I’ve never really given Chicago too much of a chance. Maybe because I’ve always considered Electric Light Orchestra to be superior in terms of lushly orchestrated pop groups. Or maybe because I’ve always thought jazz-rock fusion was a lot better when it came from the jazz side. But, I’ve been trying to be a better poptimist, and seventies soft rock has been getting the better of me. And, I recently found four Chicago albums for a buck, so you can’t beat that.

But for someone only familiar with their adult contemporary singles, Chicago III comes as a bit of a surprise. Easy pop tunes litter the tracklist, but there are also some harder tunes, like 9 minute opener “Sing a Mean Tune Kid,” which sets a fire under the group. And perhaps no one feels the heat more than guitarist Terry Kath, who runs for his life up and down the fretboard. The other surprise is the side 2 Travel Suite, which is wonderfully diverse yet remains cohesive. The suite mixes pleasant pop ballads with ambitious instrumental passages and fiercely played rock songs.
And such is the gist of Chicago III as a whole. Styles are tried on and torn off track by each track, the album admiring itself in the mirror with each piece. And surprisingly, it hits (much) more than it misses.