Parazaider. "Anything we usually did came about because we were listening to current music and wanted to show how it affected us. And there were parts of disco that we liked". Other tracks include the Dacus-penned "Must Have Been Crazy" and "Window Dreamin'", a ruminative Parazaider/Loughnane collaboration that the former cryptically describes as "a thought I had at the time about some different things". "Paradise Alley" was originally slated for the 1978 Sylvester Stallone motion picture of the same name. Both Lamm and the band's new manager, Jeff Wald, were friends with the actor, which resulted in the discussions about the first and only time the band ever wrote a song for a film. "He was an admirer of Terry Kath's singing and had asked me to write a song for his movie", says Lamm. "Ultimately, he didn't use it and told me later he wished he had". Next up is "Aloha Mama", praised by Loughnane for "the muted trumpet that starts it out. It's a funky little tune, one that I don't think anyone liked as well as I did". Two of Chicago 13's songs—"Mama Take" and "Loser With A Broken Heart" — were written by Peter Cetera, who was really emerging as a creative force."He was writing more, and hits like'lfYou Leave Me Now,' from Chicago X, had given him more impetus", says Lamm. "This provided a change of texture within the band, which in a way was another problem". In other words, the songwriting wealth had to be spread around even more; styles on a CHICAGO record would continue to have a little something for everyone. Chicago 13 went gold, but sales were disappointing compared to the band's previous releases. "With Hot Streets it was like.'Geez, we've got another platinum album!' but the feeling was bittersweet", Parazaider recalls. "We'd lost somebody very important to us and were still dealing with that.Then there was the disappointment of going only gold on 13. Nothing could have affected us and been any more debilitating. We were disappointed, but at the same time figured we'd pick ourselves up and move on. It was a music lesson and a life lesson." From that standpoint, Chicago 13 is a valuable part of the CHICAGO catalog; it was the record on which the band learned to produce under pressure. Simply getting it out during a difficult time was proof that this was truly a band, not just a collection of guys making music together. Despite all the distractions from both the outside world and within their own, CHICAGO still managed to create some vintage songs. From the lively rhythms of "Street Player" to the bluesy groove of "Aloha Mama" to the melancholy mood of "Loser With A Broken Heart," this was as diverse a record as the band ever recorded. Pankow quite appropriately considers Chicago 13 a success in that it was "a bridge from Hot Streets to what would eventually come next.
— Craig Tomashoff

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1. Street Player

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I'll never forget those aimless years
Street sounds swirling through my mind
Trouble was often in the air
So we fought to forget our despair

I'm a street player
And I'll play you a song
'Cause you know, my heart & soul
Will carry, carry on
Carry on
Carry on
Carry on

City life's the only way
Street corners and billiard halls was our home away
Lessons learned still help me today

I'm a street player
I've seen it all
Hitmen, thieves and many a brawl
But as you see I still stand tall

It was such a small space in time
I never knew that I would find
A musical path for all to see
Anxiety into ecstacy

I'm a street player
I'm a street player
I'm a street player
I'm a street player

I'm a street player
I've seen it all
Hitmen, thieves and many a brawl
But as you see I still stand tall

It was such a small space in time
I never knew that I would find
A musical path for all to see
Anxiety into ecstacy

I'm a street player
I'm a street player
I'm a street player
I'm a street player

2. Mama Take

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On the road
But I won't be gone too long
Babe, I'm leavin' you tomorrow

On my way
And you know you make me strong
I'll be thinking 'bout you
all night long

(Chorus)

Mama take just a little bit
Mama take just a little bit
Mama take just a little bit from my heart
Mama shake just a little bit
Mama brake just a little bit
Mama take just a little bit from my heart

All alone
And, I'm feelin' down today
Won't let nothin' come between us

Say the words
And the words are meant to say
I'll be thinkin' about you everyday

Mama take just a little bit
Mama take just a little bit
Mama take just a little bit from my heart, oh, oh
Mama shake just a little bit
Mama brake just a little bit
Mama take just a little bit from my heart
From my heart

I believe that we belong beyond a doubt
If we have a change of heart
We can always change our mind
And I know we'll work it out
I can see that it's the only way to go
It's the only chance I get
It's the only way you'll know
That I love to love you

