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After listening to Bill Champlin’s latest album No Place Left to Fall, I think I now understand why he left Chicago. Champlin sounds so free and alive on this record. Chicago had become creatively stagnant, releasing only two albums worth of new material in the last twenty years. I’m sure the steady income from touring was nice and all but playing the same set year after year probably took its toll on Champlin. The new album is full of energy and ideas and it’s an absolute joy to listen to. It’s Champlin at his finest, running the full gamut of styles from laidback funk/R&B (Total Control, Tugging at your Sleeve) to acoustic pop (Look Away), gospel (Looking for You) to Chicago-esque ballads (Never Been Afraid, All Along).

The musicianship here is top notch with Champlin on keyboards & Hammond B-3, Bruce Gaitsch on guitar, Billy Ward on drums and George Hawkins Jr. on bass. The standout track for me is “No Place Left to Fall”. It’s tastefully restrained with Champlin and band holding back and keeping things at its bare minimum during the whole track. I love that tension that is built during the song and really serves the track well. It takes a truly mature musician to know not to “play out” on every song.

other favorites include: “Total Control”, “The Truth”, “Looking for You” and “All Along”.

retroGrade: A
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Bill Champlin – No Place Left to Fall
released in the U.S.: August 2009
record label: Dreammakers
official website: BillChamplin.net

TRACKLIST:
1 Total Control (Champlin, Graydon) 05:19
2 Tuggin’ on Your Sleeve (Caruso, Champlin, Champlin) 05:53
3 The Truth (Champlin, Gaitsch) 04:16
4 No Place Left to Fall (Caruso, Champlin, Champlin) 04:10
5 Lover Like That (Champlin) 05:39
6 Lookin’ for You (Champlin, Matkosky) 04:24
7 Never Been Afraid (Carlsson, Champlin) 04:56
8 Angelina (Champlin, Gaitsch, Hawkins) 06:16
9 Look Away (Warren) 06:34
10 I Want You to Stay (Burnett, Gaitsch) 04:51
11 Never Let Go (Carlsson, Champlin) 04:25
12 Stone Cold Hollywood (Champlin) 04:41
13 All Along (Champlin, Gaitsch, Hawkins) 06:41

listen to a sample of “Total Control” via Lala.com

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David Foster recently announced that he’ll be doing a 10-date tour modeled after his popular PBS special (and DVD release) David Foster and Friends. The tour, which kicks off Oct. 21st in Chicago, will feature vocalists Philip Bailey (of Earth, Wind and Fire), Charice, Michael Johns (from American Idol) and Peter Cetera (former lead singer of Chicago). Foster will also be conducting a talent search through the NameDrop website and will be selecting two finalists from each city to perform with him on stage. Winners from each city will then all compete at the final stop of the tour in Vancouver on November 8th.

here are the tour dates:
Wed 10/21/09 Rosemont, IL Rosemont Theatre
Fri 10/23/09 New York, NY WaMu Theater At Madison Square Garden
Sat 10/24/09 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Sun 10/25/09 Boston, MA Agganis Arena at Boston University
Wed 10/28/09 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
Fri 10/30/09 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
Sun 11/01/09 Hollywood, FL Seminole Hard Rock Live
Thu 11/05/09 Universal City, CA Gibson Amph. At Univ. CityWalk
Fri 11/06/09 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose
Sun 11/08/09 General Motors Place, Vancouver, B.C.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

Here’s Peter Cetera performing with David Foster back in 2002:

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After speaking with some friends about Bill Champlin leaving Chicago, I realized that casual fans may not really be aware of how much their vocals are “doctored” in post-production. I tried to explain that Jason Scheff in particular has a tough time covering those Peter Cetera parts when performing those old Chicago classics. With protools plugins like “autotune”, producers/engineers can correct pitch-problems on vocal tracks on recordings and even at live shows, nowadays.

For some reason the producers of the A&E show “Private Sessions” chose not to do any post-production “sweetening” on Chicago’s performance. So this is an eye-opening (and ear-splitting) example of what the band can sound like without any processing done on their vocals – a ton of bum notes. Yes, one could argue that this was just an “off day” for the guys but I’ve seen Chicago several times live and I can attest to frequently hearing Scheff’s off-key vocals. His way of shouting/yodeling through a song can really put a strain on one’s ears. Watch this youtube video of them performing “Hard Habit to Break” to see what I mean.

