Notes & Personnel Info |  | Chicago: Bill Champlin (guitar, keyboards); Keith Howland (guitar, background vocals); Walter Parazaider (woodwinds); Robert Lamm (keyboards); Jason Scheff (electric bass); James Pankow, Lee Loughnane, Tris Imboden. | | Personnel: Jay DeMarcus (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, programming); Bill Champlin (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Robert Lamm (vocals, piano, Wurlitzer organ); Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney, Jason Scheff, Shelly Fairchild (vocals); Dan Huff, Dean DeLeo, Yankton Mingua, Keith Howland (guitar); Tom Bukovac (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Walter Parazaider (flute, saxophone); Lee Loughnane (trumpet, piccolo trumpet, flugelhorn); Lee Thornberg (trumpet); James Pankow (trombone); James Matchack (keyboards); John Brockman, Tris Imboden, Steve Brewster (drums); Joseph "Gospel Joe" Williams, Bobby Kimball (background vocals). | | Additional personnel: Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney, Jay DeMarcus. | | Audio Mixers: James Matchack; Jeff Balding. | | Recording information: Cartee Day Studios, Nashville, TN; Emerald ENtertainment, Nashville, TN; Glenwood Place Studios, Burbank, CA; Secret Sound, Nashville, TN; Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, TN; Studio J, Nashville, TN; Westlake Audio, Hollywood, CA. | | Photographers: Hugh Brown; Jimmy Katz. | | Arrangers: Jay DeMarcus; James Matchack. | | Though often disparaged by music critics, Chicago maintained a consistent output--and sold millions of records in the process--from their first album in 1969 right into the early 2000s. They dabbled variously in rock, jazz, and R&B before settling into smooth, adult-contemporary fare in the 1980s, becoming staples of MOR radio. 2006's XXX is a return to that MOR sound, with sweet memorable melodies that recall the band's Peter Cetera-led heyday. | | "King of Might Have Been" is a fine example, finding a place alongside the best of Chicago's mainstream power ballads. "Feel (Hot Single Mix)" traffics a bit in the textures of electronica, but beneath that the sound is, unmistakably, Chicago. The production from Rascal Flatts' member Jay Demarcus is sharp and crisp and brightens the overall sound while showcasing the band's classic elements. XXX is perhaps Chicago's most consistent pop release since 1991's TWENTY 1. |
Producer: Jay DeMarcus; Jay DeMarcus |
Engineer: Jay DeMarcus; Sean Neff; James Matchack; Jeff Balding; Ben Fowler; Chas Sandford |
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