Chicago – Born for This Moment (2022)
Artist: Chicago
Album: Born for This Moment
Genre: Jazz Rock / Fusion
Label: BMG Rights Management (US) LLC
Year Of Release: 2022
Quality:
Tracklist:
01. Born For This Moment (4:50)
02. If This Is Goodbye (3:49)
03. Firecracker (3:51)
04. Someone Needed Me The Most (5:18)
05. Our New York Time (4:16)
06. Safer Harbours (4:53)
07. Crazy Idea (3:17)
08. Make A Man Outta Me (4:15)
09. She’s Right (3:46)
10. “The Mermaid” Sereia Do Mar (3:34)
11. You’ve Got To Believe (3:13)
12. For The Love (4:03)
13. If This Isn’t Love (4:38)
14. House On The Hill (3:48)
Personnel:
Robert Lamm – keyboards, lead vocals
Lee Loughnane – trumpet, flugelhorn, backing vocals
James Pankow – trombone, backing vocals
Walter Parazaider – saxophones, flute, clarinet, backing vocals
Walfredo Reyes Jr. – drums
Ray Herrmann – saxophones, flute, clarinet, backing vocals
Neil Donell – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Ramon “Ray” Yslas – percussion
Tony Obrohta – guitar, backing vocals
Loren Gold – keyboards, vocals
Eric Baines – bass, backing vocals
The last time Chicago released a proper studio album, all the way back 2014, vocalist/guitarist Neil Donell wasn’t part of the band. Donell, who stepped into the shoes initially left empty by Jason Scheff but briefly filled by Jeff Coffey, is a legitimate presence on Born for This Moment, taking the lead on over half of the songs on this 2022 album. He doesn’t quite sound like Peter Cetera, but he fills that role amiably, even if the sound of Born for This Moment adheres closer to the slick adult contemporary of the Bill Champlin era. This thick studio gloss is not uncommon to latter-day Chicago, and the group do take pains to nod at their earlier, punchier material, along with the hazily focused soft rock of the early ’80s, while still taking the time to get a little funky. On such jazz-funk workouts as “Crazy Idea” and, especially, the cornball single “Firecracker” with its “foxy little heart attacker” refrain, Chicago sounds nearly mummified in its attitude and aesthetic, whereas the gentler ballads and sunny pop tunes, like “If This Is Goodbye,” are salvaged by their pro polish; they’re echoes of previous, better Chicago tunes, but they’re still pleasingly executed. It may be a relief to hear the soft rock side of Chicago on Born for This Moment, yet these moments also illustrate the record’s Achilles’ heel: it’s an album that attempts to give every kind of Chicago fan a little bit of what they want, which ultimately means that it’s a lot to absorb in one sitting.
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
