Leonid & Friends
October 23, 2018 2:14 PM Subscribe
A band from Moscow that covers the hell out of the American soft-rock band Chicago.
Saturday In The Park
25 or 6 to 4
Beginnings
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
I'm A Man
Questions 67 & 68
Feelin’ Stronger Every Day
If You Leave Me Now
You Are On My Mind
Make Me Smile
Wishing You Were Here
Old Days
Street Player
Saturday In The Park
25 or 6 to 4
Beginnings
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
I'm A Man
Questions 67 & 68
Feelin’ Stronger Every Day
If You Leave Me Now
You Are On My Mind
Make Me Smile
Wishing You Were Here
Old Days
Street Player
They nailed it. Still not sure I even like Chicago, but that was tight.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:50 PM on October 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:50 PM on October 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Went straight for 25||6->4 and am like yeah I like this a lot
posted by parki at 2:56 PM on October 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by parki at 2:56 PM on October 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
I listened to 25 or 6 to 4 and I want to like it because it's so well recorded but instantly all I can hear is the click track behind it. I mean you want tight playing, but it should be tight and alive, not tight and mechanical.
Also I have to say the mixing is not even remotely as good. The brass on the canonical recording has massive soundstage presence while everything else is mixed more centre, with the drums to the back right and it's just mind-blowing when they open up. These guys, who had to set up multiple recording sessions (thus the click track) went for a more integrated spread and the mix suffers for it.
Don't get me wrong it's good stuff but I immediately had to go listen to the originals to kind of remind myself why they were just so astonishing back in the day.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:07 PM on October 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Also I have to say the mixing is not even remotely as good. The brass on the canonical recording has massive soundstage presence while everything else is mixed more centre, with the drums to the back right and it's just mind-blowing when they open up. These guys, who had to set up multiple recording sessions (thus the click track) went for a more integrated spread and the mix suffers for it.
Don't get me wrong it's good stuff but I immediately had to go listen to the originals to kind of remind myself why they were just so astonishing back in the day.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:07 PM on October 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
The vocalist is great, though. Easily on par.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:07 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:07 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
I can appreciate the technical virtuosity, but I've never really understood the appeal of a note for note, idiosyncratic remake of a very well known song.
posted by srt19170 at 3:11 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by srt19170 at 3:11 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Your cover bands were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
posted by thelonius at 3:12 PM on October 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 3:12 PM on October 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
I had both the original and the Leonid version going at the same time. Leonid is a hair faster but otherwise totally right on the money, and I actually prefer the more modern, full-sounding mix to the original.
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:14 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:14 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Belle and Sebastian also does a mean cover of "If You Leave Me Now" when they're playing in Chicago. (And Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town.")
posted by Ralston McTodd at 3:22 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Ralston McTodd at 3:22 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Your cover bands
Tribute Bands, damnit!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:25 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Tribute Bands, damnit!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:25 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
you can also write it as 25||(*6).4
the arrow is just syntactical sugar.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 3:42 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
the arrow is just syntactical sugar.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 3:42 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Incidentally, "Syntactical Sugar" is the name of my new band.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:49 PM on October 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:49 PM on October 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
No South California Purples? You call yourselves a tribute band?
posted by Thorzdad at 4:04 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 4:04 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would go see them if they played live near where I live.
posted by ovvl at 4:18 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ovvl at 4:18 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
[это хорошо]
"Saturday in the Park" is in my band's repertoire and, man, these guys do it much better justice.
posted by emelenjr at 5:03 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Saturday in the Park" is in my band's repertoire and, man, these guys do it much better justice.
posted by emelenjr at 5:03 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is a thing of beauty, and these people are beautiful.
posted by vers at 5:18 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by vers at 5:18 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Been listening to them for some time, they're better than the band that actually tours as Chicago these days.
posted by dbiedny at 6:00 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by dbiedny at 6:00 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Wait...how do we know that members of Chicago didn't just learn Russian and move to Novosibirsk?
Novosibirsk is the Chicago of Russia.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:03 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Novosibirsk is the Chicago of Russia.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:03 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Weird enough, I ran across this stuff last night. They might be better than Chicago themselves.
posted by newper at 6:18 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by newper at 6:18 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I love this, and I love you for posting it on the blue.
posted by xiix at 6:56 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by xiix at 6:56 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is just what I needed today.
posted by davejay at 7:02 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by davejay at 7:02 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Their version of 25 or 6 to 4 is tighter than a duck's ass! Even the randos in the brass section are on point.
posted by jonp72 at 7:26 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by jonp72 at 7:26 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
They also do a fantastic cover of Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September”.
posted by New Frontier at 8:05 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by New Frontier at 8:05 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I love this, and I love you for posting it on the blue.
