Review: NOW MORE THAN EVER: THE HISTORY OF CHICAGO Pays Tribute To The Rock Band's Living Legacy
(The 22nd Annual Sedona International Film Festival, running from February 20th through February 28th, is featuring more than 160 films, including documentaries, features, shorts, animation and foreign films. The following is one of a series of reviews of selected films from the Festival.)
As time goes on, I realize just what you mean to me. The line from Color My World expresses what is undeniably a universal feeling among generations of fans of one of the most prolific and iconic rock bands of all time, Chicago. You are my love and my life; you are my inspiration. Likewise, the line from another of the group's greatest hits, Just You 'N' Me, may speak to the broad power and influence of their music.
Peter Pardini's meticulously detailed documentary, NOW MORE THAN EVER: THE HISTORY OF CHICAGO, more than captures these sentiments. It delivers a candid and intimate portrait of the young men who, in 1967, embarked on a journey of extraordinary musical innovation and today are legends in their own time.
Pardini's intricately crafted fusion of footage and interviews reveals the hearts and souls of the band's principals. In chapter after chapter, measured by the sands of time, it charts their evolution as they invent the distinctive sound and rhythm of the "rock band with horns;" become one of the prominent voices of the peace movement and a required presence on college campuses; struggle to uphold their artistic integrity as they navigate the fickle and sometimes ruthless waters ~ and egos ~ of the record industry; indulge in the bliss and excesses of the "creative community" at Jim Guercio's Caribou Ranch; suffer the tragic loss of lead singer Terry Kath (When All the Laughter Dies in Sorrow); rebound with sustained new energy and new members that, to date, (as their history trumpets) has yielded "record sales topping the 100,000,000 mark, including 21 Top 10 singles, 5 consecutive Number One albums, 11 Number One singles and 5 Gold singles. An incredible 25 of their 34 albums have been certified platinum, and the band has a total of 47 gold and platinum awards."
Above and beyond the craftsmanship and keen-eyed camera work, it is the penetrating and moving interviews with founding band members Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, Jimmy Pankow and Walt Parazaider that give this documentary its edge and anchor it in sweet humanity. For all their fame, these men exemplify a selfless fidelity to their art and to their bond as a musical family. The truth of this is captured in their words, their facial expressions, their tears and laughter as they reminisce about the glory days that have yet to end. The camera has done its duty!
Forty-nine years after seven young men launched the Chicago Transit Authority, their legacy lives on. They will finally get their due on April 8th of this year when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The film wrapped before this good news hit the air waves and it could include the high note; so it culminates with the classic moments of Chicago's historic appearance at the 2014 Grammys.
NOW MORE THAN EVER was screened on February 20th, following the band's concert on the 19th to open the 22nd Annual Sedona International Film Festival. What a heavenly opportunity for this in attendance! Now, every devotee of rock and roll should make a point of seeking out the film and embracing its remarkable narrative, for the life of Chicago is virtually the sound track of an era.
Photo credit to Chicago Records II
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