The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning

The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning
Greatest hits album by Chicago
Released	July 2, 2002
Recorded	January 1969 – January 1995
Genre	Rock, jazz fusion, adult contemporary, soft rock, pop rock
Length	157:44
Label	Rhino
Producer	James William Guercio, Phil Ramone, Chicago, David Foster, Chas Sandford, Ron Nevison, Bruce Fairbairn, David McLees
Chicago chronology
Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert (1999) The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning (2002) The Box (2003)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning is a double greatest hits album by the American band Chicago, their twenty-seventh album overall. Released in 2002, this collection marked the beginning of a long-term partnership with Rhino Entertainment which, between 2002 and 2005, would remaster and re-release Chicago's 1969–1980 Columbia Records catalog.

In Europe, a greatest hits compilation was released as The Chicago Story: Complete Greatest Hits with a different track listing.

The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning combines almost all of Chicago's greatest successes from their entire recording career up to that point, excerpting material from all of their regular studio albums with the exception of 1979's Chicago 13 and 1980's Chicago XIV. Several songs appear in an edited form, including "I'm a Man", which is missing the Danny Seraphine drum solo, and "Dialogue (Part I & II)", which is presented in its shortened single version.

Track listing

Disc one

1. "Make Me Smile" (James Pankow) – 4:26
   • New edit
2. "25 or 6 to 4" (Robert Lamm) – 4:50
   • Tracks 1–2 originally issued on 1970's Chicago II
3. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Lamm) – 3:20
   • Single version
4. "Beginnings" (Lamm) – 6:26
   • Edited version from 1975's Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits
5. "Questions 67 and 68" (Lamm) – 4:52
   • New edit
6. "I'm a Man" (Jimmy Miller, Steve Winwood) – 5:44
   • New edit
   • Tracks 3–6 originally issued on 1969's The Chicago Transit Authority
7. "Colour My World" (Pankow) – 3:00
   • Originally issued on Chicago II
8. "Free" (Lamm) – 2:17
9. "Lowdown" (Peter Cetera, Danny Seraphine) – 3:34
   • Tracks 8–9 originally issued on 1971's Chicago III
10. "Saturday in the Park" (Lamm) – 3:56
11. "Dialogue (Part I & II)" (Lamm) – 5:00
    • Single version
    • Tracks 10–11 originally issued on 1972's Chicago V
12. "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 3:42
13. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (Cetera, Pankow) – 4:14
    • Tracks 12–13 originally issued on 1973's Chicago VI
14. "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (Pankow) – 4:29
15. "Wishing You Were Here" (Cetera) – 4:36
16. "Call on Me" (Lee Loughnane) – 4:02
17. "Happy Man" (Cetera) – 3:15
    • Edited version from 1981's Greatest Hits, Volume II
    • Tracks 14–17 originally issued on 1974's Chicago VII
18. "Another Rainy Day in New York City" (Lamm) – 3:00
19. "If You Leave Me Now" (Cetera) – 3:57
    • Tracks 18–19 originally issued on 1976's Chicago X

