Originally Posted by
StuBass1
Just to throw out there... I'm not so sure there was such a thing as the "Chicago Sound, in the same vein as there was an immediately recognizable "Detroit [[Motown) Sound" that was distinguished with certain characteristics... repetitive backbeats, wandering basslines, a hot tambourine, that familiar Motown shuffle drum beat, and the patented studio A mixing tendencies, a true formula, and I don't know that Chicago or any specific studio there had such a patterned formula as did Detroit and Motown, at least that transcended certain specific artists... Chicago had many great artists, but not a single characteristic sound that I can recall... Jackie Wilson [[Dick Jacobs arranged tracks) bore little resemblance to Impressions tracks, and what Maurice White ultimately developed into Earth, Wind & Fire really cannot be traced to the evolution of anything from Chicago specifically that came before it, save similarity of heavy horn emphasis shared with CTA [[later Chicago) but was not really a big part of earlier Chicago tracks from Gene Chandler or some of the blues or Jazz artists from the Windy City [[if there WAS a Chicago sound in the 50's and 60's, it would be those classic southern blues transplants perhaps), but I don't hear that stuff in EW&F or Jerry Butler, or the Chi-Lites for example... So from a strictly musical perspective , can someone tell me what the characteristics of the "Chicago Sound" being discussed here really were???...There were several really good arrangers from Johnny Pate and Sonny Sanders, to Dick Jacobs, etc... but different stylistically whereas at Motown, arrangers like Paul Riser, Wade Marcus, and Willie Shorter had a similar feel the company was looking for until Dave Van DePitte came along with slightly more intricate arrangements...but I don't see the type of structural or instrumental similarities as was happening in Detroit...I've heard people say about songs from other labels and cities that they sound like Motown...but can't recall anyone saying about any record that it sounds like the "Chicago" sound... Or maybe it's just me...
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