Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment
Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment is the twenty-sixth studio album by the American rock band Chicago and their thirty-eighth album overall. Released on July 15, 2022, it is their first new album of original material since 2014's Chicago XXXVI: Now. "If This Is Goodbye" was released as a single on May 20, 2022.

Production
According to Robert Lamm, the impetus for the album came from his collaborations with Jim Peterik, of the Ides of March, and Bruce Gaitsch during lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Producer Joe Thomas heard through Peterik about their work and asked Lamm if Chicago would be interested in a recording project, and it took off from there.When asked about the difference in the musical approach of the band for this album, Lamm said, "First of all, there are only three members [Lamm, Pankow, and Loughnane] who are calling the shots. The rest of the band are great guys, contracted players, top-notch guys. It wasn’t as free-flowing as I thought it should be. That’s the biggest change now."

Critical reception
Gary Graff of Ultimate Classic Rock wrote that the album "hews to the middle of the road, with plenty of pop melodies and Chicago's trademark brass arrangements [...] But more than anything the 14-track set [...] marks the real arrival of singer and guitarist Neil Donell". Graff concluded that while Born for This Moment "has its cringe-y moments", it still "has enough hallmarks to engage any longtime fan for a moment, if not longer".

Track listing
Personnel
Chicago
Robert Lamm – lead vocals (2, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14), keyboards and programming (1, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14), bass guitar (1, 7, 10, 14), acoustic bass guitar (12), background vocals (1-3, 5–7, 9, 11, 12)
Lee Loughnane – trumpet (1-11, 13), guitar, synthesizer bass, and background vocals (13), brass arrangement (13)
James Pankow – trombone (1-13), brass arrangements (1-9, 11), keyboards (8), trombone solo (10)
Walfredo Reyes Jr. – drums (1, 3–5, 7–11, 13, 14)
Ray Herrmann – saxophone (1-11, 13), flute solos (14)
Neil Donell – lead vocals (1-4, 6–8, 11, 13), background vocals (1-9, 11–13)
Ramon "Ray" Yslas – percussion (1, 3–5, 7–10, 12, 14)
Loren Gold – piano (13)
Keith Howland – guitars (8, 13), additional keyboards (8), electric guitar (9)[a]
Lou Pardini – background vocals (1, 3, 8)[a]
Brett Simons – bass guitar (2–5, 8, 9, 13)[a]Additional musicians

Technical personnel
CJ Baran – original production (2, 11), engineer
David Davidson – engineer
Matt Day – engineer
Neil Donell – original production (6)
Chad Irschick – original production (6), engineer
Tim Jessup – engineer
Bob Kearney – engineer
Scott Koopmann – engineer
Steve Marcantonio – engineer
Larry Millas – engineer
Greg O'Connor – original production (3, 4), engineer
Frank Pappalardo – engineer, final mixing
Taylor Pollert – engineer
Ben Romans – original production (2, 11), engineer
Joe Thomas – producer, final mixing
Kristin Wilkinson – engineerNotes

^[a]  Howland, Pardini, and Simons were members of the band during recording, but not at the time of the release.

Charts


== References ==