Disc two

1. "Old Days" (Pankow) – 3:31
   • Originally issued on 1975's Chicago VIII
2. "Baby, What a Big Surprise" (Cetera) – 3:06
3. "Take Me Back to Chicago" (Seraphine, David Wolinski) – 2:57
   • Single version
   • Tracks 2–3 originally issued on 1977's Chicago XI
4. "Alive Again" (Pankow) – 4:04
5. "No Tell Lover" (Cetera, Loughnane, Seraphine) – 4:13
   • Tracks 4–5 originally issued on 1978's Hot Streets
6. "Love Me Tomorrow" (Cetera, David Foster) – 3:58
   • Single version
7. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away" (Cetera, Foster, Lamm) – 5:05
   • Tracks 6–7 originally issued on 1982's Chicago 16
8. "Stay the Night" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:50
9. "Hard Habit to Break" (Steve Kipner, John Parker) – 4:45
10. "You're the Inspiration" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:49
11. "Along Comes a Woman" (Cetera, Mark Goldenberg) – 3:47
    • Single version
    • Tracks 8–11 originally issued on 1984's Chicago 17
12. "Will You Still Love Me?" (David Foster, Tom Keane, Richard Baskin) – 4:12
    • Single version
13. "If She Would Have Been Faithful..." (Randy Goodrum, Kipner) – 3:51
    • Tracks 12–13 originally issued on 1986's Chicago 18
14. "Look Away" (Diane Warren) – 4:00
    • Single version
15. "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" (Jason Scheff, Bobby Caldwell, Chas Sandford) – 4:14
    • Single version
16. "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (Warren, Albert Hammond) – 3:57
17. "We Can Last Forever" (Scheff, John Dexter) – 3:44
    • Single version
18. "You're Not Alone" (Jim Scott)^[2] – 4:00
    • Single version
    • Tracks 14–18 originally issued on 1988's Chicago 19
19. "Chasin' the Wind" (Warren) – 4:18
    • Originally issued on 1991's Twenty 1
20. "Sing, Sing, Sing" – with the Gipsy Kings (Louis Prima) – 3:20
    • Originally issued on 1995's Night and Day: Big Band

Track listing (Europe)

Disc one

1. "If You Leave Me Now" (Cetera) – 3:57
2. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (Cetera, Foster, Lamm) – 3:51
   • Single version
3. "You're the Inspiration" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:49
4. "Hard Habit to Break" (\Kipner, Parker) – 4:45
5. "Will You Still Love Me?" (Foster, Keane, Baskin) – 4:12
   • Single version
6. "Baby, What a Big Surprise" (Cetera) – 3:06
7. "Look Away" (Warren) – 4:00
   • Single version
8. "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" (Scheff, Caldwell, Sandford) – 4:14
   • Single version
9. "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (Warren, Hammond) – 3:57
10. "Love Me Tomorrow" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:58
    • Single version
11. "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 3:42
12. "Happy Man" (Cetera) – 3:15
13. "You're Not Alone" (Scott) – 4:00
    • Single version
14. "Chasin' the Wind" (Warren) – 4:18
15. "Wishing You Were Here" (Cetera) – 4:36
16. "No Tell Lover" (Cetera, Loughnane, Seraphine) – 4:13
17. "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (Pankow) – 4:29
18. "Colour My World" (Pankow) – 3:00
19. "You Come to My Senses" (Kelly, Steinberg) – 3:48
20. "We Can Last Forever" (Scheff, Dexter) – 3:44
    • Single version

Disc two

1. "25 or 6 to 4" (Lamm) – 4:50
2. "Saturday in the Park" (Lamm) – 3:56
3. "Questions 67 and 68" (Lamm) – 4:52
   • Same edit as American issue
4. "I'm a Man" (Miller, Winwood) – 5:44
   • Same edit as American issue
5. "Stay the Night" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:50
6. "Only You" (Foster, Pankow) – 3:54
7. "Dialogue (Part I & II)" (Lamm) – 5:00
   • Single version
8. "Old Days" (Pankow) – 3:31
9. "Beginnings" (Lamm) – 6:26
   • Same edit as American issue
10. "Lowdown" (Cetera, Seraphine) – 3:34
11. "Another Rainy Day in New York City" (Lamm) – 3:00
12. "Call on Me" (Loughnane) – 4:02
13. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (Cetera, Pankow) – 4:14
14. "Take Me Back to Chicago" (Seraphine, Wolinski) – 2:57
    • Single version
15. "Sing, Sing, Sing" – with the Gipsy Kings (Prima) – 3:20
16. "Along Comes a Woman" (Cetera, Goldenberg) – 3:47
    • Single version
17. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Lamm) – 3:20
    • Single version
18. "Make Me Smile" (Pankow) – 4:26
    • Same edit as American issue
19. "Street Player" (Seraphine, Wolinski) – 4:22
    • Single version

