Rhino's initial solicitation is very light on details. It's unclear how many discs this will be or if it will contain a 5.1 mix (which Wilson has supposedly been working on since 2014).

I just brought the BluRay box set this year!

Chicago II is not their best especially compared to their debut album.

respectfully disagree, i think II is their masterpiece.

I respectfully second that. Not long after Hendrix left, this album brought me up from the depths of despair and convinced me that music was still alive.

One disc only, no 5.1 mix was created by Steven Wilson, only a new stereo remix.

Wow!

Thanks for the clarification, Steve.
Any chance Rhino will get Steven to remix later Chicago albums (like "Chicago XI" and "Hot Streets") in stereo & surround sound?

Also, Linda, despite what amazon says, the release date is January 28th, not July 28th.

I think it's a great album, but I agree it pales compared to the debut which is one of the greatest albums in history.

Now, I am a Chicago fanatic and I'd hope that this is the start of the whole Columbia catalogue getting Mr. Wilson's treatment here.

I'd love Chicago III, Chicago VII, Chicago VIII, Hot Streets and Chicago XIV in particular to get the treatment.

No way to know if it's just this album.

There's literally no extras from Chicago (or Chicago II as people mistakenly call it), but the single edits/mixes could at least be included as bonus cuts and some live tracks!

Thank you, guys. Rhino confirms January 27th, and we have the cover image in the first post now.

If that's the case, I'll pass (unless I find it used).

With the MFSL SACD and 5.1 from the box I'm covered.

Rick A.

Very odd, this is currently planned as only a cd & vinyl LP; though it was sourced from a 96/24 digital transfer of the original multi tracks.

Wonder if the cd will sound better then the "Quadro"???

After this Rhino posting I may have to rethink my position ; OK, I just did, I'll get it!

Thanks Geff for getting me to look into this further.

Steven Wilson Facebook link
https://www.facebook.com/notes/steven-w ... 4902912460

Prrss release from Rhino:

LOS ANGELES - More than 40 years after its debut, Chicago II still sounds like nothing else. Released in 1970, Chicago's second album brims with confidence and inspiration as it draws on everything from orchestral music to heavy rock. Although it never affected the record's popularity - it peaked at #4 on the album chart and spawned a trio of Top Ten hits - many fans have longed for a more-nuanced mix. That wish is about to come true with a new stereo version created by British musician and producer Steven Wilson.

CHICAGO II: STEVEN WILSON REMIX will be available January 27 on CD for $14.98. The newly remixed album will also be released as a double-LP set later next year for $31.98.

Chicago II has been remixed before, but never like this. For the first time, a stereo remix from the 16-track multi-track tapes made it possible for Steven Wilson to bring out elements that were muffled or submerged in the mix. The result is a new stereo version of Chicago II that boasts clearness, punch and definition that it didn't have before.

Wilson explains: "Working with high-resolution 96K/24 bit digitally transferred files, I had every element from the recording sessions isolated, which meant I was able to rebuild the mix from the drums upwards, recreating as closely as I could the equalization, stereo placement, reverbs, other effects, and volume changes of each individual instrument or vocal - but at the same time looking to gain definition and clarity in the overall sound."

In 1969, Chicago recorded the band's follow-up to their debut album, Chicago Transit Authority (voted 2014 into the Grammy Hall of Fame). When it arrived in January 1970, Chicago II became an instant sensation. Principal composers, James Pankow and Robert Lamm, emerged further as the band's source of Top Ten hits for the group, including "Make Me Smile" and "Colour My World," as well as "25 or 6 to 4," which peaked at #4 and has become one of the band's signature songs. Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, Walter Parazaider, also Danny Seraphine and Peter Cetera ... somehow found time (while touring the world behind the success of "CTA") to prepare another double LP album.

"So rich was their creative seam at the time that, like their debut, and the album that followed this one, it was a two record set," says Wilson. "In fact, with unprecedented boldness the run of double albums was only broken by their fourth which was a quadruple (live) set! I consider all of these albums to be classics, but perhaps Chicago II is the pre-eminent masterpiece. It's got everything: moments of tender beauty to power riffs and scorched-earth jazz-rock, catchy melodies and gorgeous vocal harmonies. When I first heard it as a teenager I was captivated by the mixture of jazz, blues, pop, classical, progressive and heavy rock styles, including both improvisational elements and intricate arrangements, and by songs written and sung by several different members, all with their own unique personality. How could that possibly hang together?! But it does, and brilliantly so."

The album, which was certified platinum by the RIAA, soon after its release, also highlighted some of the band's most ambitious work, such as the 13-minute song cycle "Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon," composed by James Pankow, as well as "Memories Of Love," a Terry Kath song, arranged for orchestra by Peter Matz. Chicago's lasting musical impact was recognized in April of 2016, with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Rick A.

This, along with "V", was released in 5.1 on DVD-A years ago.

Hopefully the Wilson mix will at least be available in 96/24 files on HDT, etc.

Yes, this has had several hr releases already. I'm interested in the Wilson 2.0 magic.

I might have every version of this ever released, but this one could end up being the best of all, so I'm in.

Read about this last night as Chicago is one of my "likes" on Facebook (so I guess FB is good for something, after all) I am very excited about this release as this is not only my favorite Chicago album but one of my all-time favorites by any artist. I am especially thankful that this is apparently going to be self-contained and reasonably priced, and not something you have to buy an expensive boxed set just to get.

As far as the title is concerned, the posting I received from the band themselves referred to this as Chicago II.

It will.

The domestic release is now available for pre-ordering:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRRLPWF/?tag=imwan-20

i am surprised that the single versions of "make me smile" and 'color my world" are not included on this.

i love the "ballet", but i also like both of the singles too, and it's a little hard to edit those out out of the 'ballet".

although i have heard 2 different edits for 'make me smile", and one of them is done really well and one of them has a terrible terrible splice at the end.

Thanks; I'm there.

I was always shocked how different the album versions and the single edits are from each other. I prefer the single edits because those are the versions I'm most used to.