After leaving Chicago in 1985, Peter Cetera went on to bigger and better things. For a young boy watching the film, The Karate Kid Part II, in 1986, you wouldn't be able to convince me that the singer was once part of a band. Instead, as far as my mind was convinced, he was an all-new singer, fresh on the scene, and delivering an amazing lead track to a film I equally loved.
Hindsight and age can certainly open one's eyes.
After having his first solo album buried by Warner Bros., for fear it would interfere with their plans for Chicago, Cetera would stay with the band through their 1985 opus, Chicago 17. However, wanting to get back to a solo career, he'd propose to the band to take breaks, allowing him to do so. His request would be declined, and Peter would say, "So long."
This would turn out to be a good move, as along with the momentum of their previous album, he was able to deliver the massive solo record, Solitude/Solitaire. It not only featured the aforementioned Glory Of Love, which would go on to be his first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, but the surprise Amy Grant duet, Next Time I Fall In Love. It too would become a number one hit.
He'd follow this with 1988's One More Story. Though it wouldn't fair as well, it would still be successful, peaking at fifty-eight on the Billboard 200, falling short of its predecessor, which peaked at twenty-three. For me, the album is most notable for having my favorite song from his solo work, One Good Woman. This would peak at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and be followed by the mildly successful Best Of Times (peaking at fifty-nine). Though it wouldn't be a hit, his song, Save Me, would go on to become the opening theme to Baywatch for the show's first season in 1989.
One More Story would also allot the opportunity for Cetera to work with other artists, such as Pink Floyd's David Gilmore, Oakridge Boys' Richard Sterban, and Bonnie Raitt. Perhaps the most unexpected was his collaboration with Lulu Smith, who provides backing vocals on the track, Scheherazade. You may recognize her from her real name, Madonna.
While it's a decent album, it's definitely less pop rock, and more adult contemporary. This equates to a lot of the tracks being slower, and candidly less appealing than previous albums.
My biggest problem with the first half (or side if on vinyl) of the album, is that the first three songs, Best Of Times, Piece Of Mind, and One Good Woman are solid, while the remaining two tank hard. Things don't pick up again until Body Language (There In The Dark), and Never Listen To Me. However, when I say pick up, I mean decent songs, not necessarily tempo.
There in lies my biggest problem with One More Story. It just falls apart under the ballad heavy weight it carries. It's as if he hit number one with Glory Of Love, and Next Time I Fall, and made the decision that he could never sing another rock song. Overall, it's a relatively flat note to end the decade on.
You'd need to really be in tune with Madonna, or know that her vocals were contributed to Scheherazade to even know it was her. She contributes only to some random chanting, and singing the word, "Scheherazade". It's not a bad song, but it's kind of a waste of Madonna's time and talent.
This would not only be his last album for Warner Bros., but his last to chart. Hist last two albums of the decade, 1995's One Clear Voice, and 1997's You're the Inspiration: A Collection, would be on River North Records. The latter collects some of his more popular duets, as well as features re-recorded Chicago hits.
His final two studio albums would see him label hopping with 2001's Another Perfect World on DDE, and 2004's You Just Gotta Love Christmas on Viastar. However, by this point, Peter Cetera had pretty much fallen off the map, save for diehard fans.
Since then, many lucrative offers have come in for him to rejoin Chicago for a reunion tour. Though he continued to say, "never say never", in his own words, he equated leaving the band to a divorce and thus far has had no interest. Instead, he opted to retire in 2019, stating he'd rather bow out before his voice faded.
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