Mighty love
Gettin' hard to find today
I believe in you forever
Say thhe words
And the words are meant to say
I'll be thinkin' about you everyday

(Repeat Chorus)

3. Must Have Been Crazy

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She's fine, so fine
And I think I'm going to lose my mind
So high, so high,
You know you make me want to
Scream and shout
Well, you know I'm like a fool
Who's just got to have a reason
You know that I've found mine

Must have been crazy
Must have been crazy, yeah
Must have been crazy
To have done this so long

This time, it's time
Every singer's got to sing his song
So fine, it's fine
You know you make me want to
Sing along
'Cause you know I'm not a fool
Got to find a piece of heaven
You know that I found mine

Must have been crazy
Must have been crazy, yeah
Must have been crazy
To have done this so long

'Cause you know I'm not a fool
Got to find a piece of heaven
You know that I found mine

Must have been crazy
Must have been crazy, yeah
Must have been crazy
To have done this so long

4. Window Dreamin'

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Lookin' out by my window,
Thinking 'bout you all the time,
Wish you were here with me
Right here by my side,
'Cause I'm window, window dreamin'
'Cause I'm window, window dreamin'

Every time I find myself on the road
Miss you holdin' me tight
Flop down in my easy chair,
Makes me feel alright
'Cause I'm window, window dreamin'
'Cause I'm window, window dreamin'

(Bridge)

Gigs are fun, when they're done,
Feel so down, act like a clown,
Company's great, but when it's late,
I'm lookin' for the phone
I feel so alone--so alone

Knowin' the way we both feel,
O know you're always gonna be my friend
Dig, your face, Lord, it's real
Someday I'm never gonna go again,
'Cause I'm window, window dreamin'
'Cause I'm window, window dreamin'

(Bridge)

Gigs are fun, when they're done,
Feel so down, act like a clown,
Company's great, but when it's late,
I'm lookin' for the phone
I feel so alone --
So all alone

5. Paradise Alley

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Come on in, have a look around
Hang your hat and find a chair
The pretty women smile at you
The party's just beginning
There's music everywhere
Paradise alley
Paradise alley
Paradise alley

Brothers got to stick together here
Fight with one, you fight with three
The family blood is thick as mud
Day to day the world keeps spinning
Paradise alley
Paradise alley
Paradise alley

It reminds you of who you used to be
And who you are, and who you'll always be
It finds you in pursuit of dreams
And hopeless schemes
Life is richer than it seems

Nothing like being in a woman's arms
The one you love, the one you want
There's one small problem, who can she be
I feel like winning her in paradise alley
Paradise alley
Paradise alley

I'm gonna take you there
Paradise alley
Paradise alley
I'm gonna take you there
Take you to the paradise

6. Aloha Mama

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Aloha mama don't go away
Aloha mama I want you to stay

Aloha mama won't you treat me right
I need you tender woman won't you hold me tight
Surfridin' sister I wanna taste your love
Le's make it in the garden beneath the stars above

Aloha mama don't go away
Aloha mama I want you to stay

Aloha mama have you got the cure
My heart's all broken and I feel unsure
Surfridin' sister I got to fly away
I'll be back in September that's the price I pay

Aloha mama don't go away
Aloha mama I want you to stay

Can't you feel the tradewinds blowin'
There's a look in your eyes you're goin'
Don't leave me now I'm a hurtin'
If you'd look in my eyes you'd see hunger arise
Can't you feel all these years I've been cryin' these years

Aloha mama don't go away
Aloha mama I want you to stay

Aloha mama don't make me cry
Aloha mama you know I'l die

Aloha mama don't go away
Aloha mama I want you to stay

7. Reruns

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We've been through it all before
But you brought it up once more
I let you down, you can't forget it
You forgave me
You won't let it fade away

I will not discuss the past
Life goes by us much too fast
To look behind and dwell on trouble
Someday it could
Burst our bubble by and by

All we have together
Would be lost unless we try
Make the most of each day
And to let our feelings fly

We've been through it all before
But you brought it up once more
I let you down, you can't forget it
You forgave me
You won't let it fade away

