1976 Chicago: If You Leave Me Now

Throughout the seventies and early years of the eighties there were a number of American soft rock bands that, although huge in their homeland and lorded it over FM radio, meant next to diddly squat in the UK. I say 'next to' because most of them had at least one signature tune that successfully made the journey over. Examples? Well Kansas - 'Dust In The Wind', REO Speedwagon - 'Keep On Loving You', Blue Oyster Cult - 'Don't Fear The Reaper', Journey - 'Don't Stop Believing', Survivor - 'Eye Of The Tiger', Boston - 'More Than A Feeling'. And so on.

To that list can be added Chicago. Although popular enough back home to be able to release a quadruple live album in 1971, it took their tenth album to spawn the song that made the UK sit up and take notice; 'If You Leave Me Now' is a low key ballad written and sung by bassist Peter Cetera. The title itself is the hook - "If you leave me now, you'll take away the biggest part of me"; utterly meaningless, but it sounds sincere, and that's my main gripe with song - it's all too deliberately low lights, soft focus blown-dry and airbrushed to within an inch of it's life to convey any genuine feeling. After all, even a dog can shake hands.

Cetera's pleading with his lover to stay "How could we end it all this way. When tomorrow comes and we'll both regret he things we said today. How could we let it slip away" rings as hollow as the dull thud from a cracked bell. There's a lot of 'we' in there, but I think he's bluffing; those 'woh woh woh woh's' sound more like a dog in heat than one of the broken hearted and he finally shows his hand on the closing "Oh mama, I just got to have your lovin', yeah". Rampant self interest does not a good love ballad make and, poor old Pete, he's more concerned about where his next leg-over is coming from than what his 'mama' (oh dear) wants from the relationship. Someone throw a bucket of water over that man quickly, the girl deserves better.