Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta Soft Rock. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta Soft Rock. Mostrar todas las entradas

lunes, 27 de octubre de 2025

Peter Cetera "You're the Inspiration: A Collection (USA, River North Records, 51416 1250 2)"

You're the Inspiration: A Collection is the sixth solo album by Peter Cetera released in 1997. It was the second album released by Cetera for River North Records. The album is a collection of previously recorded duets, a few new songs and a few re-recordings of old Chicago hits.

Following the release of One Clear Voice in 1995, Peter Cetera and his label began the task of creating a "greatest hits" type package to release. This proved to be challenging as many of Cetera's charting singles were from the four albums he had released under former label, Warner Brothers. Compounding the problem further, he had charting duet singles on albums by Agnetha Fältskog and Cher, which were the property of their record labels. In addition, many of his hits from his career as a member of the band Chicago were the property of either Warner Brothers or his old band mates. When River North approached Chicago and their self-run record label, Chicago Records, about licensing the master recordings, the band refused outright. In 1997 and 1998, Chicago Records used the songs on two The Heart of Chicago greatest hits packages put out in a partnership between Chicago Records and Warner Brothers.

While the label sorted out the licensing his duet hits with Warner, Geffen and WEA, Cetera stepped into the studio to record five songs for the compilation. The first two were original songs, "Do You Love Me That Much?" and "She Doesn't Need Me Anymore". The latter was a song about Cetera's daughter Claire, who turned 14 shortly after the album was released. The other three were new recordings of Cetera's Chicago hits, "If You Leave Me Now", "Baby, What a Big Surprise" and "You're the Inspiration". The song keys were lowered a whole step down to suit Cetera's loss of range. "You're the Inspiration" sounded country flavored while "Baby, What a Big Surprise" had a harder edge electric guitar than the original due to the lower keys and was missing the final verse.

In the end, the album featured all of Cetera's hit duets, along with two new songs and three re-recorded songs.

Unlike One Clear Voice, You're the Inspiration: A Collection made the Billboard Top 200 album charts, peaking at #134, higher than his last two studio albums and higher than his first solo album from 1981. The first single, "Do You Love Me That Much?" made the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart, hitting #6. This was followed by "She Doesn't Need Me Anymore", which hit #27 AC.

For the third single, the label remixed the new version of "You're the Inspiration" with backing vocals from R&B vocal group Az Yet. The group had scored a hit single remaking Cetera's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" a year earlier, featuring Cetera's vocals at the end. An ocean side video was filmed featuring Cetera and the group, as well as Cetera's newborn daughter Senna in some scenes. The single peaked at #77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #29 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

Cetera did not go on tour in support of the album. When he finally returned to live concerts in 2002, he performed the original Chicago arrangements of the songs.

The album sold approximately 250,000 copies as of 1999 - a commercial disappointment by some standards, but was one of the top selling albums released on the small record label.

Track listing
  1. "If You Leave Me Now" (Peter Cetera) (original key: B) (re-recording: A) – 4:21
  2. "The Next Time I Fall" (with Amy Grant) (Bobby Caldwell, Paul Gordon) – 3:40
  3. "Do You Love Me That Much" (Liz Hengber, Will Robinson) – 3:38
  4. "Feels Like Heaven" (with Chaka Khan) (Mark Goldenberg, Kit Hain) – 4:47
  5. "You're the Inspiration" (Cetera, David Foster) (original key: G#) (re-recording: G) – 4:06
  6. "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)" (with Agnetha Fältskog) (Mark Mueller, Aaron Zigman) – 4:04
  7. "She Doesn't Need Me Anymore" (Cetera, Walt Aldridge) – 4:30
  8. "Baby, What a Big Surprise" (Cetera) (original key: C) (re-recording: Bb) – 3:30
  9. "(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight" (with Crystal Bernard) (Eric Carmen, Andy Goldmark) – 4:34
  10. "After All" (with Cher) (Tom Snow, Dean Pitchford) – 4:04
  11. "S.O.S." (with Ronna Reeves) (Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson) – 4:05










