VI Decades Live: This Is What We Do is a four-CD and one-DVD live box set by the American rock band Chicago, released on April 6, 2018 by Rhino Records. The collection features previously unreleased live performances recorded between 1969 and 2014, including the band's full concert at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 and a 1977 performance filmed for the German television program Rockpalast. The box set includes a 24-page booklet containing rare photographs and archival material.
Background
The project was compiled from Chicago's vault of live recordings, drawing on tapes spanning the band's first six decades. According to Rhino, the set was designed to highlight the group's evolution in concert, showcasing multiple lineups over their career. The Isle of Wight 1970 performance represents one of the earliest complete Chicago concerts ever officially issued.
Critical reception
VI Decades Live: This Is What We Do received positive reviews from music critics. The Second Disc described the Isle of Wight performance as "raw, powerful, and politically charged," calling the early Chicago lineup "a force of nature onstage." Reviewer Jeff Burger highlighted the box set's focus on Chicago's early, horn-driven period, stating that the majority of the material comes from the band's “most inventive and energetic years.”
NoTreble praised the release for offering “an expansive live history” of the band, particularly noting the quality of the vintage tapes used.
Track listing Side one No. Venue Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length 1 "Isle Of Wight Festival" (August 28, 1970) "Introduction" Terry Kath Kath 6:552 "South California Purples" Robert Lamm Lamm 10:283 "Beginnings" Lamm Lamm 6:064 "In the Country" Kath 6:345 "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Free Form Intro) Lamm 3:526 "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" Lamm Lamm 3:167 "Mother" Lamm Lamm 6:29 Side two No. Venue Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length 1 "Isle Of Wight Festival" (August 28, 1970) "It Better End Soon" Kath 16:182 "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" Pankow 13:243 "25 or 6 to 4" Lamm Cetera 8:244 "I'm a Man" 8:29 Side three No. Venue Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length 1 Olympia Hall (December 8, 1969) "Poem for the People" Lamm 6:022 "25 or 6 to 4" Lamm Cetera 6:173 "Liberation" Pankow 16:104John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (September 16, 1971)"Goodbye"LammCetera6:265Hordern Pavilion (June 26, 1972)"Now That You're Gone"PankowKath4:556Chicago Stadium (August 13, 1973)"A Hit By Varèse"LammLamm16:307Oakland Coliseum (December 1, 1977)"If You Leave Me Now"CeteraCetera4:318"Takin' It on Uptown"Kath6:44 Side four No. Venue Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length 1 Greek Theatre (August 11, 1978) "Hot Streets" Lamm 6:232 "Little One" Kath 9:483Pensacola Bay Center (March 21, 1987) "Forever" Lamm5:484"Medley: In the Midnight Hour, Knock on Wood, I'm a Man, Get Away (reprise)"Bill Champlin (In the Midnight Hour), Lamm (Knock on Wood), Lamm/Jason Scheff (I'm a Man)13:405Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre (May 30, 1992)"You're Not Alone"Jim ScottChamplin4:276Caesars Atlantic City (July 28, 1994)"The Pull"4:197"In the Mood"Champlin4:198"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"Duke Ellington3:309A&E Network (September 5, 2002)"Look Away"Diane WarrenChamplin4:2710Grand Opera House (May 7, 2014)"America"Lee LoughnaneLou Pardini4:26
Chart performance Chart (2018) Peakposition
References