Chicago - Terry Kath - "A Song For Richard And His Friends"

[cutewittykath]

We miss you Terry

[BeckyPoC]

I'm a big fan of old-time Chicago and hadn't seen this. It reminds me a lot of "Space" at Grateful Dead shows - not the best thing to listen to, but the guitarist is enjoying creating those sounds. Robert Lamm was such a great songwriter, too.

[5150jordan5150]

@OdeToNecrophilia actually, Hendrix was a Kath wannabe. The Chicago instrumental "free form guitar"...much like this, inspired Jimi to do more random things, like in the Machine Gun solo....which is basically like this. And hey, skillwise, Terry blew Jimi out of the water.

[lavkod1]

@OdeToNecrophilia

Seems like you don't have the slightest idea whatsoever, but Hendrix himself said about Kath, that he considers him to be better than himself!

[alvarprocesstech]

Cool tune. I used to live in Chicago in the '90's . They must be referring to the corrupt Richard M or Richard J Daley and their cronies that claim 'Chicago Works' . IMHO chicago is a shithole and I wouldn't live there for any amount of money. Rich or poor , I wouldn't want to be there if the shit finally goes down. No wonder these guys all decided to leave and go and live in California which is possibly marginally better.

[BeckyPoC]

@alvarprocesstech, actually it was about Richard Nixon.

[cheleguapo]

I wonder what Frank Zappa would have had to say about Terry Kath.

[okpatriot]

This hurt my ears, on the lowest volume...yuk!! This guitar solo does not count as music, IMO. Do not care for Jimmy Hendrix style of guitar playing.

His solos/singing is good, but he has his good and bad days at singing, just like the other memebers of Chicago, or any band for that matter.

[SharingonMadara]

@okpatriot well then you do not see the piont of terry kaths long hard work trying to create a new style of thinking when it comes to the guitar, the innovative result and the effect it had on music. Jimi hendrix too, put effort into doing the exact same thing. But if it is garbage.....

[okpatriot]

Yuk!!! First time I heard this garbage!! Do not care for Long drawn out guitar solos, especially when they sound terrible!!

I love Chicago...they are my favorite band!!

[offroad77]

Hey Juan - thanks for posting this performance. This is true raw Chicago talent and emotion. And of course - the creative genious of the late great Terry Kath! And the heartfelt song writing and creativity of Robert Lamm.

[fronio89]

Guercio was so wrong to release Live At Carnegie Hall as the 4th album, Live in Japan should of been.

[4858mf]

It's amazing. Just wait a few years and this is all relevant again, sad to say. We need to learn from this. Obama is slowly taking away our freedoms. Wake up people.

[rucb1alum]

Wow...can't get away from trolls here either.

[libralady1010]

@4858mf Very well put and sadly...a truthful post. The Hope and Change Gang has turned into the Gang who not only couldn't shoot straight but can't count our change-as in money! Behaving like irresponsible teenagers with a credit card...and they're all going bat-shit insane with it!

[miamigroove]

is there a better quality post of this? this is genius

[no10yes35]

sounds like the pipes backing up in the house.......

[sottythesecond]

annoying shit

[MissCregg]

That was cool!

Thanks for posting it

[demrayhalen]

So glad that all this Terry Kath footage is seeing the light of day. This one might have been influenced by Hendrix Band Of Gypsys "Machine Gun" He even had a guy stand behind his amps as Jimi did on the Monterey version of Wild Thing finale. It's still great!!

[StanBennet]

Today, people pay to see Chicago. If Terry Kath was still alive, people would kill to see

Chicago.

[jennebe27]

amen to that

[pilesovinyl]

@StanBennet Agreed, and sadly despite 4 decades of success and hits, pioneering the jazz/rock fusion movement and featuring some of the greatest instrumentalists of the past 3 decades they have been ignored by the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Oh we can induct the Stooges and Abba, but not Chicago. WTF

[lalbruiz]

3:26...MOBIL!!! Ha, haa...corporate logos on Chicago´s performance, funny.

[lalbruiz]

What a performance, back from the days when Chicago was a great band, not the ballad-crap band into which they evolved when Kath died, unfortunately...I read on Kath´s FAQ the following: "Hendrix once told Chicago saxophonist Walter Parazaider "Your guitar player is better than me." The two guitarists knew each other, and when Hendrix took Chicago on tour, he reportedly jammed with Kath on stage"..." A long-time Chicago fan has reported that at one Hendrix concert, Jimi made a reference to...

[lalbruiz]

Kath out of the blue, saying something to the effect, "You gotta check out this guy Terry Kath. His band is CTA. He's the best guitar player in the universe." That Hendrix said that is awesome, what a great respect and humbleness musicians had between themselves. They could be exceptional but nevertheless admired each other.

[TDGAND]

Chicago rules for ever, terry one of the best guitar players of all the time

[drummerboyjac]

Was this the same guitar that was used in the videos from 1970 at Tanglewood??? It loosk like it but not sure.

[jeremyjgray]

Great post. I wonder if Nixon ever heard about it? Chicago performed it at Carnegie Hall after all! This was such a bizarre piece - after Kath died, and especially after album 13, Chicago really lost creative control to the record companies. Just Google interviews with the likes of Lamm, Seraphine or Cetera.

