... from someone else a few years back and it's great! Still listen to it
353778
Bought this from someone else a few years back and it's great! Still listen to it. Not what you hear on the radio, but they should pick it up.
3285988
I had this on vinyl for years and noticed that the CD had some extra tracks on it.  I bought it and this was one of those things you forget how good it was!  Great stuff that tends to sorta get "neo-ish" but retains that late 70's rockabilly vibe without being `teddy boy."  One thing that stands out to me hearing it all again is the bass player.  Very little slap bass is on this record, but it is all upright bass for those of you that think rockabilly can't have electric bass.  The vocals were very stand out at the time also, but I must point out I was never into of the sound a lot of the late late 70's very early 80's rockabilly bands that had vocals sounding like they were recorded in a metal cave with tons of reverb.  Whirlwind comes to mind if that helps to explain what I am trying to say about the vocals.  The singer had a great sound overall and the band rocked.  Lots of stand out tracks and highly recommended!
1845241
This was one of my first contemporary gospel releases and it blew me away back in 1993 when I first owned it. Years later, I just got the cd again (since I no longer had the cassette after 1997) and its amazing how good it still sounds today! I'm surprised I don't hear much about this cd, maybe it was under-advertised or something, but it is such a joy to listen to, so encouraging, fun, and with excellent production, as well as Al's wonderful voice, as always. I recommend it to anyone looking for an excellent gospel cd to listen to. Even if you're not looking for a gospel cd, it doesn't sound like traditional gospel, its very contemporary and you will still enjoy listening to it. And it still sounds quite current for a 1992 release!
3484749
Got this for my mom - a year later, she listens to this weekly still
3235166
Loved it the day I bought it in1996 and still love it -  Just started revisiting some of my CD collection and came across this GEM since I heard it recently on a local "Alternative" radio station too.  Glad they play this stuff for the younger generation.  Anyway love my favs are "High-Flying MF" and "Bound For the floor" and "Eddie Vedder"...
1516485
Revisted this CD after it'd been sitting on the shelf for a few years...simply awesome!  The overall effect still comes off with energy, depth, and above all, power.  Just like it did way back then.  The mark of a good recording?  Timelessness...
Though the band sounds like they had more than a few "competing" egos at the time (compare Brian's silky smooth alto on 'Mind Enemy Mind' versus do-it-all guitarist Ivan's ragged performance on 'The Line'), they still had it going on.
Of special note is the syncopation between Robert on drums and Bob on bass...very, very essential to the mix, and quite in the forefront with Steve Albini's "dry" production approach.  Sort of like PJ Harvey's 'Rid of Me' or Nirvana's 'In Utero', for that matter.
Take a listen, you'll enjoy it immensely.  But personally, I'd stay away from their "newer" stuff...it's way too commercial and Ivan's vocals aren't stellar at all.  At least he tried hard.  But worse, they point a little too clearly to their ultimate, unfortunate demise.  Sort of like Ireland's Therapy? suffered when they got too commercial and sappy.
3987679
I liked one song from the CD years ago (In another's eyes) and decided to get the whole CD instead for the cheaper price.  Since I don't download them and Amazon gives free storage for items purchased through them I don't have to worry about 'extra' MP3 files for storage.  I'm grateful that the one song I was looking for was the original song and that the others were just as good to listen too.  The other reason I got this track as I'm still replacing all my CD's and MP3's that I can't find the source CD for.  Almost done!
13897
I loved their songs back in 1990 and when I downloaded them to mp3 (my cassettes are about worn out) and listened to them again 20 years later, the songs are still great!
3312152
Love it! Easy to listen to and I find myself knowing what's coming after I've listened a few times....
2714981
I bought this album when it originaly came out , I think that was about 10-12 years ago. I listened to the tape every day for several years till the tape actually broke. For those who understand guitar playing there is alot of trem picking and that is why i loved the album so much. fast , melodic , trem , picking !! I actually had not heard the album in years and had to re-buy it just to hear it again. As i listened i realized that it sounded a bit dated. But it was still great and had alot of emotion and i hate seeing it trashed by fans of the bands later work (slaughter of the soul).If the new fans had been around back in the day when it came out i think they would have alot of respect for this album because it was pushing in a direction that few bands where going at that time period. You should buy it because it is a wonderful begining to a great legacy!
2913855
When this was first released and I listened to it, I wasn't that into it. Later, when The Parallax II came out, it was so amazing that it kind of overshadowed this completely for me. Still, as a huge fan of BtBaM, I eventually came back to this and got my hands on a physical copy. Listening to it again now, I feel that it's right up there with the rest of the band's material in terms of aggression, technicality, and brilliant writing. I feel like this EP has been elevated a bit by the album that follows it, and they are excellent companions to each other. I very frequently listen to both back to back, and it's quite an experience. Definitely worth purchasing if you liked The Parallax II album (or anything by BtBaM for that matter;) there's 30 extra minutes of material here!
1285313
I LOVED this album! I have this on original cassette still, but it doesn't sound so great anymore. To replace it, I bought it in the early 90's on CD - unfortunately, when I got the CD home, even though it was shrink wrapped and had "Secret Policeman's Other Ball" printed properly on the CD, the music on the disk was some unknown rap artist! I tried to take it back to Tower Records, but they didn't have another copy, so I kept it as a souvenier. Now I am wishing I had looked for this earlier! It's a wonderful set of music by great artists. It works great with Peter Gabriel's "So" for a lovely background soundtrack on a rainy day. I highly recommend it.
4624916
This album has grown on me. I listened to it a bit in '82, thought "ok, nothing special" but after I dug it out of the attic a few years back I wore out the cassette.
161520
I grew up listening to this LP. My parents bought it the year I was born and played it to death over the next couple of decades. Couldn't find another copy for years until about 12 years ago a co-worker of my dad's loaned him a really badly scratched copy, which we taped, and that's all we've had since. Then I found it here on Amazon a few weeks ago and picked up a near-mint copy on vinyl. Great stuff, especially Johnny Mathis singing "It's a Marshmallow World." And unlike the other reviewer, Russell L. Smith, I have no problem with Barbara Streisand's contributions; but then again, unlike Mr. Smith, I'm not an anti-semite. Merry Christmas!
350146
I bought this one a few years back and still listen to it a lot to this day along with all of their other albums that I have. The only reason I am reviewing this is because I remember when I was thinking of buying this and saw that it had a bad review. I'll just let you know that person is either a stool sample or doesn't understand it. The production is not great here but the songs are and if you are a fan of theirs, then this is a good chance to see how they sounded in the early stages of their development.
1431572
I truly enjoyed dropping this CD in and listening to it - I am listening to "Listen" even now!  I give it four stars, because I save 5 stars for only the very best CDs, and Chicago's studio versions are consistently better than the live stuff.

