Chicago 18 is the fifteenth studio album, eighteenth overall by the American rock band Chicago, released on September 29, 1986. This album is the first without original vocalist Peter Cetera, and the first to feature Jason Scheff on bass and vocals.

Chicago 18 is the first studio album since the band’s inception to not feature an official guitarist. Studio guitarists such as Steve Lukather (Toto), Michael Landau, and Howard "Buzz" Feiten appear as session musicians for the album.

With Cetera having left the band in mid-1985 for a solo career, Chicago eventually hired Scheff to fill Cetera's position as vocalist and bassist in the fall of 1985. With Scheff and Bill Champlin, who had joined the band in 1981, the most prominent voices in Chicago now belonged to its newest recruits.

Chicago again hired producer David Foster to create a followup to Chicago 17. This would be the final album produced by Foster for the band, before the band would bring in other producers to create future albums.

The band recorded an updated, high-tech remake of their classic "25 or 6 to 4" (#48). This was the first single released from the album in August 1986. Originally, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" was destined to be remade for this album instead, ultimately before the band decided that the 1970 hit fit better with what they were planning for this album. Scheff recalled when he asked Foster on the way he should sing the song, the latter responding with: "Just like Cetera."

Alongside the remade "25 or 6 to 4", three other singles were released from 18, "Will You Still Love Me?" (#3) in October 1986, "If She Would Have Been Faithful…" (#17) in March 1987, and "Niagara Falls" (#91) in June 1987.

The album also features a brief instrumental horn riff before "Nothin’s Gonna Stop Us Now", called "Free Flight", composed by trombonist James Pankow.

Despite the success of its predecessor, Chicago 18 ultimately only went gold, peaking at #35 on the Billboard Top 200 charts in March 1987.

Reception

Chicago 18 reached gold status and #35 in the US during a chart stay of 45 weeks. It did not chart in the UK.

Track listing

Notes: A re-recorded version of "When Will the World Be Like Lovers?" (Robert Lamm/Tom Keane/David Foster) appears on Robert Lamm's 1995 solo album Life Is Good In My Neighborhood. The original recorded version from the Chicago 18 sessions also appears online. "Free Flight", a 25-second unlisted instrumental composed by James Pankow, appears at the beginning of "Nothin's Gonna Stop Us Now". David Boruff plays the saxophone solo on "Forever" instead of Walter Parazaider.