Personnel

Musicians Dawayne Bailey – guitar, vocals Peter Cetera – vocals, bass; guitar on "Wishing You Were Here" Bill Champlin – vocals, keyboards, guitar Donnie Dacus – guitar, vocals on "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover" Bruce Gaitsch – guitar on "Sing, Sing, Sing" Tris Imboden – drums on "Sing, Sing, Sing" Terry Kath – vocals, guitar, percussion; bass on "Happy Man" and "Wishing You Were Here" Robert Lamm – vocals, keyboards, percussion Lee Loughnane – trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion, vocals Laudir de Oliveira – congas, percussion, vocals James Pankow – trombone, percussion, vocals, arrangements Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, percussion, vocals Chris Pinnick – guitar Jason Scheff – vocals, bass Danny Seraphine – drums, percussion, vocals

Production Chicago – production on "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover", compilation production David Donnelly – remastering Bruce Fairbairn – production on "Sing, Sing, Sing" David Foster – production from Chicago 16 to Chicago 18 James William Guercio – production from The Chicago Transit Authority to Chicago XI Lee Loughnane – remastering Jeff Magid – remastering David McLees – compilation production Ron Nevison – production from Chicago 19 to Twenty 1 Phil Ramone – production on "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover" Chas Sandford – production on "What Kind of Man Would I Be?"

Reception

Charts Chart (2002) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[3] 86 Austrian Albums Chart[4] 4 Dutch Albums Chart[5] 77 European Albums Chart[6] 20 German Albums Chart[7] 25 Irish Albums Chart[8] 6 Norwegian Albums Chart[9] 4 Swedish Albums Chart[10] 1 Swiss Albums Chart[11] 29 UK Albums Chart[12] 11 US Billboard 200[13] 38 Chart (2003) Peak position Danish Albums Chart[14] 12 Finnish Albums Chart[15] 32

Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[16] Gold 35,000 Brazil (ABPD)[17] Gold 50,000 Germany (BVMI)[18] Gold 150,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Gold 100,000 United States (RIAA)[20] 2× Platinum 1,000,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Title	Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
The Very Best Of: Only the Beginning	United States	July 2, 2002	Rhino Entertainment	double CD	R2 76170
The Chicago Story: Complete Greatest Hits	United Kingdom	September 2002	Rhino Entertainment	double CD	8122736302
	Australia	October 2002	Warner Music Australasia	double CD	8122736062

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning review at AllMusic. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
2. http://www.jimmyscottsongwriter.com/discography.htm
3. "ARIA Top 100 Albums" (PDF). The ARIA Report (663): 7. November 11, 2002. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
4. "Chicago – The Chicago Story – Complete Greatest Hits – austriancharts.at". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
5. "Dutchcharts.nl – Chicago – The Chicago Story – Complete Greatest Hits". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
6. "European Top 20 Charts" (PDF). The ARIA Report (656): 23. September 23, 2002. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
7. "Album – Chicago, The Chicago Story – Complete Greatest Hits". charts.de (in German). Media Control. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
8. "Irish Music Charts Archive – Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending September 19, 2002". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
9. "Norwegiancharts.com – Chicago – The Chicago Story – Complete Greatest Hits". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
10. "Swedishcharts.com – Chicago – The Chicago Story – Complete Greatest Hits". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
11. "Chicago – The Chicago Story – Complete Greatest Hits – Hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
12. "2002-09-14 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
13. "Chicago – Awards: AllMusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
14. "Album Top-40: Uge 14 – 2003". Hitlisten.nu (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
15. "Finnishcharts.com – Chicago – The Chicago Story – Complete Greatest Hits". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
16. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
17. "Brazilian album certifications – Chicago – The Chicago Story – Complete Greatest Hits" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
18. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Chicago; 'Complete Greatest Hits')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
19. "British album certifications – Chicago – The Chicago Story". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 7, 2013. Enter The Chicago Story in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
20. "American album certifications – Chicago – The Very Best Of: Only the Beginning". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 7, 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH