Regarding Melodicrock.com, Rhino revisits two of Chicago's best with remastered and expanded versions of the group's back-to-back hit records, Chicago 16 and Chicago 17.

Robert Lamm, James Pankow, Lee Loughnane, Bill Champlin, Walter Parazaider, Peter Cetera, and Danny Seraphine convened in Los Angeles to record its Warner Bros. debut, Chicago 16. To produce the album, the group selected David Foster, whose innate sensitivity to the Chicago sound and his mastery of then-current pop trends made him an ideal choice at this critical juncture. A song like the album-opening single "What You're Missing" is a feel-good melding of rock, pop and soul. The midtempo finger-popper, "Waiting For You To Decide," introduced fans to the magic of the band. The album cracked Billboard's Top 10 thanks in part to a pair of hit singles "Love Me Tomorrow," an epic rock ballad, while the second, "Hard To Say I'm Sorry," peaked at #1 and was an unforgettable part of the Daryl Hannah film Summer Lovers. For Rhino's reissue of Chicago 16, an unreleased bonus track has been added -- the demo version of Champlin's Daddy's Favorite Fool.
Chicago 16 set the stage for the group, to dig in for what would become the biggest album of all-new material in the group's storied career

Chicago 17. Released in May 1984, the album reached #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and earned two Grammys, one for Best Engineered Recording and a second for Best Instrumental Arrangement (for "Hard Habit To Break"). The album went on to be certified seven-times platinum. The first single -- the stark sonic rocker "Stay The Night", opens the album with crisp drums, hard-crunchin' guitar, and impeccably mixed vocals and synths.
The Top 20 track launched a string of smash hits, including "Along Comes A Woman." But it was two dynamic and diametrically opposed styles of ballad -- both of which peaked at #3 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart -- that sent Chicago 17 through the roof. First was the impeccably modulated "Hard Habit To Break." Second was the soaring "You're The Inspiration," one of those instant classics that became not only a major hit, but also a popular wedding song.
Rhino's reissue of Chicago 17, a bonus track from the era has been included: the Robert Lamm-penned Where We Begin.

Twenty-two years since the release of Chicago 17, the band is still going strong, packing houses from coast to coast in exciting double bills with cross-pollinated peers such as Earth, Wind & Fire and Huey Lewis. In 2006, they also reached the 30-album milestone with Chicago XXX.