🎵 12" SotW Chicago: "Street Player" b/w "Window Dreamin'" (Columbia 43-11138, released 1979)

Chicago
"Street Player" b/w "Window Dreamin'"

Columbia 43-11138
Released 1979
Speed: 33⅓ RPM

A1: Street Player [8:40]

Special version from the Columbia LP: "Chicago®" FC 36105​

B1: Window Dreamin' [4:07]



This 12-inch single is a remix of the album version of "Street Player" from Chicago 13. Similar to other 12"ers of the day, the remix features percussion parts raised up in the mix, or added later. No remix engineer is credited. In addition, Maynard Ferguson makes a cameo on this track--a solo in the initial part of the track, and a riff before the breakdown. Unlike the album version, though, Ferguson's solo during the play-out at the end is removed on this single. "Window Dreamin'" is an album track used for the B-side.

Here is an instance of where I like saying this is a favorite Chicago track, as it makes Chicago purists absolutely squirm in their seats. "Boo hoo, no Terry Kath." Yeah OK, I get it; get over it already. One person is not a band, and Chicago carried on and evolved as the decades went by (over 50 years, according to my calendar). And as dance club mixes went, this was a good one--it had the Chicago name recognition and a familiar lead voice in Peter Cetera, and arguably one of their best horn charts to ever grace a vinyl record. For the dance floor, anyway, the extended length of this track was perfect as it had a breakdown after the main body of the song, then continued on a different set of chord changes to finish out, making it seem like two different songs put together, a mini-suite of sorts, keeping the interest level up.

This single was either a $2.99 or $3.99 buy when I first got it, but it is somewhat rare and prices now start at $40 and go up from there. This version of "Street Player" also appears on one of the more recent Chicago 13 reissues as a bonus track, although the speed of this track is somewhat off in this version.

Chicago - Street Player

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1979 Vinyl release of "Street Player" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[rbisherw]

Huge Chicago fan, and "Street Player" is my favorite track from "13". Not a vert good album, IMHO.

Nice to see drummer Danny Seraphine getting a writing credit. HIs autobiography "Street Player" is excellent as well.

Danny also co-wrote "Take me Back to Chicago" and "Little One" from 11.

Helluva drummer as well,

 

[Rudy]

I agree the album isn't as good as it could be. I don't follow Chicago much but aside from a couple of tracks, it seems like they were trying to find their way into contemporary popular music trends but not quite sure which direction to take. "Street Player" was a good touchpoint for casual Chicago fans who liked their radio hits and would recognize this on the dance floor. And in a sense, the song also is more of a throwback to old Chicago records than diehard fans will ever admit--it's sprawling in length and has that killer horn chart, going back to when the instrumental part of the band was featured more prominently.

 

[Bobberman]

One thing about Chicago I always loved was the ability to fuse Rock Jazz and pop and Have A Killer Horn section equally as good as the rhythm Everything just seemed to blend well and although I lost track of Chicago a couple years after Peter Cetera's departure I still fondly listen to their music they even did a few instrumentals on their early Albums my favorite instrumental of theirs is "Mongonucleosis" a real funky Latin flavored jam sessions that song makes me feel much younger than I am

 

[AM Matt]

Chicago "13" (building tower) is their worst album. Never cared for it.

 

[rbisherw]

One thing about Chicago I always loved was the ability to fuse Rock Jazz and pop and Have A Killer Horn section equally as good as the rhythm Everything just seemed to blend well and although I lost track of Chicago a couple years after Peter Cetera's departure I still fondly listen to their music they even did a few instrumentals on their early Albums my favorite instrumental of theirs is "Mongonucleosis" a real funky Latin flavored jam sessions that song makes me feel much younger than I am

Respectfully disagree that the horns were as good as the rhythm section.
Kath, Cetera and Seraphine were all superb musicians. The Chicago Horns were adequate for Pankow's and Lamm's arrangements. However, while Loughnane and Parazader were good players. they certainly were not as accomplished as the rhythm players, especially when it came to improvisational skills. For what it's worth always believed that Tower of Power (even considering the rotating personnel) always had the best horn players.
These are my opinions and YMMV.

 

[Bobberman]

Respectfully disagree that the horns were as good as the rhythm section.
Kath, Cetera and Seraphine were all superb musicians. The Chicago Horns were adequate for Pankow's and Lamm's arrangements. However, while Loughnane and Parazader were good players. they certainly were not as accomplished as the rhythm players, especially when it came to improvisational skills. For what it's worth always believed that Tower of Power (even considering the rotating personnel) always had the best horn players.
These are my opinions and YMMV.

Point well taken disagreements are perfectly OK I will simply say the horn section served its purpose in the proper context I didn't mean to imply they were equally accomplished but I was just stating my opinion that I liked them equally I should have clarified that nevertheless it is what it is the tower of power indeed had great horn players you will get No Argument from me on that one

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Respectfully disagree that the horns were as good as the rhythm section.
Kath, Cetera and Seraphine were all superb musicians. The Chicago Horns were adequate for Pankow's and Lamm's arrangements. However, while Loughnane and Parazader were good players. they certainly were not as accomplished as the rhythm players, especially when it came to improvisational skills. For what it's worth always believed that Tower of Power (even considering the rotating personnel) always had the best horn players.
These are my opinions and YMMV.

Lee Loughnane is a uniformly solid trumpet player and Pankow is an amazing trombone player. The weak link in that horn section was always Parazaider. If it's written down, he can play it and do so well. However, if he's asked to improvise, he's lost at sea. There is plenty of proof of this on YouTube. David Foster asked him to do it when he needed a sax solo on Chicago 18's "Forever" and he couldn't cut it. He then asked frequent cohort Dave Boruff to do it, though he wasn't credited to propagate the illusion that Parazaider actually played it. Anyone who knows Boruff's playing knows it's Boruff.

Agreed on TOP. I'm not much on their songwriting (the titles alone of many of their songs are just cringe) but their horn section has always been complete and utter fire.

Ed