After taking a decade-long break from the recording studio, Chicago is back and the same as ever with Chicago XXX. Do not let the name fool you. Chicago has neither gotten into the porno business nor the Vin Diesel blockbuster business. Although, a porno starring Vin Diesel with a soundtrack provided by Chicago would be an interesting career move for all involved.

Instead, those are Roman numerals, continuing Chicago's tradition of numbered albums. To translate the letters into numbers, this is Chicago's thirtieth album, which is quite a feat for any band. In fact, four of the seven original founding members from 1967 are still a part of the band today.

Perhaps due to such strong traditional influences, the band's songs sound more like something that would be played on an oldies radio station rather than today's top 40 stations. In this way, for fans of oldies, this album may provide a fulfilling feeling of nostalgia.

The first track is titled "Feel (Hot Single Remix)." As the title implies, this is also the album's first single. It is a catchy song, but this remixed version has an almost forced modern sound that none of the other songs possess. It sounds decent but not much better than anything else that is out there these days.

On the bright side, there is a second version of the song. This is the last track, labeled as the "Horn Section Mix." In reality, it is not a substantial departure from the first version, but the addition of horns to certain parts provides a more classic sound and actually gives the song an added musical energy that the first track lacks. They may as well have released this as the single and totally scrapped the other version.

The third track, "Caroline," begins with the harmonious singing of the name Caroline. Now this may just be me, but upon hearing the name "Caroline" sung in such a way and right off the bat, I could not get the song "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas off my mind. Most likely this is because "Caroline" and "Carry on" sound so similar. The chorus is somewhat reminiscent of "Carry on Wayward Son," but despite this slight resemblance, the song is still enjoyable in the way that most songs about a girl's name are enjoyable.

Without listening to the song, the title "Already Gone" seems like an odd choice since it has already been made famous by the Eagles. However, this is not an Eagles cover, not even close. Whereas the Eagles sang about leaving, this song is about being left. "Don't know how to play this game and not be broken-hearted," the song states, "What did I expect? You're already gone, down the road." The tune has a steady beat accompanied by trumpets and what sounds like a piccolo, all uniting to form a bittersweet tune.

"90 Degrees and Freezing" is just a flat-out fun song and the most upbeat on the album. The track begins with some pleasant trumpeting, a sound that Chicago often utilizes. Then, toward the middle of the song, a piano and some trumpets come together to create a smooth melody and are soon joined by an electric guitar. These three instruments are seldom heard together, but it turns out that they complement each other amazingly well.

For the most part, though, the songs would fall under the category of easy listening. People should be cautioned not to listen to this album while driving for fear that they may be lulled to sleep, or to a lesser extent, a state of little to no brain activity. Still, if the goal is to unwind, this album is the ideal accompaniment to an hour of relaxation. The songs are soothing and hark back to a day of mellow melodies and meaningful lyrics. They may sound like oldies, but at least they are goodies.

Rating: 3 out of 5