AMG Review of Hot Streets [Bonus Track]

Lindsay Planer
All Music Guide

Rhino charges ahead with their thorough renovation of the "classic" Chicago catalog on this 2003 reissue of Hot Streets, which finds the band reeling from the tragic and sudden loss of lead guitarist Terry Kath. Not only would this be their first release without him, it was also marked by the departure of longtime collaborator James William Guercio, who had worked with Chicago even before the beginning and was partially responsible for getting the group a recording contract. Enter Donnie Dacus (guitar/vocals), who was the initial guitarist brought in to fill Kath's formidable shoes. On an equally somber note, "Alive Again," the album's upbeat opener, as well as the adult contemporary ballad "No Tell Lover," would become Chicago's final trip into the Top 40 for nearly four years. While their new producer, Phil Ramone, would give the material an added and noticeable bite, he could not save them from the rapidly changing horizon of pop music, which was firmly entrenched in disco when Hot Streets hit the shelves in 1978. There are a few long lost highlights, however, such as the Peter Cetera (bass/vocals) rocker "Little Miss Lover," which returns to the combo's seminal sides with its aggressive backbeat and funky, soulful rhythmic support. Dacus contributes mightily to Cetera's "Gone, Gone, Gone," nailing a slide guitar solo with the languid twang often associated with George Harrison. Robert Lamm's (keyboards/vocals) single "Love Was New" also harks back to earlier Chicago with a nod to the band's jazz-rock fusion roots. This 2003 reissue includes one additional "bonus selection" -- a second version of "Love Was New" with an alternate lead vocal from newcomer Dacus. The musical landscape was changing for Chicago and the band's decision to alter its sound, presumably to attract a younger audience, would all but remove the group from the public eye and ear for its next four LPs.