Peter Cetera Albums (8)
'Glory Of Love (Live)'
Release Date 5/16/2005
Tracks 16
Label Pegasus (Pinnacle)
See Album Tracklist and Review
'You Just Gotta Love Christmas'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 12
Label Golden Thread
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What The Critics Say
For most artists recording a Christmas record is a convenient stop-gap in between releasing new material. In Peter Cetera's case this doesn't ring true as it has been a while since we last heard from one of soft rock's most distinctive crooners. You Just Gotta Love Christmas brings to the table everything you'd expect from a Peter Cetera record: lush, pleasant arrangements with crisp, warm, polished production and able musicanship from a crew of veteran session players. It's a mix of holiday favorites mixed in with a few originals and some guest appearances from Alison Krauss and Peter's daughter Claire; who is more than up to the task of singing with her father on two of the album's 12 tracks. Cetera and Chicago fans will no doubt enjoy having this on in the background during the holidays. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Several years after his last solo album, the former voice of Chicago is still searching for material that can live up to the songs he sang in his heyday. Here, he actually scores best in that quest by adding extra edge and zip to the old Beatles number "It's Only Love," and he seems very earnest on slightly more generic sentiments like "Rain Love," "Just Like Love," and "Feels Like Rain." "Only Heaven Knows" features a trip-hoppy ambience in its verses that sets it apart, which is undermined slightly by the bland sentiments and power pop attitude of the chorus. Peter Cetera has always sounded awesome surrounded by a full horn section, but producer Michael Omartian only puts these to good use on the bluesy opener "Perfect World." That tune sounds closest to old Chicago (well, maybe David Foster-ized Chicago), and thus it's one of the most engaging tracks here. While this won't prompt his fans to toss aside even his previous solo efforts, Cetera convincingly proves, at age 56, that he's still got a great voice and can still play a vital role in adult contemporary music. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Peter Cetera parted company with Warner Bros. after World Falling Down and went the indie route (with PolyGram distribution) for his fifth solo album. The musical approach stayed the same, however, with Cetera writing or co-writing seven of the 11 songs (one of which was a remake of Chicago's "Happy Man"). The keyboards and acoustic guitars shimmered, laying a bed for Cetera's keening voice, soaring through musical heaven. "(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight," a duet with Crystal Bernard, seemed a deliberate attempt to recreate the success of "The Next Time I Fall," Cetera's 1986 #1 duet with Amy Grant. The album's oddity was a limp cover of ABBA's "S.O.S." But for the most part, this was familiar territory for Cetera, whose commercial moment seemed to have passed. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'World Falling Down'
Release Date 6/12/1992
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
Having made a more agressively contemporary album working with Madonna compatriot Patrick Leonard on his last outing, Peter Cetera collaborated with Andy Hill on World Falling Down for an album that maintained his usual production sheen but moved more toward a melodic rock & roll feel -- lots of chiming guitars and 4/4 rhythms. Cetera's airy tenor didn't really have enough grit to carry such an approach off, and Warner Bros. may have worried that he had veered too far from his traditional power-ballad base, since there are two added tracks produced by old partner David Foster that are more in keeping with Cetera's old hits. The record company also was careful to release only ballads as the album's singles, with the perhaps predictable result that "Restless Heart," "Feels Like Heaven" (a duet with Chaka Khan), and "Even a Fool Can See" (one of The Foster productions, with a Chicago-like born chart) were all over Adult Contemporary radio for the next year, though only "Restless Heart" made the pop Top 40, while the album was a commercial failure. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'One More Story'
Release Date 10/25/1990
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
Backed with an arsenal of hits courtesy of his years in Chicago, several hits on soundtracks ("After All" and "Glory of Love"), Peter Cetera had plenty of name recognition and credibility to fall back on when he launched his solo career. With 1986's Solitude/Solitaire, he proved that these hits were simply just not a fluke, but that his was truly a voice to be reckoned with in the adult contemporary world. So instead of working the with predictable formulas and ballads that made Cetera's career so successful, he decided to take a chance and switch the gears to record an album of more up-tempo numbers.One More Story stumbles, at times, with production that sounds somewhat dated, and with songs where Cetera is obviously out of his element, but the two big hits from the album ("One Good Woman" and "Heaven Help This Lonely Man") more than compensate for these detractions, and bring out the best of what Cetera has to offer. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Chicago's early-'80s return from the scrapheap did more than bring the group its biggest chart successes: it finally shattered the carefully maintained "faceless" image that had prevented any member from becoming an individual star. In the dawning age of video, the band needed a focal point, and bassist Peter Cetera -- already the voice behind Chicago's soft rock smashes like "If You Leave Me Now," which had made significant inroads with the MOR audience -- was the logical choice. So it wasn't a huge surprise that, following Chicago XVII, Cetera decided to use his new celebrity to strike out on his own. He'd already come close to leaving a few years earlier, making his first solo album when Chicago was at a commercial low point; this time he had plenty of momentum, reinforced with a little cross-marketing for the movie The Karate Kid, Part II. Cetera's gallant "The Glory of Love" served as the film's theme and became a major hit as well as defined his post-Chicago sound -- essentially XVII without the horns, with one ultra-slick L.A. producer (Michael Omartian) replacing another (David Foster). The loss of brass, even in the subservient role it had come to play in post-resurrection Chicago, leaves Solitude/Solitaire bland around the edges, and since Omartian went for more trendy embellishments than Foster (especially on up-tempo tracks like "Big Mistake") the album doesn't have the timeless sound of Cetera's former work. However, his familiar tenor and gift for melody insure a pleasant listen even today, the well-crafted balladry making the lack of bite bearable. ~ Dan LeRoy, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Having tasted success with Chicago throughout the '70s, Peter Cetera decided to launch his solo career at the dawn of the '80s with this ten-track exercise in rock. In an immediate departure from the successfully safe formula Chicago utilized to exhaustion, Cetera employed a stellar crew of guest artists to reinforce that this was his project. The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson and Ricky Fataar make guest appearances, as does Toto wunderkind Steve Lukather, to complement Cetera's distinctive voice and bass playing. They waste no time in getting going with the rocker "Livin' in the Limelight," which features Lukather delivering a blazing guitar solo and Cetera trying to be as hard rocking as any soft rocker could possibly be. Think Don Johnson's "Heartbeat" and you're still nowhere close. Things simmer down a bit, and even return to Chicago-friendly territory, with "Mona Mona" and "On the Line." But the mandate remains the same: to distinguish this record as a solo endeavor, even though many songs here would lay the blueprint and signal the direction Chicago would take with Chicago 16 and the chart-topping juggernaut Chicago 17. For anyone but die-hard Chicago/Cetera fans, this is nothing more than a passing fancy, and those looking for Cetera's safe and accessible ballads will be mildly disappointed. But fans of early-'80s rock will be pleasantly surprised if they approach this record with open ears. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide
