Soundstage: Peter Cetera Live in Concert... (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Being a Chicago fan (& all genre's of music in general), I decided to purchase "A&E's Chicago Live by Request" and Peter Cetera on "Soundstage" with Amy Grant. I missed Peter's voice on the Chicago DVD but it is very entertaining and a well done production and concert. Chicago has replaced Cetera with a very talented singer and musician who steps up to sing the selections originally voiced by Peter (& done very well). Below are my primary observations of the "Soundstage" DVD:
* The picture and sound quality are excellent. The concert is in Hi-Definition for a great presence on applicable equipment.
* Cetera still sings with his wonderfully familiar voice although it has definitely softened with age. The high notes are not quite hit but he still manages to stay true to the original songs (much like Elton John and Paul McCartney's aged voices; Elton 58, Paul 62 years old as of April 2005).
* There is virtually no interaction with the audience (except for a few quick "thank you's" and silly comments to the audience and fellow artists). It would have been nice to hear something related to what he was about to sing. I read similar reactions to his "Peter Cetera Live" DVD.
* Amy Grant is very good. I'm not a fan of Amy but she sings 3 solo songs that were very well chosen including one of 1991's big Pop hits "Baby Baby" and "El-Shaddai" from her first breakthrough album in Gospel in 1982. Each one is excellent and she is in fine form. A great way to begin this DVD. She also joins Cetera during his act to sing their hit duet "Next Time I Fall" from 1986.
* The backing instrumentalists are fantastic although they do give these songs a different spin. Instead of the Chicago brass section, piano, electric guitars and male background vocals, you hear them with a large string section, acoustic guitars, female backing, brass and piano. This is a nice sound for Pop, Rock and Classical enthusiasts.
* The DVD and/or concert is short. Most respectably produced music events are longer than 71 minutes (and less expensive). The song list is excellent but limited. You get a mix of solo hits and Chicago greats.
* There is a nice list of DVD Extra features but really only the 3 bonus tracks are meaningful. They are great extra tunes but being that you are only getting 9 Cetera songs on the main set (including the two duets) and 3 Grant songs, I would have expected them to add more video material to this disc such as archived footage of him.
Overall I give this a 4.5. Beautiful music, great audio/video quality and some fun nostalgia with a new twist.
Track Listing:
Amy Grant
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Baby Baby
Simple Things
El-Shaddai
Peter Cetera
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One Good Woman
Glory Of Love
Restless Heart
If You Leave Me Now
After All
The Next Time I Fall
Baby, What A Big Surprise
You're The Inspiration
Have You Ever Been In Love
Bonus Tracks
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25 or 6 to 4
Even a Fool Can See
Hard To Say I'm Sorry

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Grammy Award-winner Peter Cetera performs classic favorites for the SoundStage audience. He is joined by four-time Grammy-winner Amy Grant for their duet "Next Time I Fall", classic hits such as "Baby Baby" and songs from her latest album. As seen on PBS.

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The Best of Peter Cetera: Live Review

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(More customer reviews)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?

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