Christopher's Chicago 22/XXXII/Stone Of Sisyphus Page!

PAGE INITIATED:  NOVEMBER 27, 1999.

LAST UPDATED:  MAY 23, 2008!

This page contains information pieced together from several different sites since 1996 (especially the information on who all the composers are).  Most of them are listed in the links below.  Thank you all for keeping the flame!  --  Chris, December 31, 2001.

"I also want to thank all of the Big American Record Companies for undermining American Music by underestimating the intelligence of the listener.  Without this example, we would all tend to listen to the advice of 'A & R weasels', and our music would suffer from it.  I used to think that these people based their decisions on things like truth, honesty, integrity, feeling, etc.  Oops, wrong!!!  Artists like me have given up even 'shopping' their music to these powerhouse corporations.  Even radio is becoming dissatisfied with what they are being handed.  So, we all have to look for other ways of doing this thing we love, either making records or listening.  Everything changes.  Thank God." -- Bill Champlin, from the Through It All liner notes, 1995.

"Warner Bros. didn't get the record.  In fact, they disliked it so much, they figured maybe we should part ways, which we did.  But the master tapes weren't burnt, because we believed in it, and I know you'll see that somewhere along the way.
 This thing will get released." -- Walt Parazaider, from the Chicago history page, 1996.

"A short while ago, we recorded an album called the Stone Of Sisyphus, and the record company we were with at the time (Warner Bros.) didn't like it... and we said, 'OK. Fine. Goodbye.'  And the upshot of all that is that we now have our own record company... we've got one great artist signed to the label, it's called Chicago, and we're partners here with Astral Records, and they kindly included a couple of cuts from this album that we love, and here's the title song..." -- Robert Lamm, from a Canadian concert intro to the title track, circa 1996.

"Hey I wrote 'The Show Must Go On' with Bill Champlin...  I was so upset when this record didn't come out.  I had so much fun working with the guys and Peter Wolf on this record.  Such great songs.  The comraderie was great.  Another great record lost to the world because of politics.  Record companies...I don't get em..  Bruce" -- Bruce Gaitsch's entry in my guest book, January 5, 2002.

MAY 6, 2002:  Rhino Records acquires Chicago's entire catalog, including unissued recordings.  The best hope yet for rolling this 'Stone' out of the vaults!  It seems rather ironic that the newest member label of Warner Music Group may finally green-light a great album turned down by WMG's namesake label. -- Chris, August 18, 2002.

JULY 22, 2003:  Three SOS tracks finally make a domestic compilation!  Chicago:  The Box features "All The Years", "Bigger Than Elvis", and "Stone Of Sisyphus" as the three previously unreleased tracks on this ultimate compilation! -- Chris, July 10, 2003.

"Including 3 Cuts From the Unreleased & Coveted Chicago 22/Stone Of Sisyphus!" -- The sticker from Chicago:  The Box.

"Tragically, when the band turned this album in to Warner Bros., the company rejected it, wanting another pop project, particularlly since their last album [Ed.:  referring to Twenty-1] had not been a great seller.  Infuriated that their "one from the heart" was passed on, the band and the label were at a stalemate, whereupon Chicago decided to leave the label.  One listen to the three songs from this project making their [Ed.: U.S.] debut on this boxed set, and the passion is clear."
-- A. Scott Galloway, from the Chicago:  The Box booklet notes.

JUNE 17, 2008:  Rhino press release


IT'S ABOUT TIME!  :-) -- Chris

Many music critics (and especially the band members, themselves) have complained loudly that Chicago has been pigeon-holed by the success of its power ballads ever since "If You Leave Me Now" (Chicago X) hit #1 back in 1976.  In fact, Chicago's albums have always featured ballads interspersed with their rock and jazz and country influences!  Look at Terry Kath's "Memories Of Love" suite from Chicago II (1970), featuring a classical-themed introduction orchestrated by the legendary Peter Matz ("Prelude"/"A.M. Mourning"/"P.M. Mourning") for a prime example of this.  The 1983 compilation, If You Leave Me Now, also goes to show that Chicago did more ballads than just that one song!

