Bill Champlin's solo albums of the 1990s, recorded for Japanese release and licensed to European and American companies, created a demand for live performances that he began to satisfy by undertaking tours when he wasn't busy with his duties as a member of Chicago. In May 1996, following a Swedish tour, he booked a couple of days at the Leeds Rehearsal Facility in North Hollywood, CA, to document his live show, presented here. Thus, the applause is sparse (it sounds like the listeners couldn't number much more than a couple ...
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Bill Champlin's solo albums of the 1990s, recorded for Japanese release and licensed to European and American companies, created a demand for live performances that he began to satisfy by undertaking tours when he wasn't busy with his duties as a member of Chicago. In May 1996, following a Swedish tour, he booked a couple of days at the Leeds Rehearsal Facility in North Hollywood, CA, to document his live show, presented here. Thus, the applause is sparse (it sounds like the listeners couldn't number much more than a couple of dozen at best), but the playing is hot. Champlin is generous in showcasing the members of his band -- Greg Mathieson on keyboards, Tom Saviano on saxophone and keyboards, Jerry Lopez on guitar, Rochon Westmoreland on bass, Eddie Garcia on drums, and Tamara Champlin, Champlin's wife, on background vocals. There are lengthy solos for all of the musicians, and even the vocals are up for grabs, with Lopez taking over lead singing here and there, and Tamara Champlin getting to sing a song, the rousing rocker "Backstreets of Paradise," from her 1995 album You Won't Get to Heaven Alive. None of the guest shots keep Champlin from dominating the proceedings, however, as he selects songs from throughout his career. The opening song, "Party Time in D.C.," is a lively tune with lyrics taking exception to political corruption, drawn from his most recent solo album, 1995's He Started to Sing. There are other songs from this phase of his career, but he also looks back to the early days of his solo work in the early '80s for the Kenny Loggins collaboration "Take It Uptown." The performance of "In the Heat of the Night" serves as reminder that it was Champlin's Ray Charles-style vocal that introduced the TV series from 1988 to 1994. And he finally puts on disc a performance of "After the Love Has Gone," his Grammy-winning composition for Earth, Wind & Fire (although, oddly, the title is listed as "After the Love Is Gone," which is also how he sings it). And at the end, he goes all the way back to the Sons of Champlin for "Goldmine," which becomes the stretching-out number for the band, incorporating solos from most of the players. Thus, in 70-plus minutes, Champlin turns in a career summary that knits together his funky, white-soul approach to pop music over the decades. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
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