Chicago - The Very Best of Chicago: Only The Beginning / 2CD set

Rhino began its elaborate Chicago reissue series in 2002 with The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning, a double-disc set that covers 39 hits from all of Chicago's eras -- from the early jazzy records, through the soft rock hits sung by Peter Cetera, to the post-Cetera adult contemporary records of the '80s, and beyond. It's the first compilation to cover this much ground, actually -- 1991's Group Portrait stopped around Cetera's departure -- and while it may go a little bit further than some would want (a cover of Louis Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing" from their 1995 neo-swing album closes the set; it happens to feature the Gipsy Kings on support), it nevertheless is very satisfying, since it rounds up all of the hits, and Chicago were at their very best on their hits. For anybody who has been holding on to all three Greatest Hits collections, this will replace them all, since it has almost every song from all three, plus remastered sound. Indeed, this is the definitive word on the group -- perhaps a fan favorite or two is missing, but everything you need is here, in a more concise, user-friendly shape than the Group Portrait box while offering more than any of the hits collections. AllMusicGuide

    - Disc 1 -
    1 Make Me Smile
    2 25 or 6 to 4
    3 Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
    4 Beginnings
    5 Questions 67 and 68
    6 I'm a Man
    7 Colour of My World
    8 Free
    9 Lowdown
    10 Saturday in the Park
    11 Dialogue (Part I & II)
    12 Just You 'N' Me
    13 Feelin' Stronger Every Day
    14 (I've Been) Searchin' for So Long
    15 Wishing You Were Here
    16 Call on Me
    17 Happy Man
    18 Another Rainy Day in New York City
    19 If You Leave Me Now
    - Disc 2 -
    1 Old Days
    2 Baby, What a Big Surprise
    3 Take Me Back to Chicago
    4 Alive Again
    5 No Tell Lover
    6 Love Me Tomorrow
    7 Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away
    8 Stay the Night
    9 Hard Habit to Break
    10 You're the Inspiration
    11 Along Comes a Woman
    12 Will You Still Love Me?
    13 If She Would Have Been Faithful
    14 Look Away
    15 What Kind of Man Would I Be?
    16 I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love
    17 We Can Last Forever
    18 You're Not Alone
    19 Chasin' the Wind
    20 Sing, Sing, Sing (W/ the Gipsy Kings)