Filmmaker Peter Pardini's CNN-produced documentary serves up a thorough history of Chicago, the long-running, self-described “rock and roll band with horns” founded in 1967 and still going strong. Featuring an unusual lineup of brass and more typical rock band instruments (plus three lead vocalists and—like the Beatles—no designated frontman), Chicago brought together saxophonist Walter Parazaider, guitarist-singer Terry Kath, drummer Danny Seraphine, trombonist James Pankow, trumpet player Lee Loughnane, keyboardist-singer Robert Lamm, and bassist-singer Peter Cetera. Appearing here are surviving and still active members Lamm, Pankow, Loughnane, and Parazaider, along with the ousted Seraphine and several other players who entered and exited the group through multiple personnel changes. Separately and together they tell the story of a band of brothers who found a sound and rolled out hit record after hit record, touring constantly and pushing the envelope in terms of artistic ambition and political awareness. And then, inevitably, the excesses of the 1970s took their toll: drug use; being ripped off by their longtime producer; the death of Kath; and roiling internal dynamics when Cetera and a new producer decided that the former should be the new focus of the group along with a softer, cheesier sound. This is a tale of contrasts: triumph and defeat, loyalty and expediency, survival and loss—one with much to celebrate, including Chicago's entrance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016—all backed by the band's memorable music. Recommended. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)
Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago
(2016) 113 min. DVD: $19.95. Music Video Distributors (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 1
Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago
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