The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning

The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning is a double greatest hits album by the American band Chicago, their twenty-seventh album overall. Released in 2002, this collection marked the beginning of a long-term partnership with Rhino Entertainment which, between 2002 and 2005, would remaster and re-release Chicago's 1969–1980 Columbia Records catalog.

In Europe, a greatest hits compilation was released as The Chicago Story: Complete Greatest Hits with a different track listing.

The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning combines almost all of Chicago's greatest successes from their entire recording career up to that point, excerpting material from all of their regular studio albums with the exception of 1979's Chicago 13 and 1980's Chicago XIV. Several songs appear in an edited form, including "I'm a Man", which is missing the Danny Seraphine drum solo, and "Dialogue (Part I & II)", which is presented in its shortened single version. There is a new edit of “Make Me Smile”—which bridges the namesake part and the “Now More Than Ever” part of the “Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon” together as in the original single, but without omitting the full intro or guitar solo of the former or the full outro of the latter,—and a new version of “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”—which is a stereo version of the original single, including all but the free-form piano intro.

Disc 1

 * 1) "Make Me Smile" (James Pankow) – 4:26 (From the album Chicago)
 * 2) * New edit
 * 3) "25 or 6 to 4" (Robert Lamm) – 4:50 (From the album Chicago)
 * 4) "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Lamm) – 3:20 (From the album Chicago Transit Authority)
 * 5) * New edit
 * 6) "Beginnings" (Lamm) – 6:26 (From the album Chicago Transit Authority)
 * 7) * Greatest Hits edit
 * 8) "Questions 67 and 68" (Lamm) – 4:52 (From the album Chicago Transit Authority)
 * 9) * Edit
 * 10) "I'm a Man" (Jimmy Miller, Steve Winwood) – 5:44 (From the album Chicago Transit Authority)
 * 11) * New edit
 * 12) "Colour My World" (Pankow) – 3:00 (From the album Chicago)
 * 13) "Free" (Lamm) – 2:17 (From the album Chicago III)
 * 14) "Lowdown" (Peter Cetera, Danny Seraphine) – 3:34 (From the album Chicago III)
 * 15) "Saturday in the Park" (Lamm) – 3:56 (From the album Chicago V)
 * 16) "Dialogue (Part I & II)" (Lamm) – 5:00 (From the album Chicago V)
 * 17) * Single version
 * 18) "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 3:42 (From the album Chicago VI)
 * 19) "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (Cetera, Pankow) – 4:14 (From the album Chicago VI)
 * 20) "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (Pankow) – 4:29 (From the album Chicago VII)
 * 21) "Wishing You Were Here" (Cetera) – 4:36 (From the album Chicago VII)
 * 22) "Call on Me" (Lee Loughnane) – 4:02 (From the album Chicago VII)
 * 23) "Happy Man" (Cetera) – 3:15 (From the album Chicago VII)
 * 24) * Greatest Hits 2 edit
 * 25) "Another Rainy Day in New York City" (Lamm) – 3:00 (From the album Chicago X)
 * 26) "If You Leave Me Now" (Cetera) – 3:57 (From the album Chicago X)

Disc 1 length: 75:20

Disc 2

 * 1) "Old Days" (Pankow) – 3:31 (From the album Chicago VIII)
 * 2) "Baby, What a Big Surprise" (Cetera) – 3:06 (From the album Chicago XI)
 * 3) "Take Me Back to Chicago" (Seraphine, David Wolinski) – 2:57 (From the album Chicago XI)
 * 4) * Single version
 * 5) "Alive Again" (Pankow) – 4:04 (From the album Hot Streets)
 * 6) "No Tell Lover" (Cetera, Loughnane, Seraphine) – 4:13 (From the album Hot Streets)
 * 7) "Love Me Tomorrow" (Cetera, David Foster) – 3:58 (From the album Chicago 16)
 * 8) * Single version
 * 9) "Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away" (Cetera, Foster, Lamm) – 5:05 (From the album Chicago 16)
 * 10) "Stay the Night" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:50 (From the album Chicago 17)
 * 11) "Hard Habit to Break" (Steve Kipner, John Parker) – 4:45 (From the album Chicago 17)
 * 12) "You're the Inspiration" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:49 (From the album Chicago 17)
 * 13) "Along Comes a Woman" (Cetera, Mark Goldenberg) – 3:47 (From the album Chicago 17)
 * 14) * Single version
 * 15) "Will You Still Love Me?" (David Foster, Tom Keane, Richard Baskin) – 4:12 (From the album Chicago 18)
 * 16) * Single version
 * 17) "If She Would Have Been Faithful..." (Randy Goodrum, Kipner) – 3:51 (From the album Chicago 18)
 * 18) "Look Away" (Diane Warren) – 4:00 (From the album Chicago 19)
 * 19) * Single version
 * 20) "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" (Jason Scheff, Bobby Caldwell, Chas Sandford) – 4:14 (From the album Chicago 19)
 * 21) * Single version
 * 22) "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (Warren, Albert Hammond) – 3:57 (From the album Chicago 19)
 * 23) "We Can Last Forever" (Scheff, John Dexter) – 3:44 (From the album Chicago 19)
 * 24) * Single version
 * 25) "You're Not Alone" (Jim Scott) – 4:00 (From the album Chicago 19)
 * 26) * Single version
 * 27) "Chasin' the Wind" (Warren) – 4:18 (From the album Twenty 1)
 * 28) "Sing, Sing, Sing" – with the Gipsy Kings (Louis Prima) – 3:20 (From the album Night and Day: Big Band)

