POP MUSIC REVIEW : CHICAGO RESOUNDS WITH MORE VOICE, LESS HORN

It’s no news that Chicago made it into the mid-’80s with a hot album, four chart singles and a refurbished pop authenticity. But going into Tuesday night’s show at the Universal Amphitheatre, the real question about the group’s current incarnation was how they would sound, look and feel after the departure of Peter Cetera.

The answers came fast, furious and positive--mostly in three parts. More than ever before, Chicago has become a voice-oriented band, with a troika of first-rate lead singers--dependable Robert Lamm, blues-inflected Bill Champlin and sweet-voiced Jason Scheff.

By using the horn section more sparingly and enriching the vocal harmonies, arranger James Pankow has shaped a sound that’s both traditional and contemporary, a virtual summing-up of rock styles. And the addition of fleet-fingered guitarist Dawayne Bailey to the current tour adds a density that plays nicely against the three horns.

Liberally sprinkling the nearly 2 1/2 hour show with such oldies as “A Saturday in the Park” and “25 or 6 to 4” (which is revived on their current album), the group took full advantage of wireless amplification to bounce around four or five different stage levels in a kaleidoscope of nonstop activity.

On the current single, “Will You Still Love Me,” rookie member Scheff--whose voice has overtones of both the smooth and the rough Paul McCartney--signaled his growing importance to Chicago: for his singing, his first-rate bass playing and his youthful image. But Champlin is still the gutsiest vocalist in the group, a solid blues performer who brings life to every song he touches.

Chicago concludes its three-night Amphitheatre engagement Friday.