[1217chic]

I feel like I'm listening to Hendrix....What an unbelieveable player Terry was......

[SolarTiger]

Tricky Dick?...you bet!..they came out for McGovern...which was unheard of at the time...

but what else was the alternative?..see first line..

[Pankfan]

What other band around at that time--or even today (especially today)--could even think of a song like this? A rockin', jazzy, funky political statement that only hardcore Chicago fans know exists. This is Chicago at

its raucus best.

[cranie4]

It's like "Free Form Guitar" off CTA :)

[jhnstn1]

Is that the same Strat Terry played later on with all the stickers on it?

[dillwankster]

no, later he played the infamous telecaster with the pignose decals

[willard2729]

No offense, but pls look up the word 'infamous' -- it's commonly misused.

[Wadidiz]

Infamous is correct because people thought it was ugly. But...it worked for Terry. I saw him use a Strat for certain tunes, like this one but he usually used a Les Paul in the early dayas.

[cetera06]

That's why Hendrix admired Kath....!

[DUX1924]

In 1972 Chicago was a completely mature band, and in Japan, all the tracks they played at Budokan were excellent and this version of "A Song For..." is one of them. This isn't Terry's best performace but certainly it works well.....but men where's "Mississippi Delta City Blues"? I always love this stuff!!

[juantoletemex]

You can find it on "Live In Japan" CD.

[ladiezroom]

is it true that rhino wants to release this tokyo-concert on dvd?

[juantoletemex]

Go to their web site (chicagotheband), News, then clic on the "Press Release". Something happened, as you can see.

[Pegs56]

Thanks so much for this! I've heard this live but never seen it live. What a treat!

[jax1moi8]

Can you imagine that NOW? HAH! "A Song for George and His Incompetent Cronies?"

[MoGreensEye]

I agree - CTA to XVI with Kath easily the best. Though the coffers started to fill in the mid-70s when they moved from the liberal griping to the cutesy top 40 stuff. Kath is the only reason I like them anyway.

[siroptimistic]

A wonderful passionate performance here by Robert Lamm on vocals and organ. I saw the current Chicago on June 19/07...they should perform some of these old jazz-rock-blues songs in concert, in addition to "South California Purples", "Poem 58", "Questions 67 & 68", etc.

[MoGreensEye]

Thanks Juan. Is this the same show Chicago released a few years ago as a 2 cd set?

[juantoletemex]

Nop. "Live in Japan" 2 CD set was recorded in Osaka. It's the same Japanese tour (june 1972), with almost the same setlist. Saludos!

[MoGreensEye]

Great Kath. Sniveling lyrics. Tokyo 1972?

[juantoletemex]

Yes, my friend.

[WarrenPeice]

What the heck happened? These guys knew what they were saying then and then they quit talking in the 80's. I really miss the tiems when musicians and entertainers werent afraid to speak out. They werent continually castigated because they were 'liberals'. Its time to take it back. now! soundclickdotcom

mq/daves rope swing

[LPcustom76]

huh, i always heard they were continually castrated because they were liberals. maybe i heard wrong?

[WarrenPeice]

Reading comprehension is valued. Remedial classes are offered everywhere

[LPcustom76]

i read and understood your leftist tripe the first time. judging by your reply i would say you are the one that could use the classes!

[LPcustom76]

what?

[dillwankster]

They lost their soul when Terry died. The only body of work that speaks to me is CTA through XI.

[mister2drums]

History has a habit of repeating itself. I wish W would quit!

[chicagoVll]

We could just change the title to "A song for W and friends", and this would be relevant today!!!

[WrestlingHeretic]

"Hey, now, would you go away? We're so tired of the things that you say...."

Yeah, this song occurred to me more than once during the 2001-2009 period.

[jhnstn1]

I've had the same thought since last November.

[jhnstn1]

@WrestlingHeretic My feelings since 2008 my friend. :>)

[WrestlingHeretic]

@jhnstn1

Oh yeah. You never DID answer my question. How has Obama curtailed civil liberties?

[KJEllwein]

@WrestlingHeretic I think of this song every time I hear the pathological liar Obama speak.

[WrestlingHeretic]

@KJEllwein

And yet, the song remains a criticism of the face of the hard right in its day. George W. Bush has more in common with Nixon than Obama ever could. As for Obama being a pathological liar, well, what can I say?  You know how "they" are. Right?

[jhnstn1]

A song for Obama and his friends maybe?

[WrestlingHeretic]

Bush and Nixon comparably abused their power by curtailing civil liberties. That's what prompted my comparison.

How has Obama curtailed civil liberties?

[jhnstn1]

What civil liberties did they curtail?

[jhnstn1]

@WrestlingHeretic Without this turning into a pointless political argument what specific liberties did they curtail? How about we call it even and blame it on Bush, :>)

[chicagoVll]

Man this is awesome!!!!!! Terry Kath rules.

[scribbled309]

Dude, thanks for the recent posts: this and Dialogue especially. Rough around the edges but classic stuff.

[charliedeublerjr]

Proof that they did play it in concert!

[meauxhorn]

Extraordinary group, extraordinary guitar! Thanks for the post! meauxhorn

[fro99y]

Don't worry about vid quality... I'll take what ever I can get

[wonkavella]

i truly think that this song is bad ass thank you for putting these songs on here i always wanted to see these performances.