Search - Peter Cetera :: The Best of Peter Cetera: Live

I Can't believe how good this CD sounds!!!!

David Spuria | Spencer, MA United States | 03/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a fair weather fan of both Chicago and Peter Cetera, I think I can comment with some authority on this CD. I also spent some time during the late 1980's and early 1990's in rock and top 40 radio. Both Cetera and Chicago were still thriving on the charts, with Chicago starting to lose steam. Peter Cetera on the other hand kept chugging away on AC radio. As a guy who grew up on rock radio, I always thought Cetera wanted to be a rocker. His first solo album (Peter Cetera) contains one of the best rock radio songs ever-"Living In The Limelight". A song that has been long forgotten. Cetera also later teamed up with David Gilmore (Pink Floyd guitarist, composer) to create the eery "You Never Listen to Me" from Cetera's album "One More Story". Chicago on the other hand was still hot, but cooling off from the last Cetera project, Chicago 17. Jason Scheff took over for Cetera on vocals, and did some nice work on "Will You Still Love Me?" and "What Kind Of Man Would I Be" from Chicago 18 and the subsequent best of '82-'89 disc. But that would essentially be it for Chicago. They made one last gasp in 1990 with "Chasin' The Wind" with Bill Champlin on vocals. But Chicago was heavily relying on "hot" songwriters to keep them going. Many would say that their post Chicago 17 stuff sounded more reminiscient of Heart or Night Ranger, thanks to the chunky production work of Ron Nevison. Peter Cetera kept on doing what he does best-sing and write great songs. From the Oscar nominated "Glory Of Love" to the haunting, yet optimistic "Restless Heart", Cetera continued to find a home on AC radio.In fact, even when Cetera didn't write the song, he managed to choose well. "Feels Like Heaven" and "After All", both duets, were perfect AC radio fare, and put Cetera's ready made soft rock vocals back to work. Chicago's studio efforts falied to produce much. "Here In My Heart", another Champlin song, became a minor hit from the 30th anniversery greatest hits CD. To Chicago's credit, they continue to tour and sell out most of their shows. In fact last year's pairing with Earth, Wind and Fire was a stroke of brilliance. Both bands have so much in common-and what a catalogue to play from!

But of all the CD's to be released, The Best Of Peter Cetera Live, could be better than anything from Chicago or Cetera to this point. The recording itself is stunning. A combination of Cetera's unplugged band (who are these great guitar players anyway?) and the Salt Lake City Symphony Orchestra-and 5.1 surround sound make this CD glisten. The material here is all good-no fillers. In fact, a Cher impersonation begins "After All", but she is hardly missed as the mystery guest female singer blows the roof off the auditorium. Every song is re-done with more depth than the original. After hearing Jason Scheff sing the older Chicago classics, it was refreshing to hear Cetera's original takes on "Baby What A Big Surprise" and "If You Leave Me Now", 2 Cetera penned classics that both garnered grammies in the late '70's. "25 or 6 to 4" may have been the most ambitious re-working of the show. Cetera and band completely re-arrange this late 60's guitar and horn fest and turn it into pure drama. The result is comparable to what Eric Clapton did to "Layla" on his unplugged CD. But this is better. Robert Lamm's psychodelic lyrics, sung to a full orchestra, and slowed down with shiny acoustics, make for a most memorable song. And that's how this abridged concert offering ends. Probably one of the best CD's I've ever listened to from start to finish. Peter Cetera not only proves he's still relevant, he shows his arranging prowess, as well as his ability to choose the perfect material for an unforgettable and truly wonderful CD. Sure beats singing "Howdy doody", eh Peter?"

What a big surprise!

insoc | Miami, Florida United States | 09/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was browsing in Walmart's CD section and found this gem at the unbelievable price of $5.88. I saw the track list and inmediately knew for sure that this was going to be a great CD as I know Peter Cetera quality. The CD is just what I expected, his biggest hits updated in an unplugged version backed up with an non obtrusive symphony orchestra. Peter's voice sounds as warm and hearty as it gets and the female guest voice in the duets is great also very respectful of the original female voices in the album's versions. All the hits are here, the guitars sound is polished and while the songs hasn't been changed a lot (that is a very good thing) there are some guitar intros that set you up in the mood to start listening Cetera's voice. Overall, this CD feels like if someone told Cetera to please sing his favorite songs (more with more than 20 years of their release) and he did it with a most surprising excellence, showing both his mature and his still excellent (like the first days) incredible voice and feeling. Ohhh, and with that price, there is absolutely nothing that could go wrong with buying it. You'll be glad you did."