I agree. Started with Make Me Smile which I've perhaps never heard given a proper live performance, including by Chicago themselves. And Leonid and crowd kept nailing it, hitting all the key changes. Next up, Feeling Stronger Everyday which has long been one of my personal anthems of resilience and whatever. And yeah, they got that, too. Even the tricky second part, complete with extended wind out which, what the hell, also includes a snatch of Jumpin' Jack Flash.
But ...
the American soft-rock band Chicago.
Maybe eventually. But their glory years (1969-1973 or thereabouts) were always more than just that.
posted by philip-random at 8:34 PM on October 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
I agree. Started with Make Me Smile which I've perhaps never heard given a proper live performance, including by Chicago themselves. And Leonid and crowd kept nailing it, hitting all the key changes. Next up, Feeling Stronger Everyday which has long been one of my personal anthems of resilience and whatever. And yeah, they got that, too. Even the tricky second part, complete with extended wind out which, what the hell, also includes a snatch of Jumpin' Jack Flash.
But ...
the American soft-rock band Chicago.
Maybe eventually. But their glory years (1969-1973 or thereabouts) were always more than just that.
posted by philip-random at 8:34 PM on October 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Add me to those who read "Russian cover band of Chicago" and immediately thought "Russian band covers 25 or 6 to 4". And, yeah, I'm wowed by their ruthless chops and the odd intrigue of a note-for-note cover.
Novosibirsk is the Chicago of Russia.
Yekaterinburg, for my money.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 8:35 PM on October 23, 2018
Novosibirsk is the Chicago of Russia.
Yekaterinburg, for my money.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 8:35 PM on October 23, 2018
I cannot adequately express how much the missus and I enjoyed this post. We listened to every song.
posted by 4ster at 8:46 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by 4ster at 8:46 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, well what’s the St Louis of Russia?
“Chernobyl.”
Goddammit.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:52 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
“Chernobyl.”
Goddammit.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:52 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well. These were all very nice, although to be honest, the only Chicago song I really like is "Wishing You Were Here". Leonid and Friends' version is lovely.
It'd be peachy if they covered "Peg" or "Hold The Line", eh?
posted by droplet at 8:54 PM on October 23, 2018
It'd be peachy if they covered "Peg" or "Hold The Line", eh?
posted by droplet at 8:54 PM on October 23, 2018
So, from 1989 to about 1997 I saw Chicago at least once, sometimes two or three times a year. I also saw them several times after that, until they fired Bill Champlin over e-mail in the middle of the 2009 tour and I decided I was done with the whole thing. I was maybe nine years old the first time I saw them, and chased them around the Midwest with my older sister for the years following, which was, umm... considered strange for a teenager to do in the 90s, to say the least.
Anyway, I cannot tell you how many times I heard several of these songs played live. I can’t tell you how many times my sister and I played the records, the cassettes, the CDs, until my poor parents were going insane and probably rueing the day they ever bought us those tickets to Pine Knob back in ‘89, or perhaps even the day they bought Chicago IX on 8-Track.
I haven’t heard these songs played this well by the actual lineup of Chicago in well over twenty years. What I love most about hearing these versions, though, is that I am taken back to when I first fell in love with the music, when I was amazed by all the individual instrumental and vocal lines and how they came together to fuse jazz and rock and pop seamlessly. It’s nice to let the years of being in The Fandom and becoming jaded about the repetition and the business and the personnel of the band just fade away.
These guys... they love the music. Watching these videos tonight, I remember how much I do, too.
posted by Meghamora at 10:13 PM on October 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
Anyway, I cannot tell you how many times I heard several of these songs played live. I can’t tell you how many times my sister and I played the records, the cassettes, the CDs, until my poor parents were going insane and probably rueing the day they ever bought us those tickets to Pine Knob back in ‘89, or perhaps even the day they bought Chicago IX on 8-Track.
I haven’t heard these songs played this well by the actual lineup of Chicago in well over twenty years. What I love most about hearing these versions, though, is that I am taken back to when I first fell in love with the music, when I was amazed by all the individual instrumental and vocal lines and how they came together to fuse jazz and rock and pop seamlessly. It’s nice to let the years of being in The Fandom and becoming jaded about the repetition and the business and the personnel of the band just fade away.
