Chicago XXX
| Chicago XXX | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 21, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | Summer 2005 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 52:57 | |||
| Label | Rhino | |||
| Producer | Jay DeMarcus | |||
| Chicago chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Chicago XXX | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
Chicago XXX is the twentieth studio album, and thirtieth album overall, by the American band Chicago, released on March 21, 2006. It was Chicago's first album of entirely new material since 1991's Twenty 1, while its gap of eight years from 1998's Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album marks the longest between two of the band's studio albums to date.
Background
The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with horn sessions in Los Angeles, California over the summer of 2005. Production duties were handled by Jay DeMarcus of the country group Rascal Flatts, who came to the project through a friendship with Chicago's bassist-singer Jason Scheff. DeMarcus used several session players for the album.
Chicago XXX peaked at number 41 in the US during a brief chart stay, spawning minor hits "Feel" and "Love Will Come Back." This would be the last new studio album with long-time vocalist and keyboardist Bill Champlin before his departure in 2009 (while he appeared on the band's following album Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus in 2008, that album consisted of recordings produced in 1993).
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Feel" (Hot single mix) | Danny Orton, Blair Daly | Robert Lamm | 4:01 |
| 2. | "King of Might Have Been" | Greg Barnhill, Jason Scheff, Dennis Matkosky | Jason Scheff | 3:52 |
| 3. | "Caroline" | Scheff, Chas Sandford | Champlin/Scheff | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Why Can't We" | Bill Champlin, Jay DeMarcus, Scheff, Sandford | Champlin/Shelly Fairchild | 4:07 |
| 5. | "Love Will Come Back" (featuring Rascal Flatts) | Scheff, DeMarcus, Sandford | Scheff/Gary LeVox/Jay DeMarcus/Champlin/Joe Don Rooney | 3:48 |
| 6. | "Long Lost Friend" | Scheff, DeMarcus, Brett James | Scheff | 4:33 |
| 7. | "90 Degrees and Freezing" | Lamm, Scheff, DeMarcus, James | Lamm/Scheff | 3:52 |
| 8. | "Where Were You" | Scheff, Champlin, DeMarcus | Scheff/Champlin | 4:17 |
| 9. | "Already Gone" | Champlin, George Hawkins Jr. | Champlin/Scheff | 6:51 |
| 10. | "Come to Me, Do" | Lamm | Lamm | 4:36 |
| 11. | "Lovin' Chains" | DeMarcus, Marcus Hummon | Champlin/Scheff | 3:56 |
| 12. | "Better" | Champlin, Sandford | Champlin | 4:41 |
| 13. | "Feel" (Horn section mix) | Orton, Daly | Lamm | 4:30 |
Personnel
Chicago
- Robert Lamm – vocals, acoustic piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond B3 organ, horn arrangements (10)
- Lee Loughnane – trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet
- James Pankow – trombone, horn arrangements (2–9, 11–13)
- Walt Parazaider – saxophones, flutes
- Bill Champlin – vocals, Hammond B3 organ, acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, BGV arrangements
- Jason Scheff – vocals, bass, BGV arrangements
- Tris Imboden – drums (1, 5, 7–13)
- Keith Howland – guitars
Additional musicians
- Jay DeMarcus – keyboards, guitars, loops, programming, acoustic piano (2), arrangements
- James Matchack – keyboards, loops, sequencing, arrangements
- Tom Bukovac – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Dann Huff – guitars (3–5, 7, 9, 11)
- Jack Kincaid – guitars (6)
- Yankton Mingua – guitars (6)
- Dean DeLeo – guitars (12)
- John Brockman – drums (2, 6)
- Steve Brewster – drums (3, 4)
- Lee Thornburg – trumpet
- Joseph Williams – additional backing vocals (2)
- Bobby Kimball – additional backing vocals (3)
- Shelly Fairchild – lead vocal (4)
- Rascal Flatts (Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney) – guest vocals (5)
Production
- Produced by Jay DeMarcus
- Production Coordinator – Mike "Frog" Griffith
- Recorded by Jeff Balding, Ben Fowler, James Matchack, Sean Neff and Chas Sanford.
- Assistant Engineers – David Fricks, Jay Goin, Jed Hackett, Jody Sappington, Aaron Walk and Tony Zeller.
- Tracks #1, 2 & 7–13 mixed by Jeff Balding, assisted by Jed Hackett.
- Tracks #3–6 mixed by James Matchack
- Digital Editing – Jed Hackett and Sean Neff
- Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME).
- Photography by Jimmy Katz and Hugh Brown, assisted by Andy Strauss.
- Design by Hugh Brown, assisted by Andy Strauss.
Charts
Album - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Billboard 200 | 41 |
Singles - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Feel" | Adult Contemporary | 19 |
| 2006 | "Love Will Come Back" | Adult Contemporary | 21 |