Disc 2 total length: 75:21

Disc 1

 * 1) "If You Leave Me Now" (Cetera) – 3:57
 * 2) "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (Cetera, Foster, Lamm) – 3:51
 * 3) * Single version
 * 4) "You're the Inspiration" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:49
 * 5) "Hard Habit to Break" (Kipner, Parker) – 4:45
 * 6) "Will You Still Love Me?" (Foster, Keane, Baskin) – 4:12
 * 7) * Single version
 * 8) "Baby, What a Big Surprise" (Cetera) – 3:06
 * 9) "Look Away" (Warren) – 4:00
 * 10) * Single version
 * 11) "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" (Scheff, Caldwell, Sandford) – 4:14
 * 12) * Single version
 * 13) "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (Warren, Hammond) – 3:57
 * 14) "Love Me Tomorrow" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:58
 * 15) * Single version
 * 16) "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 3:42
 * 17) "Happy Man" (Cetera) – 3:15
 * 18) * Same edit as American issue
 * 19) "You're Not Alone" (Scott) – 4:00
 * 20) * Single version
 * 21) "Chasin' the Wind" (Warren) – 4:18
 * 22) "Wishing You Were Here" (Cetera) – 4:36
 * 23) "No Tell Lover" (Cetera, Loughnane, Seraphine) – 4:13
 * 24) "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (Pankow) – 4:29
 * 25) "Colour My World" (Pankow) – 3:00
 * 26) "You Come to My Senses" (Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg) – 3:48 (From the album Twenty 1)
 * 27) "We Can Last Forever" (Scheff, Dexter) – 3:44
 * 28) * Single version

Disc 2

 * 1) "25 or 6 to 4" (Lamm) – 4:50
 * 2) "Saturday in the Park" (Lamm) – 3:56
 * 3) "Questions 67 and 68" (Lamm) – 4:52
 * 4) * Same edit as American issue
 * 5) "I'm a Man" (Miller, Winwood) – 5:44
 * 6) * Same edit as American issue
 * 7) "Stay the Night" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:50
 * 8) "Only You" (Foster, Pankow) – 3:54
 * 9) * Originally issued on Chicago 17
 * 10) "Dialogue (Part I & II)" (Lamm) – 5:00
 * 11) * Single version
 * 12) "Old Days" (Pankow) – 3:31
 * 13) "Beginnings" (Lamm) – 6:26
 * 14) * Same edit as American issue
 * 15) "Lowdown" (Cetera, Seraphine) – 3:34
 * 16) "Another Rainy Day in New York City" (Lamm) – 3:00
 * 17) "Call on Me" (Loughnane) – 4:02
 * 18) "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (Cetera, Pankow) – 4:14
 * 19) "Take Me Back to Chicago" (Seraphine, Wolinski) – 2:57
 * 20) * Single version
 * 21) "Sing, Sing, Sing" – with the Gipsy Kings (Prima) – 3:20
 * 22) "Along Comes a Woman" (Cetera, Goldenberg) – 3:47
 * 23) * Single version
 * 24) "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Lamm) – 3:20
 * 25) * Single version
 * 26) "Make Me Smile" (Pankow) – 4:26
 * 27) * Same edit as American issue
 * 28) "Street Player" (Seraphine, Wolinski) – 4:22 (From the album Chicago 13)
 * 29) * Single version

Musicians

 * Dawayne Bailey – guitar, vocals
 * Peter Cetera – vocals, bass; guitar on "Wishing You Were Here"
 * Bill Champlin – vocals, keyboards, guitar
 * Donnie Dacus – guitar, vocals on "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover"
 * Bruce Gaitsch – guitar on "Sing, Sing, Sing"
 * Tris Imboden – drums on "Sing, Sing, Sing"
 * Terry Kath – vocals, guitar, percussion; bass on "Happy Man" and "Wishing You Were Here"
 * Robert Lamm – vocals, keyboards, percussion
 * Lee Loughnane – trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion, vocals
 * Laudir de Oliveira – congas, percussion, vocals
 * James Pankow – trombone, percussion, vocals, arrangements
 * Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, percussion, vocals
 * Chris Pinnick – guitar
 * Jason Scheff – vocals, bass
 * Danny Seraphine – drums, percussion, vocals

Production

 * Chicago – production on "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover", compilation production
 * David Donnelly – remastering
 * Bruce Fairbairn – production on "Sing, Sing, Sing"
 * David Foster – production from Chicago 16 to Chicago 18
 * James William Guercio – production from The Chicago Transit Authority to Chicago XI
 * Lee Loughnane – remastering
 * Jeff Magid – remastering
 * David McLees – compilation production
 * Ron Nevison – production from Chicago 19 to Twenty 1
 * Phil Ramone – production on "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover"
 * Chas Sandford – production on "What Kind of Man Would I Be?"