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There’s a bit of controversy brewing in regards to Bill Champlin’s decision to leave the group Chicago. Even though the official press release seems to indicate that Champlin quit the band to pursue a solo career, some fans believe Champlin was simply forced to leave. Whatever the case may be, Chicago has a huge hole to fill now that Champlin is gone. I can’t imagine Robert Lamm and Jason Scheff being able to take over Champlin’s vocal parts. Lamm simply doesn’t have the vocal range and Scheff’s voice is pretty much shot as it is and hasn’t been singing “in-tune” for years.

My two-cents is that Champlin should have left a long time ago. In my opinion, Chicago, as a band, has been running on fumes for the last decade. They’ve been touring every summer as a nostalgia act and their setlist has been pretty stagnant over the years with no new material to support. The last time I saw Chicago live, Champlin looked absolutely bored out of his mind, playing the same old songs night after night. Yes, I’m sure it’s hard to leave the steady paycheck but still I think it’s a good move on his part. Hopefully he’ll be able to find some success with his new album No Place Left to Fall.

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kudos to Rhino Records and Chicago for finally getting Stone of Sisyphus (XXXII) out to the fans after 15 years in limbo. Back in 1994, Warners/Reprise opted not to release the record stating that it wasn’t marketable at the time. and like most unreleased albums by major artists, the legend surrounding Stone of Sisyphus grew from that point on. Over the years fans clamored for its release, believing it to be a creative milestone for the group. ultimately the album’s backstory overshadowed the actual content. Listening to it now after all these years, Stone of Sisyphus sounds dated and a bit weak from a commercial standpoint. one can see Warners/Reprise’s side of the argument especially with subpar material like “Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed” which features some awful rapping and forgettable ballads like “Let’s Take a Lifetime” and “Here With Me”. also unique to this record is producer Peter Wolf. Wolf’s signature sound is all over this record. Wolf’s recognizable synth patches, mechanical drum & percussion programming and overly compressed sound made Chicago sound more like Starship, Go West or Wang Chung (Wolf’s other productions). overall, the album is a mix of weak material with a few good ones sprinkled here and there. the title track “Stone of Sisyphus” is a strong rocker but again, it sounds more like Starship than Chicago. “Bigger than Elvis” is a nice pretty ballad that was written for Jason Scheff’s dad. ironically the song is ruined by Scheff’s screeching vocals. “The Pull” has a great verse and chorus but unfortunately the awkward bridge in the middle brings the song to a grinding halt. “Plaid” is probably my favorite off the album. the song features a great groove and a fantastic instrumental break. if they just had a couple more like “Plaid” the album would have been so much better.

all the negatives aside, it’s great to see an album like this finally get officially released. not a lot of albums get a second chance like this. Stone of Sisyphus isn’t the long lost masterpiece that legend would have you believe but viewing it as a snapshot of the early nineties version of the group Chicago, it’s a nice document to have.

Stone of Sisyphus (XXXII) Tracklist:
1 Stone of Sisyphus (Bailey, Loughnane) 4:11
2 Bigger Than Elvis (Scheff, Wolf, Wolf) 4:31
3 All the Years (Gaitsch, Lamm) 4:16
4 Mah-Jong (Scheff, Walsh, Zigman) 4:42
5 Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed (Lamm, McCurry) 4:45
6 Let’s Take a Lifetime (Scheff, Walsh, Zigman) 4:56
7 The Pull (Lamm, Scheff, Wolf) 4:17
8 Here with Me (A Candle for the Dark) (Lamm, OConnor, Pankow) 4:11
9 Plaid (Champlin, Lamm, Mathieson) 4:59
10 Cry for the Lost (Champlin, Matkosky) 5:18
11 The Show Must Go On (Champlin, Gaitsch) 5:25
12 Love Is Forever [demo version] (Lamm, Pankow) 4:14
13 Mah-Jong [demo version] (Scheff, Walsh, Zigman) 4:59
14 Let’s Take a Lifetime [demo version] (Scheff, Walsh, Zigman) 4:15
15 Stone of Sisyphus [No Rhythm Loop] (Bailey, Loughnane) 4:35

listen to “Get On This” which didn’t make it on the official release:

