Yesterday's Retro Spin through Peter Cetera's 1981 was a massive surprise. A hidden gem through and through, and an album I'm glad I took the chance on.
Cetera was in the middle of recording his solo debut for Columbia when the label dropped Chicago from their roster. This resulted in him needing to buy the rights before it could be released. When Chicago signed with Warner Bros. they would also agree to release his solo album. However, this would come with unforeseen strings.
While Warner Bros. released the album to appease Cetera, they ultimately didn't want him to have a solo career for fear it would ruin their investment in Chicago. An overall lack of support and promotion from the label ended up burying the album.
Chicago would become his main focus over the next few years, but upon releasing their opus, Chicago 17 in 1984, the artist would once again want to visit his solo career. He'd propose to the band to take a hiatus after tours to allow him to work on solo projects, but this would be declined. Ultimately, this led to him departing in 1985.
1986 would see the release of his sophomore solo album, Solitude/Solitaire, and with it would come major hits. The album as a whole would peak at number twenty-three on the Billboard 200, producing two number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. More on that below.
Big Mistake is a smasher of an opening track and only gets bigger and better with its explosive guitar solo towards the end. It definitely sets a high bar for the album and leaves me riding the waves I was still on from his previous.
They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To delivers the sound that I equated with Cetera from the 80's. Synth pop smooth rock. In hindsight, I think this is where he got lost for me as an artist. He had good music but got trapped in the middle of spectrums. On one side, for me, there was the new wave and pop sounds of Duran Duran, Prince And The Revolution, Cyndi Lauper, etc., and on the other side was Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Guns 'N Roses, and the other harder stuff. Peter Cetera was the 80's music my dad liked.
This was all the more prevalent with track three, his Karate Kid II soundtrack contribution, Glory Of Love. Now don't get me wrong, I would happily listen to that soundtrack as a kid specifically for this tune. Though I'd never admit to anyone I liked it (at the time). These days, that shame is gone. It's the song I bought the album for, mainly because Karate Kid II never got a CD release. Glory Of Love would become Cetera's first number one solo hit, spending twenty-one weeks on the charts.
The tempo stays slowed down at this point, but songs don't necessarily get bad. Quite the contrary, I'm just tired of talking about how enjoyable each one was. Dare I say I'm a Peter Cetera fan?
Despite the success that Glory Of Love was, the biggest hit to come from the album was the accidental duet with Christian contemporary artist, Amy Grant, Next Time I Fall In Love. Though he didn't write the song, when Cetera heard the demo, he immediately knew two things; 1) he wanted to sing it, and 2) it should be a duet. However, he wanted the female vocals to be an unexpected surprise to listeners. He found that in Grant, who was looking for an opportunity to cross genres into pop rock music. Though it turned out to be a successful career move for her, the Christian community did not take the transition well, calling her a sellout, and accusing her of turning her back on the ministry. Regardless, the song would become his second solo number one hit, and her first, also spending twenty-one weeks on the charts.
As a whole, the album's solid, and a real surprise to me as a result. I really didn't expect to be enjoying Peter Cetera as much as I am. I'm still riding that high, and ready to dive into his third and final 80's album, 1988's One More Story. It actually features my all-time favorite track from him.
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