Charging into the 1970's, Chicago took radio by storm with hits such as "Beginnings," "Make Me Smile," "Colour My World," and "Saturday in the Park."

Limping into the 1980's, hardly anybody noticed Chicago at all. The liner notes to this Rhino remastered re-release explain (in part) why.

CHICAGO XIV, the band's first set of the decade, is a real mixed bag. It features better tunes than the previous offerings--the dismal "Hot Streets" and "Chicago 13." It boasts the talented guitarist Chris Pinnick, who replaces the mercifully departed Donnie Dacus. But it also heralds the complete dominance of vocalist Pete Cetera and the indifferent production of Tom Dowd.

Dowd, who produced some classic Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd albums, badly misfires with Chicago, muting the overall "big" sound the band had developed under James William Guercio. Too, he lets a series of awful Cetera ballads dominate the first half of the CD; drivel like "Song for You" and "Where Did the Loving Go" signal the eventual decline of Chicago into Cetera-spun sap (the same goes for the dreadful "Birthday Boy," a Daniel Seraphine/David Wolinski opus best left in the out-take bin). The liner notes indicate that Dowd was unable to control much of what went on during the sessions, and band profiles (such as "Chicago: VH1 Behind the Music") show that no one was able to control what went on OUTSIDE the sessions.

The band somewhat overcomes these disadvantages with solid rockers like Bobby Lamm's "Manipulation," Cetera's "Hold On," and Jimmy Pankow's "The American Dream."

The second half of the CD is aided as well by the great uptempo single "Thunder and Lightning" (why it didn't chart higher is still a mystery to me), and Lamm's excellent "I'd Rather Be Rich"--the CD's absolute standout, ranking among the best Chi's ever done (an early version of this great tune can be found on Rhino's remaster of Chicago X). Even Cetera's mid-tempo "Overnight Cafe" has a pleasing hook and a killer bridge.

The Rhino remaster features three bonus tracks, any one of which is preferable to "Song for You." Lamm's "Doin' Business" is uptempo and catchy, and his "Soldier of Fortune" is perhaps better than anything that wound up on on the original release. Cetera growls out the Pankow-penned "Live It Up," which, admittedly, is nothing special.

CHICAGO XIV sold poorly. Very soon after its release, Columbia dropped the band, sending it into limbo. This is sad, because XIV features some of the band's best work in years, mishandled though it may be.

After the death of Terry Kath this band started to disintegrate.

Donnie Dacus came aboard for a couple of comeback attempts, but this one album pretty much wrote the end for them for me.

Peter Cetera turned them into a shlock and shmaltz outfit, bereft of their former passion and power. I suppose it happens.

I would not recommend any of the albums released after 1977.

This controversial album was a turning point for the band, and it also marked the end of another chapter of awesome tunes from this hit machine. Most fans know that Chicago 16 in '82 starts another chapter, so Chicago XIV from 1980 holds a special place in the hearts of many who have followed the guys this amazing ride.
Chicago XIV comes eleven years after the debut album. The late 70s was a tough period for the band for many reasons, as "Hot Streets" and "Chicago 13" did ok, but not as well as all Chicago records from approx 1970-77. It was back to the Roman Numerals we love for this release, and after this they went to solid numbers for quite some time until around XXV with the Christmas Album in '98 and XXVI (Live) in '99.
In this reviewer's opinion, over half of the songs are great...which usually shows that you have a winner.
The Good: "Hold On" should have been released as a single, and I think it would have become a huge hit. This is by far the best song on the album. 'Overnight Café,' 'Thunder and Lightning,' 'Upon Arrival,' 'Where did the Lovin' Go,' and 'The American Dream' follow as the best songs. Of the bonus tracks, the two previously unissued songs are great (Live it Up, Soldier of Fortune.)
The bad: 'Song for You', 'Birthday Boy', 'I'd Rather be Rich', and the bonus track 'Doin' Business.' SFY and BB are really bad but the rest of this record makes up for it. 'Manipulation' is adequate but should not be considered their #1 song from this album.
Stories swirl about how Columbia mistreated this record, how it was barely visible on the store shelves back in 1980, and about how the band wasn't promoted properly. It only reached #71 on the famous Billboard list, a far cry from what Chicago was used to. There are great liner notes in this Rhino Reissue, and a picture of the guys unlike in the original album release. Chris Pinnick, who took over for the departed Donnie Dacus, is NOT pictured even though he is listed as an official member of Chicago from 1980-84.
Give this album a try if you haven't already. There are some really good songs on here, even though this is considered by many to be the LEAST favorite or popular of all the albums to date.

I would give five stars for the wonderfully crafted
Chicago classic "Thunder And Lightning",as great a pop song as this band ever made.But aside from that and the spiky new
wave of "Manipulation" "14" earns it's two stars just for those songs and only half a star for "Manipulation".Nothing else here be it ballad or uptempo rocker even earns a mention and aside from yet another clever cover jacket this is'nt worth music musically.

Chicago XIV may be the true low point in the legendary band's massive catalogue of albums. Although some of the writing and performances are good, producer Tom Dowd had no business being involved with this record, and is to blame for this product not being up to par. The mix is terribly lean and the recorded sound is flat. Chicago, aside from being recognized for their great unique horns, is a band always known for terrific harmony vocal arrangements. Here, there are practically none in the CD's ten tracks, with Robert Lamm or Peter Cetera standing alone in the lead vocal role of each tune.
The CD's opener, "Manipulation" is a highlight, with a crisp, uptempo groove and ripping, lightening-fast guitar solo from session player Chris Pinnick, who toured with the group in the early 80's.
"I'd Rather Be Rich" another Bobby Lamm composition, finds the band on solid footing, with a tight groove and cool horn sectional.
A perfect example however of the lackluster production's impact on the disc's presentaton of the material is "Where Did the Lovin' Go?" . This is a great Peter Cetera rock ballad that simply has no style due to the minimal arrangement and paper-thin production value.
The bonus tracks on this re-issue are interesting especially "Doin' Business", which finds Bobby Lamm belting out a Joe Jackson-esque quick tempo rocker. This track should have been included in the original release, and why it was omitted is a mystery. Why Chicago used Tom Dowd on Chicago XIV, passing on the skills of David Foster, who was to be brought in for the terrific Chicago 16, is an even greater mystery.