Put it all behind us
Will I always have to pay
Something I'm not proud of
Is there nothing I can say

I know you are angry
I know you're for real
I know how much I hurt you darling
That's the way you feel

I will not discuss the past
Life goes by us much too fast
To look behind and dwell on trouble
Someday it could
Burst our bubble by and by

Put it all behind us
Will I always have to pay
Something I'm not proud of
Is there nothing I can say

All we have together
Would be lost unless we try
Make the most of each day
And to let our feelings fly

8. Loser With A Broken Heart

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Many miles of memories
Many tears I can't forget
But I know you live inside me yet

Oh
Many hours to contemplate
Many dreams I can't recall
Many nights I've felt I was too small

Nothing more than a loser with a broken heart, yea
Nothing more than a loser with a broken heart, yea

It's a hard and bitter world
When you face reality
And it's hard to be who you want to be
Oh

Many miles of memories
Catch the wind and blow away
But I know that it's over, over anyway
Oh

But tonight I sit and wonder why
You left me here
After all this time I don't know why
You left me here
If it's all behind me
You know you'll find me
Oh

Nothing more than a loser with a broken heart, yea
Nothing more than a loser with a broken heart, oh yea

But tonight I sit and wonder why
You left me here
After all this time I wonder why
Wonder why
You left me here
If it's all behind me
You know you'll find me

Nothing more than a loser with a broken heart, yea
Nothing more than a loser with a broken heart, oh yea
I'm a loser
I'm a loser
I'm a loser
I'm a loser

9. Life Is What It Is

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Why do we have to go and face the same routine
And the traffic jams and crowded street's a real
Neurotic scene
I don't know, why do we take it each day, yeah

Why does my girl tell me she's got to
Have her way
Out all night, come home to fight
What am I to say
I don't know, why do we take it each day

Life is what it is
Who wants to try not to believe
That's the way it is

Oh, oh
I don't know why what you feel inside
Days go on
Love is something that you just can't hide
If it's wrong
Then you'll want to know, you don't know why
I sing a song
And it helps me yet I'll get by

At times
Lost in time sometimes your mind unwinds
Sun does shine
But no pleasure from your beauty's mine
Like champagne wine
A bitter taste that's so refined
Life it's fine
You always pay for what's behind

Why do I have to go and face the same routine
And the traffic jams and crowded street's a real
Neurotic scene
I don't know, why do we take it each day, yeah

Life is what it is
Who wants to try not to believe
That's the way it is

10. Run Away

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Run away
Leave all your worries behind you
Run away
Run for your life never turn back
Run away
Run from the wrong that surrounds you
Run away
Run like a fool and you just might make it

Chorus

And soon you will be
Right ware you wanna be
Free to live the way you want to
And soon you will find
Just what you're lookin' for
All the good times you never, never knew

Run away
Follow the voice deep inside you
Run away
Follow the sun, find a new life
Run away
Run from the lies that destroy you
Run away
Run like a fool and you just might make it

Chorus II

And soon you will be
Right ware you wanna be
Free to live the way you want to
And soon, I said soon, you will find
Just what you're lookin' for
All the good times you never, never knew

Run away
Run away

Run away
Run away

Run away
Run away

11. Closer To You

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Have you seen
The ladies passing by
They don't seem to notice
That I'm lonesome and I cry
But soon they'll listen
I can tell you, tell you why
Gonna make a record
Gonna go sky high

I just wanna be closer to you
I just wanna see if you can be moved
I don't wanna be a fool for you
Or be alone

Going to the city
All the hustlers in the street
Can't you imagine where
This country boy's head might be
Bright lights are shining
I can see in front of me
At night clockwork deception
Won't save or set us free

I just wanna be closer to you
I just wanna see if you can be moved
I don't wanna be a fool for you
Or be alone

Gonna tour the country
Gonna play for all my friends
Such a positive action
I've got energy to lend
So come on down, we're cookin'
Let the rhythm get you high
Bring all the ladies
Tell them why, why, why

I just wanna be closer to you
I just wanna see if you can be moved
I don't wanna be a fool for you
Or be alone

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