Peter Cetera "Solitude - Solitaire (2010 Reissue, Remastered, Forever Young Series, Japan, Warner-Pioneer/Fullmoon, WPCR-75548)"

Solitude/Solitaire is the second solo album by former Chicago bassist and vocalist Peter Cetera, and his first album after leaving the band in 1985. It was released in June 1986. The album includes the hits "Glory of Love" and "The Next Time I Fall" (with Amy Grant); both reached the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Solitude/Solitaire was produced by Michael Omartian, who later co-produced Cetera's 2001 album, Another Perfect World.

Cetera co-wrote eight of the nine songs on the album, "The Next Time I Fall" being the exception. Because Cetera had been a prominent songwriter for Chicago, many of the songs on Solitude/Solitaire were rumored to originally have been slated for Chicago 18, especially "Big Mistake" and "Daddy's Girl".

While "Big Mistake" was due to be the first single from the album, "Glory of Love", co-written by Cetera, David Foster, and Diane Nini, was released instead. That song, from the film The Karate Kid Part II, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, and helped Solitude/Solitaire to eventually go platinum. The follow-up single, "The Next Time I Fall", was also a major success and topped the charts. Later singles released from the album included "Big Mistake" and "Only Love Knows Why", which was co-written by the producer Michael Omartian and George Bitzer and reached No. 24 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The song, "Daddy's Girl," is part of the soundtrack for the 1987 American comedy film, Three Men and a Baby.

The album was Cetera's greatest solo success, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was certified platinum by the RIAA, selling over one million copies in the U.S.

Solitude/Solitaire marked a high point in Cetera's career, where he achieved success for the first time on his own. It sold more copies than Chicago 18, Chicago's first album without Cetera, which peaked at No. 35.

Track listing
  1. "Big Mistake" (Peter Cetera, Amos Galpin) – 5:39
  2. "They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To" (Cetera, Erich Bulling) – 4:04
  3. "Glory of Love" (Cetera, David Foster, Diane Nini) – 4:19
  4. "Queen of the Masquerade Ball" (Cetera, Michael Omartian) – 3:50
  5. "Daddy's Girl" (Cetera, Mark Goldenberg) – 3:46
  6. "The Next Time I Fall" (with Amy Grant) (Bobby Caldwell, Paul Gordon) – 3:43
  7. "Wake Up to Love" (Cetera, David Wolinski, Omartian) – 4:29
  8. "Solitude/Solitaire" (Cetera, Omartian) – 4:58
  9. "Only Love Knows Why" (Cetera, George Bitzer, Omartian) – 4:29
Recording information:
Michael Omartian – producer
Terry Christian – engineer, mixing
John Guess – engineer, mixing
Britt Bacon – second engineer
Khaliq Glover – second engineer
Laura Livingston – second engineer
Ray Pyle – second engineer
Lion Share Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California – recording and mixing location
Lighthouse Studios, Studio City, California – recording location
Skyline Studios, New York, New York – recording location
Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc, Hollywood, California
Herb Ritts – photography
Jeri McManus – art direction and design












































sábado, 27 de septiembre de 2025

Olivia Newton-John "Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (Japan, EMI, CP35-3046)"

Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (titled Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 3 in Australasia) is a greatest hits album by Olivia Newton-John released on 3 September 1982 in North America, Australasia, Scandinavia, South Africa and certain Asian and Latin American territories. It was her second greatest hits album released in North America and her third in other territories (following First Impressions and Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits).

The album compiled most singles released by Newton-John since the release of her 1977 Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits album from her following albums and soundtracks. The album included two new recordings; "Heart Attack" and "Tied Up", both of which were actually recorded during the sessions for the Physical album.

An album with similar cover art titled Olivia's Greatest Hits was released simultaneously in Europe (excluding Scandinavia) and certain Asian and Latin American territories. This compilation fully spanned Newton-John's career up to that point, starting with singles from If Not for You.