These guys... they love the music. Watching these videos tonight, I remember how much I do, too.
posted by Meghamora at 10:13 PM on October 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
This warms my heart and this exactly what I need to start my day. Bunch of old geezers like myself cranking out perfection in the studio. So much energy and enthusiasm. I miss making music....
posted by ouke at 11:41 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ouke at 11:41 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
These guys are great, and that drummer is fantastic, but I wish he'd learned the actual part to Saturday in the Park. Everyone else is so nearly note for note, but his kick drum work is nowhere near as idiosyncratic as the original. I was specifically looking for the relentless eighth notes underneath the "forty days in the park" section and was disappointed. It's such a joy to watch these guys though!
posted by scrowdid at 12:09 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by scrowdid at 12:09 AM on October 24, 2018
If you'd told me this morning that I'd be rocking out to Russian Jason Mantzoukas belting "25 Or 6 To 4", I'd have doubted you. But here we are!
posted by Shepherd at 4:23 AM on October 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Shepherd at 4:23 AM on October 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
...but I wish he'd learned the actual part to Saturday in the Park. Everyone else is so nearly note for note, but his kick drum work is nowhere near as idiosyncratic as the original.
After listening to the L&F cover twice with the original inbetween, I agree. But now I actually don't think of every element of the original drum take as a "part". Sure, it had basic elements that were repeated verse-by-verse, but it was playful in a way that was unique to Chicago's drummer. Also, the mix on the original bass drum, for example, was right up front so it sounds (through my early morning earbuds) like someone tapped the part out on the table next to me, so one is aware of every note played, whereas the cover has it way lower/punchier, so a lot of the nuance is difficult to make out. However, he's still mimicking the 1/16th note pickup style of the original bass drum pretty well to me. The thing that actually stands out to me is that the drum fills are not quite as playful.
posted by klausman at 4:50 AM on October 24, 2018
After listening to the L&F cover twice with the original inbetween, I agree. But now I actually don't think of every element of the original drum take as a "part". Sure, it had basic elements that were repeated verse-by-verse, but it was playful in a way that was unique to Chicago's drummer. Also, the mix on the original bass drum, for example, was right up front so it sounds (through my early morning earbuds) like someone tapped the part out on the table next to me, so one is aware of every note played, whereas the cover has it way lower/punchier, so a lot of the nuance is difficult to make out. However, he's still mimicking the 1/16th note pickup style of the original bass drum pretty well to me. The thing that actually stands out to me is that the drum fills are not quite as playful.
posted by klausman at 4:50 AM on October 24, 2018
I was specifically looking for the relentless eighth notes underneath the "forty days in the park" section and was disappointed.
I absolutely agree with this, as he doesn't have as much of a driving feel in that section. The "relentless eighth notes" (nice way to put it) always seemed so period-specific to me, and not a lot of drummers use that spice in modern tunes.
posted by klausman at 4:59 AM on October 24, 2018
I absolutely agree with this, as he doesn't have as much of a driving feel in that section. The "relentless eighth notes" (nice way to put it) always seemed so period-specific to me, and not a lot of drummers use that spice in modern tunes.
posted by klausman at 4:59 AM on October 24, 2018
These guys are good. I have an undying love for horn sections in rock music that I'm sure comes from growing up in the 70s.
I've only seen Chicago live once, in the 00s, and the vocals were terrible, off key and lackluster. Leonid does a great job.
posted by corvikate at 5:51 AM on October 24, 2018
I've only seen Chicago live once, in the 00s, and the vocals were terrible, off key and lackluster. Leonid does a great job.
posted by corvikate at 5:51 AM on October 24, 2018
Having almost successfully expunged the entirety of the Disco Era from my memory, I had forgotten just how f*ing good Chicago was. This was an excellent reawakening...
posted by jim in austin at 6:39 AM on October 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jim in austin at 6:39 AM on October 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm listening to "Beginnings" at the moment and holy crap is it ever a damn near perfect match to the original. The instrumental work is note perfect and the vocals are so close that anyone might easily mistake it for a Chicago recording.
posted by orange swan at 7:29 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by orange swan at 7:29 AM on October 24, 2018
I've always felt that "3:35 or 3:34" would be excellent as a heavy metal cover (possibly by that title).
Also, this singer looks a little like Ian Anderson circa Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 10:03 AM on October 24, 2018
Also, this singer looks a little like Ian Anderson circa Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 10:03 AM on October 24, 2018
What I'd like to hear from this era of 70's jazz-rock is a bootleg from the tour that Jaco Pastorius did with Blood, Sweat, and Tears; but I have never heard of such a recording existing.
posted by thelonius at 11:02 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by thelonius at 11:02 AM on October 24, 2018
Listened to I'm a Man, and giggled when I heard the cowbell.
posted by annsunny at 11:49 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by annsunny at 11:49 AM on October 24, 2018
Quite frankly, I prefer the Muzac versions.
posted by MorgansAmoebas at 12:27 PM on October 24, 2018
posted by MorgansAmoebas at 12:27 PM on October 24, 2018
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