Chicago to Release Live Albums From 1970 & 2017

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Rhino Records has announced the forthcoming release of two live albums by Chicago, one that captures the band’s early days, and the other recorded just last year. Greatest Hits Live features 13 of Chicago’s biggest hits, which were recorded live in 2017 for PBS’s Soundstage series. It will be available in two formats on Oct. 26: a single-CD version and a CD/DVD set that includes video of the program, plus a 5.1 audio mix.

Live at the Isle of Wight includes the band’s entire August 1970 performance at England’s Isle of Wight Festival. Available on vinyl for the first time, the double-LP set will also be released on Oct. 26.

Greatest Hits Live was recorded at the historic WTTW-TV studios in the band’s hometown of Chicago last November for PBS’s Soundstage series. The collection is a companion piece to Chicago II: Live On Soundstage. Released this summer, that set featured a full-album performance of the group’s multi-platinum second album, Chicago II.

The songs on Greatest Hits Live span the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ entire career and include “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” from the group’s 1969 debut album; the #1 “If You Leave Me Now” from 1976; and “Hard Habit To Break” from 1984’s Chicago 17, which is still their biggest-selling album.

Live at the Isle of Wight was recorded on Aug. 28, 1970, when Chicago co-headlined the Isle of Wight Festival with Jimi Hendrix and the Doors. The band’s performance debuted on CD earlier this year as part of Chicago: VI Decades Live (This Is What We Do). This double-LP set is the concert recording’s vinyl debut.

This live collection offers a snapshot of the band on the verge on superstardom with performances of songs from their first two albums—“Beginnings” and “In The Country”—as well as “Mother” from their then-unreleased third album. The concert also features the song cycles “Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon” and “It Better End Soon.”

Greatest Hits Live CD/DVD Track Listing

1. “Beginnings”
2. “Questions 67 And 68”
3. “If You Leave Me Now”
4. “Call On Me”
5. “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
6. “Hard Habit To Break”
7. “You’re The Inspiration”
8. “I’m A Man”
9. “Street Player”
10. “Just You And Me”
11. “Hard to Say I’m Sorry/Getaway”
12. “Saturday In The Park”
13. “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day”

Live at the Isle of Wight LP Track Listing

Side One
1. Introduction
2. “South California Purples”
3. “Beginnings”

Side Two
1. “In The Country”
2. “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” (Free Form Intro)
3. “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
4. “Mother”

Side Three
1. “It Better End Soon”
2. “25 Or 6 To 4”

Side Four
1. “Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon”
2. “I’m A Man”

Listen to “25 or 6 to 4” from the 1970 Isle of Wight concert