Chicago had always been one of the most innovative bands in popular music, but because of the success that Peter Cetera's ballads garnered for the group, both Columbia and Warner Bros. wanted more of those.   As a result, Chicago lost their ability to think out of the 'box', and the record companies overlooked both their classic Chicago-styled and their more cutting edge compositions when it came to choosing songs to release as singles.  "I'd Rather Be Rich" and "Manipulation", two great Robert Lamm tunes (one of each style) from Chicago XIV, are prime examples of this (although the former was picked as a B-side).  Sadly, for old and new fans of the band alike, the four new songs Chicago recorded for the North American compilations Reprise/Warner Bros. released in 1997 and 1998, and the three new songs Chicago recorded for Chicago XXVI (Live In Concert) in 1999, reflected that trend all too well.

"Hearts In Trouble" (from the DAYS OF THUNDER Soundtrack, 1990) and Twenty-1 (1991) went a long way towards changing those attitudes, with only four ballads (two penned by Diane Warren), and the remaining songs returning the horns and band's own songwriters to a more prominent place in the grand scheme of their music.  The Simi Valley recording sessions that occurred between 1992-1993 for what would have been the 22nd Chicago album, which were produced by legendary Austrian producer Peter Wolf (who produced the mid-late '80s albums by Starship), would have gone even further to change those attitudes.  The 12 songs comprising the shelved album known as Stone Of Sisyphus were fresh, hip, innovative, and (save for two power ballads) would have silenced the critics once and for all.  Peter Wolf took as strong a presence as JWG had in the band's early days, insisting that Walt bring along his clarinet, and asking the band why they didn't use Dawayne Bailey more in the studio, given his two brilliant co-compositions and the performances thereof.  (See DB's insight link below.)

Reprise/Warner Bros. REJECTED the album, despite the sure-fire winner of a power ballad Jason Scheff wrote for his dad, Jerry Scheff.  Jerry was the bass player the last decade of Elvis Presley's life and career, and "Bigger Than Elvis" was Jason's tribute to his dad.  This is unquestionably Jason's best vocal since joining Chicago.

Rumour had it that Warner Bros. had twice scheduled this album for release, had already made production runs of the CD, and then abruptly destroyed them when they changed their mind.  If this is true, this may account for the higher quality of the later MP3s, from CDs that were salvaged from the dumpster.  Some rumor mongers have also said that Dawayne Bailey made copies of his DAT of the final mixes available to address the quality issues of the first-generation MP3s.  Regardless of the source(s), this album has refused to die.  Thousands of fans and at least a half-dozen web sites have made information about the album available.

Scuttlebut on the old Chicago Records 'Talk to Chicago' chat board said it will never be released, even though Chicago Records owned the rights, and at least 7 of the songs have either been issued on international compilations or re-recorded for the band members' own solo albums, including the title track, "Bigger Than Elvis", and "Let's Take A Lifetime"; despite the band members' favorable reactions to this project; and despite Walt's own comments in the group history saying that "This thing will get released."...  And with the first three tracks from the album (listing 1) now available in an official U.S. compilation, the odds are better than ever that Walt's promise will finally be kept.

I have heard the complete album, courtesy of the MP3 links below.  In my humble opinion, the Chicago fans that have stuck with the band through the 'compilation era' deserve to have this all-original album to savor.  This is a very viable album, even if it's not their best work.  At least it's all 'new' original songs!  As a whole, it plays very well, is a very good album, and certainly is a far better album than, say, XIV.

And if anyone from Rhino is viewing this, I would highly recommend giving this lost album the great Rhino-phonic remastering it deserves.  (You've already got three of the 12 out there now, plus two more on the Japanese WEA Heart of Chicago CDs! :-) )  This is one of the greatest unpolished gems in Chicago's recorded history.  I would also be honored to contribute to the liner notes, if asked.  :-)

IT'S TIME TO ROLL THIS STONE OUT OF THE VAULTS!