18 Tour Between October 1986 and November 1987, the band would embark on an over-100 show tour across North America and Japan. Before this tour, the band would fill in the previously vacant guitarist position with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band guitarist Dawayne Bailey, a position that would be filled until early 1995. YearDateCityStateVenue1986October 17RockfordIllinoisMetroCentre1986October 18ToledoOhioUniversity of Toledo Centennial Hall1986October 19West LafayetteIndianaPurdue University Elliott Hall of Music1986October 21PittsburghPennsylvaniaCivic Arena1986October 22Glens FallsNew YorkCivic Center1986October 24RichfieldOhioRichfield Coliseum1986October 25PhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaSpectrum1986October 28ProvidenceRhode IslandProvidence Civic Center1986October 29PortlandMaineCumberland County Civic Center1986October 31MorgantownWest VirginiaWest Virginia University Coliseum1986November 1BaltimoreMarylandBaltimore Arena1986November 2NorfolkVirginiaScope Arena1986November 4HuntsvilleAlabamaVon Braun Civic Center1986November 5KnoxvilleTennesseeUniversity of Tennessee Stokely Athletic Center1986November 7MurfreesboroTennesseeMiddle Tennessee State University Murphy Center1986November 8LexingtonKentuckyRupp Arena1986November 9MemphisTennesseeMid-South Coliseum1986November 11JacksonMississippiMississippi Coliseum1986November 12LafayetteLouisianaCajundome1986November 14AmesIowaJames H. Hilton Coliseum1986November 15St. PaulMinnesotaSt. Paul Civic Center1986November 17SpringfieldMissouriSouthwest Missouri State University Juanita K. Hammons Hall1986November 20Salt Lake CityUtahSalt Palace1986November 22RenoNevadaLawlor Events Music Center1986November 25Universal CityCaliforniaUniversal Amphitheatre1986November 26Universal CityCaliforniaUniversal Amphitheatre1986November 28Universal CityCaliforniaUniversal Amphitheatre1986November 29San DiegoCaliforniaSan Diego Sports Arena1987February 9MonctonManitobaMoncton Coliseum1987February 11FrederictonNew BrunswickUniversity of New Brunswick Aitken Centre1987February 12Quebec CityQuebecColisée de Québec1987February 27TulsaOklahomaMabee Center1987February 28NormanOklahomaLloyd Noble Center1987March 1DallasTexasDallas Convention Center Arena1987March 3HoustonTexasAstrodome (Houston Rodeo & Livestock Show 1987)1987March 4AustinTexasUniversity of Texas Frank Erwin Center1987March 6JacksonvilleFloridaJacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum1987March 7Fort MyersFloridaLee Civic Center1987March 9MiamiFloridaJames L. Knight Center1987March 10MiamiFloridaJames L. Knight Center1987March 13TampaFloridaUniversity of South Florida Sun Dome1987March 14West Palm BeachFloridaWest Palm Beach Auditorium1987March 16SavannahGeorgiaSavannah Civic Center1987March 20CullowheeNorth CarolinaRamsey Center1987March 21PensacolaFloridaPensacola Civic Center1987March 22GreensboroNorth CarolinaGreensboro Coliseum1987March 25BuffaloNew YorkBuffalo Memorial Auditorium1987March 26New HavenConnecticutNew Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum1987March 28WorcesterMassachusettsCentrum in Worcester1987April 26TokyoJapanNippon Budokan1987April 27TokyoJapanNippon Budokan1987April 30OsakaJapanOsaka-jou Hall1987May 1NagoyaJapanNagoya-shi Koukaidou1987May 2NagoyaJapanNagoya-shi Koukaidou1987May 3YokohamaJapanKanagawa Kenmin Hall1987May 6ShizuokaJapanShizuoka Shimin Bunka Kaikan1987May 22PhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaBenjamin Franklin Parkway1987May 23ColumbiaMarylandMerriweather Post Pavilion1987May 24ColumbiaMarylandMerriweather Post Pavilion1987May 25KalamazooMichiganWings Stadium1987May 26Fort WayneIndianaAllen County War Memorial Coliseum1987May 27KalamazooMichiganWings Stadium1987May 29IndianapolisIndianaSports and Music Center1987May 30ClarkstonMichiganPine Knob Music Center1987May 31ClarkstonMichiganPine Knob Music Center1987June 2EvansvilleIndianaMesker Music Theatre1987June 3PeoriaIllinoisPeoria Civic Center1987June 5Cuyahoga FallsOhioBlossom Music Center1987June 6Hoffman EstatesIllinoisPoplar Creek Music Theater1987June 7CincinnatiOhioRiverbend Music Center1987June 9Saratoga SpringsNew YorkSaratoga Performing Arts Center1987June 10MansfieldMassachusettsGreat Woods Center for the Performing Arts1987June 13WantaghNew YorkJones Beach Amphitheater1987June 14HolmdelNew JerseyGarden State Arts Center1987June 17ChattanoogaTennesseeRoss's Landing1987June 26MemphisTennesseeMud Island Amphitheater1987June 27ChattanoogaTennesseeRoss's Landing1987June 28AustellGeorgiaSix Flags Over Georgia1987June 30AntiochTennesseeStarwood Amphitheater1987July 1St. LouisMissouriForest Park (The Muny)1987July 3MilwaukeeWisconsinMarcus Amphitheater1987July 4CharlevoixMichiganCastle Farms Music Theater1987July 5ChicagoIllinoisPetrillo Music Shell1987July 7La CrosseWisconsinMary E. Sawyer Auditorium1987July 8Cedar RapidsIowaFive Seasons Center1987July 10St. PaulMinnesotaHarriet Island Regional Park1987July 11OmahaNebraskaOmaha Civic Auditorium1987July 12Bonner SpringsKansasSandstone Amphitheater1987July 14MorrisonColoradoRed Rocks Amphitheatre1987July 16TempeArizonaArizona State University Activity Center1987July 17IrvineCaliforniaIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre1987July 18Mountain ViewCaliforniaShoreline Amphitheatre1987July 19ConcordCaliforniaConcord Pavilion1987July 21ChicoCaliforniaSilver Dollar Fairgrounds Silver Amphitheatre1987August 23SpringfieldIllinoisIllinois State Fairgrounds Grandstand1987August 24Des MoinesIowaIowa State Fairgrounds Grandstand1987August 26OttawaOntarioGrandstand at Lansdowne Park1987August 28ToledoOhioToledo Zoo Amphitheater1987September 1MontrealQuebecLa Ronde1987September 2SyracuseNew YorkNew York State Fairgrounds Grandstand1987September 4TorontoOntarioCanadian National Exhibition1987September 5AllentownPennsylvaniaAllentown Fairgrounds Grandstand1987September 6TorontoOntarioCNE Grandstand1987September 13YorkNew YorkYork Fair Grandstand1987September 16MonroeLouisianaNortheast Louisiana University Ewing Coliseum1987September 18TopekaKansasKansas ExpoCentre (5:30pm Show)1987September 18TopekaKansasKansas ExpoCentre (8:30pm Show)1987September 21ArlingtonTexasSix Flags Over Texas1987September 22HoustonTexasThe Summit1987September 25South BendIndianaUniversity of Notre Dame Joyce Center1987September 27WaterlooIowaMcElroy Auditorium1987November 24Universal CityCaliforniaUniversal Amphitheatre

