Hot Streets - CHICAGO***

Alive Again/The Greatest Love On Earth/Little Miss Lovin'/Hot Streets/Take A Chance/Gone Long Gone/Ain't It Time/Love Was New/No Tell Lover/Show Me The Way

Hot Streets is distinctive in that it is the first Chicago album to be given a name rather than a number, and it features members of the band on the cover. However, it is a further descent into blandness, despite the two US top 20 hits Alive Again and No Tell Lover. (US:12)

“Hot Streets marks the beginning of the sappy Chicago that some have come to know and hate. Personally, I don't mind them.”

“Alive Again was quite good for a 'rocking' Chicago song, while No Tell Lover definitely points to where they were headed. Not quite to the level of banality they would reach over the next few years, but making a leap in that direction.”

“Chicago decided to ditch their earlier image, beginning from the album cover and title (Hot Streets, not 'XII'), changing the producer and the studio, and finishing the process with a new, softer and more commercial musical touch. It is no masterpiece. Instead, our ears are graced with a better-than-average set of late '70s soul-flavoured pop-rock songs with excursions into rock or jazz-rock now and then.”

“Chicago survived the death of guitarist Terry Kath well, as new recruit Donny Dacus proves himself a funkier, more rhythmic player for the most part of the majestic pop rocker Alive Again, the jazzy funk-rock of the title cut and the oddball closer Show Me The Way, with another great Cetera ballad in No Tell Lover to top things off.”

“Chicago's twelfth album has several firsts. It's their first not to be numerically titled, the first to feature a group photo on the cover, the first album without James Guercio as their manager/producer. It's also the first without Terry Kath. The album isn't that bad but I recommend it only to fans as it's not one of their better works.”

“Not only had the band changed, but their musical environment had as well. Shorter, more concise songs seemed the order of the day in the pop world as it was caught in the interesting maelstrom between progressive rock, punk and disco all peaking at roughly the same time. It found them going in a more pop/jazz/funk type of direction with some rock sprinkled in on several tracks, rather than the usual mixture the band offered in each song.”