If You Leave Me Now is a nostalgic trip to my childhood. It was released in 1976, when I was nine years old. I have vivid memories of hearing it during that summer, driving around in the VW Beetle with my Mom, hanging out at Deerspring Pool as it played over the loudspeakers. In a way, it is a kind of security blanket. In my mind's catalogue of songs, it shares a drawer with 'If you could read my mind.' Maybe I like soft songs with 'if' in the title? Nah...'If'' by Bread would never be allowed past security. Kick that one to the curb. That's the song that starts out with that 'wawawawawa...wawawawawa...'sound. 'If a man could throw up on a song, then why can't I throw up on it too...' hahaha.
But......I digress. IYLMN was a global smash for Chicago, hitting #1 in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands. I think it inspired every song in Air Supply's catalogue. It starts out all soft and gentle, light horns and strings, a finger cymbal. Peter Cetera busts out his high-pitched Beach Boy vocals. Nice harmonies, a soft Terry Kath acoustic guitar solo, joined by strings. The only part I don't like is around 2:00, those rising strings are totally over the top and unnecessary. And I can always do without frickin James Pankow and his trombone, ughhh. I especially love the layered string buildup on the outro. And how about Cetera's 'Oooh, girl, just got to have you by my side' scat. OK, this is not the kind of music I typically listen to, but it's like being a Cubs fan...I can't not like this song, no matter how I try. Now, 'Hard to say I'm sorry?' OMG, Yuck.
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