Personnel

Chicago Bill Champlin – keyboards, vocals Robert Lamm – keyboards, vocals Lee Loughnane – trumpet James Pankow – trombone, brass arrangements Walter Parazaider – woodwinds Jason Scheff – bass, vocals Danny Seraphine – drums, drum programming Vocal arrangements by Chicago, Bill Champlin, and David Foster

Additional musicians David Foster – keyboards, additional arrangements, brass contributions Tom Keane – keyboards, backing vocals Michael Boddicker – synthesizer programming David Boruff – synthesizer programming, tenor saxophone on "Forever" Rhett Lawrence – synthesizer programming Bo Tomlyn – synthesizer programming Michael Landau – guitars Howard "Buzz" Feiten – guitars Steve Lukather – guitars Jeremy Lubbock – string arrangements on "If She Would Have Been Faithful...", "Will You Still Love Me?", and "I Believe" Jules Chaikin – string contractor Gerald Vinci – concertmaster Betty Joyce – kids choir contractor on "One More Day" Jon Joyce – kids choir conductor on "One More Day" Rebecca Clinger, Christopher Leach, Julie Leach, Myhanh Tran, Peter Wade, Jason Pasol, Brandon Roberts, Alitzah Wiener, Betty Joyce, Laurie Parazaider, Felicia Parazaider, Melody Wright and Bettina Bush – kids choir on "One More Day"

Production Produced by David FosterAll credits from CD booklet. Engineered and Mixed by Humberto Gatica Recorded at Chartmaker Studios (Malibu, CA) and Lion Share Recording Studio (Los Angeles, CA), assisted by Claudio Ordenes and Ray Pyle. Horn Sessions recorded at Skyline Recording Company (Malibu, CA), assisted by Britt Bacon and David Garfield. Mixed at Lion Share Recording Studio, assisted by Laura Livingston. Originally mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound (New York, NY). CDD Pre-mastering by WCI Record Group Art Direction – Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff Design – Hugh Brown and Jeri McManus Album Cover (Mosaic) – Maria Sarno Photography – Hugh Brown Stylist/Wardrobe – Kali Korn Group Photography – Guy Webster

Charts +Chart performance for Chicago 18 Chart (1986–1987) Peakposition Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) 31Japanese Albums (Oricon)23

Certifications

References

Further reading