THE BAND
Robert Lamm -- Keyboards, lead and backing vocals
Walter Parazaider -- Woodwinds, backing vocals
Lee Loughnane -- Trumpet, flugelhorn, backing vocals
James Pankow -- Trombone, backing vocals, horn arrangements
Bill Champlin -- Keyboards, rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals
Jason Scheff -- Bass, lead and backing vocals
Tris Imboden -- Drums, percussion, and harmonica
Dawayne Bailey -- Rhythm guitar, lead guitar (tracks 2, 3, and 11), lead and backing vocals, horn arrangements

GUEST ARTISTS
Peter Wolf -- Keyboards, keyboard bass, arranging, synth 'soprano sax' solo on "Let's Take A Lifetime"
Bruce Gaitsch -- Lead guitar on all tracks except 2, 3, and 11
The Jordanaires -- Backing vocals on track 3
Jerry Scheff -- Additional bass on track 3
Rose Stone -- backing vocals
Sheldon Reynolds -- guitar

PRODUCTION INFO (from Chicago:  The Box and DB's site)
Produced by Peter Wolf.
Engineered by Paul Ericksen.
Mixed by Tom Lord-Alge.
Recorded at The Embassy Recording Studio, Simi Valley, CA, 1992-1993.
(The Jordainaires recorded in Nashville, TN, 1993.)
Mixed at Encore Studios, Burbank, CA, 1993-1994.

A BRIEF REVIEW/TRACK LISTING  Jump to Rhino 2008 track listing.

The track timings listed are from the best available quality MP3s, and are approximate.  The lower quality MP3s seem to have been encoded from multi-generation tape sources running slightly faster than 1 7/8"/sec, so the times are shorter (and often fade-outs cut short).  The tracks are listed in the original first-generation order; an alternate track listing follows.

01) All The Years (Robert Lamm-Bruce Gaitsch) -- 4:16
(The original unedited version is 4:24, which includes a drum and percussion riff in the introduction before the horn section kicks in.)
(Lead vocals:  Robert Lamm)
AVAILABLE:  Robert Lamm solo version on Life Is Good In My Neighborhood (Chicago Records 3019, 1995)
AVAILABLE:  4:16 version on The Heart of Chicago 1967-1981, Volume II (Teichiku Japan TECW-2427, 1997) - green cover
AVAILABLE:  4:16 version on Chicago:  The Box (Rhino R2 73871, 2003)

This song has a very hip rock groove well-suited to Robert's vocals, including samples of Richard Nixon's "raucous discord on Earth" speech from 1968 and the '68 Democratic Party convention in Chicago ("The whole world's watching!", first featured on Chicago Transit Authority in 1969).  (Ed. note:  That's Tris on harmonica, BTW.)

02) Stone Of Sisyphus (Dawayne Bailey-Lee Loughnane) -- 4:11
(The original unedited version is 4:21, which includes the second half of the chorus following the bridge, omitted on the Overtime version.  There is also a high-quality 4:02 edit in circulation.)
(Lead vocals:  Robert Lamm, Dawayne Bailey, and a brief morph of Jason Scheff on the final chorus)
AVAILABLE:  4:11 version on Overtime (Astral Music-Canada BEOV-DE, 1995)
AVAILABLE:  4:11 version on Chicago:  The Box (Rhino R2 73871, 2003)
A brief clip is included in Chicago's episode of VH-1 Behind The Music.

A very hot rock groove like the boyz used to do waaaaaaay back when!!!  Lee gets a writing credit only because he convinced the band to include it!  And Dawayne actually got Robert to sing "blood, sweat, and tears" in the lyrics!  :-)  Horn arrangements presumably by Dawayne and Lee.

