Chicago has recorded 38 albums in 50 years. Robert Lamm on how that's even possible

Chicago returns to Cincinnati on July 23 supporting the 38th album in the band's storied 50-year career, “Born for This Moment.” With an eclectic sound, self-described as “a rock 'n' roll band with horns,” the Hall of Famers have released five No. 1 albums and an amazing 21 top-10 singles, including hits like “If You Leave Me Now” and “Saturday in the Park.”

I recently spoke with founding member, songwriter and keyboardist Robert Lamm about the new album, the arrangement process, and the band’s upcoming dates with Brian Wilson.

Question: Do you have any memories of your time spent in Cincinnati?

Answer: Cincinnati was an older city to my eyes, in my experience. I did spend a lot of time walking the streets and neighborhoods. The topography of Cincinnati, and the melting pot that Cincinnati has always been – I always found that interesting. There are a bunch of art galleries. I just found it a more interesting city than many.

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Q: You moved from New York to Chicago at an early age. How did living in two of the largest cities in the country influence your songwriting?

A: I was a kid when I first heard rock 'n' roll. And I sang in a really good church choir in Brooklyn. So I was exposed to both classical music and rock 'n' roll at the same time. I started playing piano by ear because there was a piano in the choir master's room. That was my exposure to hands-on music. By the time I was in Chicago, in high school, a couple of my schoolmates knew that I played piano and asked me if I'd be willing to get an electric piano and join their band. So my mom took me down to downtown Chicago and I got a Wurlitzer electric piano. That was how I started.

Q: You have a new album that's about to be released. Aside from changes in personnel, how do you think the band has evolved since your earlier '70s albums?

A: I've always been the guy in the band who wrote songs. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they depended on me to supply the songs for the album. With "Now," we were experimenting with recording while we were touring. Lee Loughnane, the trumpeter, he's the guy who's willing to deal with the tech issues, and somehow put together a recording rig that we could travel with on the bus. So we would go from city to city and if we had a day off, we'd drag the stuff into the hotel and set it up in a room. If we didn't have the day off, we'd get into a real hot bus and do the recording there.

From album to album, there wasn't really a narrative that we were following. Jimmy wrote a couple of songs, and I wrote a couple of songs, and whoever else kicked in a couple of songs. The album was a document of where we were at that moment for good or for ill. To my mind, there were too many occasions when we lost the ability to be part of the mainstream. There's a whole new generation that's doing music that we don't do. But I've always listened to everything. I started hearing DJ mixes, mostly from Europe or Japan, and remixes and EDM too. I've been influenced by what those sounds and samples and rhythms are.

During the pandemic, I was writing with other musicians I admired. But I never had the time to sit down and work with them. All of a sudden, I was doing file sharing with several other guys that I didn't even see for two years. I was able to build songs and arrangements that quite accidentally were overheard by a producer by the name of Joe Thomas – a Chicago-based producer. He heard some of it and asked if I thought Chicago would be interested in doing an album with him. By the beginning of this year, it was pretty much done and just being mixed.

Q: Chicago is a big band, and horns are particularly interesting to me because they only play one note at a time. Harmonizing requires that meeting of the minds. Do you come up with those parts as you're thinking of your melody and lyrics, or is it more of a collaborative process?

A: Historically, the songs that I wrote in the beginning albums, by and large, I would at least have a sketch ready when we began rehearsing to record – "25 to 64" and "Beginnings," the first handful of albums. But I was not really adept at arranging, orchestrating my ideas. Jimmy Panko is an expert at that. So I would just hand him my sketches and he would build upon them. Eventually, he was writing songs and doing rather complicated arrangements, and he still does that from time to time. The problem was, in this current album, I was building my songs and the demos on my laptop. Jimmy doesn't live in California anymore, so a friend who had subbed for Jimmy many times with us, I would work with him to build the current arrangements.

Q: You're touring with Brian Wilson and a couple of other Beach Boys members. How did you connect with them?

A: We call them Brian's Boys. We've been friends for years, both Brian and Carl. Over the years, we found it really difficult to find another band that would want to tour with us. We had a very good success with Earth, Wind & Fire for a few years. Each year, management and our agency put out feelers to see who's willing to tour with Chicago. We don't bite and we're rather friendly. So that's the method we've been using for years. And Brian's band were very open to touring this summer with us. They sound great.

Chicago and Brian Wilson

When: 7 pm, Saturday, July 23.

Where: Riverbend Music Center, 6295 Kellogg Ave., Anderson Township.

Tickets: $35.50-$90.50.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Chicago tour supports band's 38th album. How is that even possible?