Chicago – Chicago V – LP

Chicago – Chicago V

Chicago V trimmed Chicago’s studio ambition into the band’s first single-disc studio album after a run of expansive double albums and a four-disc live set. Released by Columbia in 1972 and produced by longtime collaborator James William Guercio, it keeps the early Chicago blend of rock, pop, and jazz-minded arrangement work in sharp focus. “A Hit by Varèse” nods to composer Edgard Varèse, a neat sign of the band’s appetite for more adventurous ideas inside a radio-era rock record. This is a 1972 vinyl pressing, giving it appealing same-year vintage context without needing to overstate the edition. At $12, it is an affordable Chicago copy with the record graded VG+, meaning a few light lines, sleeve marks, or small scuffs may be expected, but not wear that should dominate the music.