03) Bigger Than Elvis (Jason Scheff-Peter Wolf-Ina Wolf) -- 4:31
(Lead vocals:  Jason Scheff)
AVAILABLE:  Overtime (Astral Music-Canada BEOV-DE, 1995)
AVAILABLE:  The Very Best Of Chicago (Arcade Records-EU DFR 010, 1996)
AVAILABLE:  The Heart of Chicago 1982-1998 Volume II (Reprise/WEA Japan WPCR-1940, 1998) - gold cover
AVAILABLE:  Chicago:  The Box (Rhino R2 73871, 2003)
AVAILABLE:  The Box Sampler, Selections from Chicago:  The Box (Rhino/WB PRCD 400089, 2003)

Jason's tribute to his dad, Jerry, who cried when he heard the finished recording.  Jerry is also featured on bass here.  Jason's best Chicago ballad yet!  Backing vocals by The Jordanaires, best known for providing backing vocals for many of Elvis Presley's gospel songs.

04) Sleeping In The Middle Of The Bed Again (Robert Lamm-John McCurry) -- 4:45  (Two known mixes.)
(Lead vocals:  Robert Lamm; rap presumably by Robert Lamm, Bill Champlin, and Jason Scheff, with excerpts by The Last Poets)
AVAILABLE:  Original Mix on The Heart of Chicago 1967-1981, Volume II (Teichiku Japan TECW-2427, 1997) - green cover
AVAILABLE:  Robert Lamm solo version on In My Head (1999)
A brief clip is included in Chicago's episode of VH-1 Behind The Music.

Hip-hop rap and jammin' B-3 from "Mr. Chops"!!!  And a very hot horn and bass groove to go along with it!  Robert re-recorded this for In My Head, with a lot more singing, and also adding a new piano riff backing the bridge excepts by The Last Poets (this riff is also featured in the second mix of Chicago's version of this).

05) Mah Jongg (Jason Scheff-Brock Walsh-Aaron Zigman) -- 4:40
(The MP3s from tape sources run about 4:24.)
(Lead vocals:  Bill Champlin)
AVAILABLE:  Jason Scheff solo version on Chauncy (1997)

Another nifty bass and horn rockin' groove about a very mysterious woman.

06) Let's Take A Lifetime (Jason Scheff-Brock Walsh-Aaron Zigman) -- 4:57
(The MP3s from tape sources run about 4:44.)
(Lead vocals:  Jason Scheff)
AVAILABLE:  3:17 edit version on The Very Best Of Chicago (Arcade Records-EU DFR 010, 1996)

Another good power ballad.  According to Todd Frazier, DB claims that the woodwind solo which which this author had always assumed was Walt on clarinet, wasn't.  DB:  "The solo is not a real soprano sax-that's Peter Wolf on keys with a sax sample."  The version featured on The Very Best Of Chicago is a single edit omitting most of Peter Wolf's synthesized solo.

07) The Pull (Jason Scheff-Robert Lamm-Peter Wolf) -- 4:17
(Lead vocals:  Jason Scheff; bridge vocals:  Robert Lamm)
AVAILABLE:  Live performance on In Concert At The Greek Theater (Warner/Reprise Music Video, 1993)
AVAILABLE:  Studio version on The Heart of Chicago 1982-1998 Volume II (Reprise/WEA Japan WPCR-1940, 1998) - gold cover

A very good rocker!  A live version was featured in the 1993 In Concert At The Greek Theater video, when Stone Of Sisyphus was "the new Chicago album" Robert Lamm referred to.  The studio version featured here is a much better performance!