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to celebrate Arnel Pineda’s successful debut fronting Journey last night in Chile, I thought I’d put together a mix tape of various songs by legendary rock bands with replacement singers…

- the (New) Cars without Rick Ocasek??? his replacement? why Todd Rundgren of course!! yup, it’s still a head scratcher…: More
..I thought I had kicked, kicked it out of my bloodstream, but there’s nothing I can do…

- Journey with Steve Perry who stepped in for Robert Fleischman: After the Fall
..So now love is gone I can’t go on, love is gone
I want to say Now it’s just too late, waited far too long…

- 80’s supergroup Asia with John Payne filling in for John Wetton: Who Will Stop the Rain
..This problem is insoluble, the answers seem impossible
The logic ceases to exist, emotion is the beat we miss..

- Survivor with Jimi Jamison instead of Dave Bickler: Didn’t Know it was Love
..It felt so easy in the morning sun
When love was in season I was on the run
I was lookin’ for trouble and the thrill of the chase
Love was lookin’ at me eye to eye, face to face…

- a syrupy Chicago ballad without Peter Cetera?? yup, that’s Jason Scheff singing: King of Might Have Been
..What have I done? and why do people run away from what they really want?
She… she was the one, I know it now, just like a blind man
Feels the setting sun...

- Toto with Joseph Williams instead of Fergie Frederiksen (who only lasted one album): Stop Loving You (also featuring Jon Anderson)
..Reflections in my mind, thoughts I can’t define
My heart is racing and the night goes on…

- and finally, nerdy, thick glasses wearing Trevor Horn fronting prog-rock group Yes without Jon Anderson: Tempus Fugit
..Born in the night, she would run like a leopard
That freaks at the sight of a mind close beside herself..

Have a great weekend!!

Time Magazine once proclaimed producer David Foster “the true King of Pop”. and it’s true, Foster is among the most commercially successful producers and composers in popular music. there’s no denying the popularity of Foster-produced hits like Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”, Earth Wind and Fire’s “After the Love Has Gone”, Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry”, Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” and the list goes on and on. but as you can see from his trail of hits, he seems to be fixated on sappy ballads. even Foster’s own solo albums are filled with soft, syrupy ballads. check out Foster’s duet with Olivia Newton-John titled The Best of Me on youtube. wow, now that’s some big 80’s cheeze! and even though he’s got a long list of hit songs and a room full of grammies, that doesn’t necessarily mean Foster’s exempt from flops or from making bad decisions. he’s made a ton of bad choices. come on, his recent stint on reality shows (The Princes of Malibu, Celebrity Duets, Star Tomorrow) weren’t really highlights of his career. and some of the questionable artists he chose to work with in the past include: All-4-One, Color Me Badd, El DeBarge, Night Ranger and oh, remember Voices That Care? i dare you to watch that youtube video without cringing!! …you can’t can you? har, har.

well, here’s another cringe-worthy example. did you know that Foster worked with Paul McCartney in the mid-eighties? yup, they recorded three songs together. one, you may or may not know about, “We Got Married” which appeared on McCartney’s Flowers in the Dirt album after some tweaking/overdubbing by Neil Dorfsman. and sadly, the collaboration really didn’t work. the mid-eighties was a “lost period” for McCartney. he bounced around from producer to producer trying desperately to get his muse back and things really didn’t click for him until 1989 when he released the Flowers in the Dirt album. the Foster-McCartney sessions took place in the fall of 1984 at McCartney’s newly built home studio on his farm in Sussex, England. Foster played keyboards during the session while McCartney handled the bass, and electric guitar. Dave Mattacks came in for drums overdubs and David Gilmour was on hand to overdub the lead guitar in the song “We Got Married”.
listen to the 1984 version of “We Got Married”

