Steven Wilson confirmed he’d completed a Dolby ATMOS remix of Chicago’s 1970 album Chicago II.
The Blu-ray edition features his new version along with stereo, quadraphonic and 5.1 mixes in high resolution, and arrives on April 25. The remixed album will also be released on double 140-gram vinyl on May 23. Both editions come via Rhino and they’re available for pre-order now.
“When it arrived in January 1970, Chicago II became an instant sensation,” the label comments. “Principal composers James Pankow and Robert Lamm emerged as the band’s source of Top 10 hits, including Make Me Smile and Colour My World, as well as 25 or 6 to 4 – which has become one of the band’s signature songs.
“The album previously received mixes from the multi-track tapes, making it possible for Steven to bring out elements that were muffled or submerged,” Rhino explains. “This results in a version of Chicago II that boasts a clearness, punch and definition that it didn’t have before.”
Wilson adds: “Working with high-resolution 96K/24-bit 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.”
He continues: “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. 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. How could that possibly hang together? But it does – and brilliantly so.”
Chicago: Chicago II
1. Movin’ In
2. The Road
3. Poem For The People
4. In The Country
5. Wake Up Sunshine
6. Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon
7. Make Me Smile
8. So Much To Say, So Much To Give
9. Anxiety’s Moment
10. West Virginia Fantasies
11. Colour My World
12. To Be Free
13. Now More Than Ever
14. Fancy Colours
15. 25 Or 6 To 4
16. Memories of Love
17. Prelude
18. A.M. Mourning
19. P.M. Mourning
20. Memories Of Love
21. It Better End Soon
22. 1st Movement
23. 2nd Movement
24. 3rd Movement
25. 4th Movement
26. Where Do We Go From Here