Lee Loughnane recognizes the perfect moment to revisit a classic. The trumpeter and founding member of the legendary band Chicago discusses the band’s upcoming album, Chicago at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. (9/16/1971), scheduled for release on September 27. He reveals the reasons behind the decision to revisit and release this decades-old performance as a live album.
At that time, Chicago’s iconic hit “Saturday in the Park” was still in development, with noticeable differences from the final recorded version.
“Peter Cetera performed it during that show,” Loughnane recalls. “We were playing material we were still working on for our next album at such a high-profile event… I thought to myself, ‘We had a lot of nerve to attempt that.’”
Loughnane reflects on the band’s bold approach to experimental live performance back then: “It was like, ‘Here’s what we’re working on now; let us know what you think.’”
He also notes, “Dialogue wasn’t finished yet; we didn’t even know it had a part two. We only had the first half of the song, and ended it after the guitar solo.”
The early performance occurred during a crucial period for the band. Loughnane recalls that Chicago was “changing our setlist every night because we didn’t have the elaborate production, lights, or sound systems. We only had the microphones in front of us. No one was moving around the stage. We simply stood there and played our music.”
He adds, “It was as much a performance as it was a rehearsal. It’s remarkable that we were allowed to do that and got away with it. That’s what amazes me the most.”
Loughnane has now revisited that raw, experimental live performance, which he believes was “lost in the mix over the years and had been forgotten.”
For this special release of tracks that haven’t been heard since that September day in 1971, Loughnane points out that the “best part about” revisiting the recordings is that “50 years ago, we didn’t have the technology to make it sound as good as we can now.”
He explains, “Today, we can isolate each instrument and voice, reduce the surrounding noise between notes, and enhance the music. This mastering process, done with audio engineer Tim Jessup, allows us to amplify specific elements without increasing the overall hall noise, highlighting parts of the music that were previously less noticeable.”
Chicago at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. (9/16/1971) will be released on September 27 and will be available on all major streaming services, as well as in 4-disc LP and 3-disc CD formats.