the other two songs were titled “Lindiana” and “I Love This House”. the track “I Love This House” sounds VERY dated with Foster’s signature mid-eighties synth-bass sound upfront throughout the track. McCartney’s lyrics are totally inane and unispired. “I Love This House” is just utter crap and they both knew it. the track remained in the vaults until the mid-nineties when it surfaced as a B-side.
listen to “I Love This House”

and as for “Lindiana”… well, there’s not much to say. the song has a nice, easy-going melody but McCartney again ruined it with cringe-tastic lyrics. and as producer of the sessions, Foster should have had the balls to tell McCartney that his material sucked and to go back to his room to work on them some more before putting these embarrassing ditties to tape. but apparently, Mr. “Ballad-supreme” Foster wasn’t “man” enough to criticize Mr. “thumbs-aloft” Macca’s crappy songwriting. “Lindiana” remains unreleased. the general music buying public is safe from Lindiana at least for now.
if you’re a glutton for punishment, you can listen to “Lindiana” right here:

and if your ears start bleeding, you can’t say i didn’t warn you…

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David Foster albums are available at amazon.com.

The Producers Series is where I get to feature the work of a favorite music producer. To kick off the series here on RetroBlog is none other than Peter Wolf. no, not the lead singer of the J. Geils Band. The Peter Wolf responsible (or the one to blame, depending on your point of view) for unleashing Starship’s biggest 80’s hit “We Built This City (on Rock and Roll!!!)” onto the world. back at the height of his popularity as a producer in the mid-eighties, he was behind the recording console for hits like “Nightshift” by the Commodores, “King of Wishful Thinking” by Go West, “On My Own” by Patti Labelle and of course “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” by Wang Chung. OK, OK, so the man is responsible for some cheezy 80’s songs but even so, I like the guy’s sound. he definitely has a signature sound. it’s this sort of slick, ultra clean almost sterile type sound especially with the drums. in the majority of his productions, he ends up playing the keyboards and so you tend to hear the same type of synth sounds on a lot of his recordings. you also often hear backing vocals performed by a pseudo gospel choir which I personally like. Although I enjoy listening to his production work, I’ve noticed that a lot of the bands he worked with in the past are no longer around. hhhmmmmm… could Peter Wolf be a Career Killer?????

I’ll take this time to present some evidence and you be the judge…

1) in 1988 Peter Wolf produced Big Country’s album Peace In Our Time to the surprise of many BC fans. Wolf stamped his signature slick pop sound all over the band’s album and subsequently the band got dropped from the record label.
-Listen to Big Country’s Time for Leaving.

2) Wolf produced two albums for Wang Chung – Mosaic and the Other Side of Cool. He was so heavily involved with the albums you could probably say that he’s an unofficial member of the group. Wolf co-wrote the bulk of the songs, played keyboards on every track and even helped with backing vocals. it was more like Peter Wolf’s album with Wang Chung as guests. and in terms of career killer? well…. where’s Wang Chung now????
-Listen to Wang Chung’s Let’s Go.

3) Around 1993 Chicago worked with Peter Wolf on their Stone of Sisyphus album. you say you never heard of an album called Stones of Sisyphus by Chicago? That’s because after listening to the final product, Chicago’s record label refused to put it out. That’s right. The album is locked away somewhere and has never been released. The record label ended up dropping Chicago and the group had to start releasing albums independently from then on.
-Listen to Stone of Sisyphus by Chicago.

4) Bourgeois Tagg had a hit in the late eighties titled “I Don’t Mind at All”. To record a follow-up, the group went in to do some tracks with who? that’s right. Peter Wolf. …and? you guess it. the group imploded while recording the initial tracks and never completed the album. years later, bassist/vocalist Larry Tagg eventually included some of the tracks from the Wolf sessions on his solo album which was released on a small independent label.
-Listen to 1/2 yes 1/2 no by Larry Tagg.

5) OK, how about Go West. yup, their big hits, King of Wishful Thinking and Faithful were both produced by Peter Wolf. and after being with the Wolf? nada. nunca. nothing. the group vanished off the charts.
-Listen to Faithful by Go West

makes ya wonder, eh? …so, indeed, beware the Wolf!!