I will admit that, when I first bought the album some 30 years ago, I struggled to get through it.  I thought the sound quality was bad, didn't like all the extended guitar solos, thought their extra vocal maneuverings violated the near perfection of the studio versions, etc.  I used to enjoy playing through my Chicago albums from CTA thru to the latest album, but tended to skip this one.

I always thought Peter Cetera and Danny Seraphine sounded tired on this album.

But Rhino has done a great job cleaning it up, the extra tracks are great (the duplicates, in my view - are better than those on the original Carnegie album).  And, 30 years on, it is a real joy now to play it.  I find that I am listening close for little details I have missed in prior listenings.  This offering, with all the original liner notes and artwork reproduced, takes me back to a time when a 12-year old kid didn't really understand what he was listening to.  And, in a small sense, you can catch the live magic of the Original Seven of this legendary group.

Rhino's reissues are outstanding.  I am seeing Chicago this summer for only about the fifth time in my life (taking my kids with me).  They remain one of the head-and-shoulders above all others greatest American acts during the course of my lifetime (I'm 45).  The original members are pushing 60 - and I hope that the inevitable revival of mass interest in Chicago happens soon enough, so that a large segment of modern music lovers can enjoy it while most of the band are still original members.  I urge anybody reading this - whatever your age - to go out and buy these outstanding Rhino reissues!!
1650806
I remember listening to this on my first transistor radio... Still love it!