08) Here With Me (A Candle For The Dark) (James Pankow-Robert Lamm-Greg O'Connor) -- 4:10
(Lead vocals:  Robert Lamm, Bill Champlin, Dawayne Bailey)
AVAILABLE:  The Heart of Chicago 1982-1998 Volume II (Reprise/WEA Japan WPCR-1940, 1998) - gold cover

A good ballad with rocking chorus and horns, and a bridge a la JWG-era Chicago.  Given who wrote it, it doesn't surprise me.  :-)  As on "Man To Woman" from Twenty-1, Dawayne provides the high-pitched voice on the chorus.  (Greg O'Connor would later co-write "Show Me A Sign" with Pankow for the second US Heart of Chicago compilation in 1998, and it's quite a coincidence both of the Pankow/O'Connor tunes are on the Japanese HOC yellow edition.)

09) Plaid (Bill Champlin-Robert Lamm) -- 4:56
(The MP3s from tape sources run about 4:49.)
(Lead vocals:  Bill Champlin)
A brief clip is included in Chicago's episode of VH-1 Behind The Music.

Awesome rocker!  A number that sounds a lot like "Please Hold On" from Chicago 17 (1984).  Dig Jason's awesome bass and Tris' awesome skins work.  A slam on the corporate brass at WB?  Eh, could be?!?  "I'm not asking for permission, are you ready for me to be me?"

10) Cry For The Lost (Bill Champlin-Dennis Matkosky) -- 5:18
(The MP3s from tape sources run about 5:01.)
(Lead vocals:  Bill Champlin)
AVAILABLE:  Bill Champlin solo version (as "Proud Of Our Blindness") on Through It All (Turnip Music Group TTM0011, 1995)

A softer rocker, much like Ambrosia.  (Some of the notes and harmonies sound like they were lifted from Ambrosia's "Cowboy Star", too.)  Add some rap towards the end...  LOL  :-)  Another view of Chicago's souring relationship with WB.  Echoes of "Dialogue (Part II)" in the lyrics, too:  "We can make it better."

11) Get On This (Dawayne Bailey-James Pankow-Felicia Parazaider) -- 4:39
(The MP3s from tape sources run about 4:31.)
(Lead vocals:  Jason Scheff, Dawayne Bailey)

Dawayne was dating Walt's daughter, Felicia, and many of the lyrics are taken from her poems, hence the writing credit.  By Dawayne's own admission, "these are the weirdest lyrics EVER on a Chicago record in 30 years!"  A kick-butt rocker!!!  (Ed. note: See the Millenium article linked below for DB's scoop that Jason, in fact, screams the verses here with DB singing along on the chorus.  Quite a revelation!  Jason does a darn fine job sounding like DB here, though.  :-) )

12) The Show Must Go On (Bill Champlin-Bruce Gaitsch) -- 5:21
(The MP3s from tape sources run about 5:08.)
(Lead vocals:  Bill Champlin)

Another awesome rocker!  And a message to the rest of the world, that despite their battles with WB, the show must go on (and still does)...

ALTERNATE TRACK LISTING (Courtesy of The Stone Is On Fire!)
The higher-quality second-generation MP3s were ordered differently from the first-generation versions.  This listing included the 4:02 edit of the title track, the full 4:24 version of "All The Years", and the second known mix of "Sleeping In The Middle Of The Bed Again".  Here is the alternate listing:

01) All The Years (4:24 version)
02) Plaid
03) Cry For The Lost
04) Here With Me (A Candle For The Dark)
05) The Pull
06) Sleeping In The Middle Of The Bed Again (mix 2)
07) Stone Of Sisyphus (4:02 edit)
08) Bigger Than Elvis
09) Get On This
10) Mah Jongg
11) Let's Take A Lifetime
12) The Show Must Go On

HONORABLE MENTION:  Feel The Spirit (Robert Lamm-Peter Wolf-Phil Galdston)
This was another song Robert and Peter collaborated on during the SOS sessions, intending it to be included as well, but it didn't make the final cut of songs to be recorded.  This is a tribute song about Terry Kath.  Robert finally recorded it with Gerry Beckley and Carl Wilson (with Jason Scheff on bass) in 1997, and it was released on the Beckley-Lamm-Wilson album Like A Brother in 2000 (Transparent Music).