The album was certified multi-platinum in both the United States and Canada.

Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 / Vol. 3 includes songs released by the singer between 1978 and 1982. The North American edition contains ten tracks while other editions contain fourteen tracks. The two new songs ("Heart Attack" and "Tied Up") were released as singles to promote the album and reached numbers 3 and 38 on the US pop charts, respectively. "Heart Attack" was a Number One Single in France, while "Tied Up" became a surprise chart-topper in Cyprus.

Olivia's Greatest Hits (also released as 20 Grootste Hits in the Netherlands and 20 Grandes Exitos in Argentina) includes songs released by Newton-John between 1971 and 1982. "Heart Attack" and "Tied Up" were also included on this collection.

The album only climbed to No. 16 on the Billboard 200, but spent over 80 weeks on the chart and ultimately ranked as the No. 10 album of 1983. This was the longest-charting album of Newton-John's career and her first non-soundtrack album to rank in the year-end Top 10. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA in the US.

Olivia's Greatest Hits also peaked at number 8 with a 38-week chart run in the UK and became her only platinum certified non-soundtrack album there. 150,000 copies were shipped in Canada initially. The album hit #1 in her native Australia, her third album to do so after the soundtracks to Grease and Xanadu.

The album was well received by music critics. JT Griffith from AllMusic website gave the album four out of five stars and wrote that the album "remains the best choice for casual fans who only want the roller-rink hits".

In their review, Billboard noted that "Newton-John's second hits collection reaffirms that she and John Farrar consistently make some of the best singles in the business, from silky ballads like "Magic" to frenetic workouts like "You're The One That I Want." Half of the songs here are from Newton-John's two feature films, "Grease" and "Xanadu." Also included are two new songs, the current single "Heart Attack" and a sinuous midtempo piece called "Tied Up" which Farrar cowrote with Lee Ritenour. Our only gripe is that this should have been a 12-cut LP and included the major hits "Summer Nights" and "Deeper Than The Night."

Tracklist:
  1. "Heart Attack" 3:07
  2. "Magic" (from the Xanadu soundtrack, 1980) 4:28
  3. "Physical" (from Physical, 1981) 3:43
  4. "Deeper Than the Night" (from Totally Hot, 1978)   4:16
  5. "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (from the Grease soundtrack, 1978) 3:05
  6. "Make a Move on Me" (from Physical, 1981)  3:17
  7. "Landslide" (from Physical, 1981)    4:01
  8. "A Little More Love" (from Totally Hot, 1978) 3:27
  9. "You're the One That I Want" (with John Travolta, from the Grease soundtrack 1978)  2:47
  10. "Tied Up" 4:27
  11. "Suddenly" (with Cliff Richard, from the Xanadu soundtrack, 1980) 4:03
  12. "Totally Hot" (from Totally Hot, 1978) 3:11
  13. "The Promise (The Dolphin Song)" (from Physical, 1981) 4:28
  14. "Xanadu" (with Electric Light Orchestra, from the Xanadu soundtrack, 1980) 3:30
Total length: 51:50









domingo, 27 de abril de 2025

Loverboy "Heaven In Your Eyes (7'' Promo Vinyl Single & Video, USA, Columbia Records, 38-06178)"

"Heaven in Your Eyes" is a song recorded by Canadian rock band Loverboy for the soundtrack to the film Top Gun. It later appeared on Loverboy's 1989 hits compilation Big Ones. The power ballad reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US.

The song was originally written by Mae Moore and John Dexter, both Vancouver-area musicians. As recorded, it is credited to Moore, Dexter and Paul Dean and Mike Reno from Loverboy.

Cash Box called it a "powerful, emotional rock ballad." Billboard called it a "routine power ballad."

Noteworthy is the fact that Loverboy keyboardist Doug Johnson does not appear in the song's music video. His absence was intentional, as he felt that the Top Gun film over-glamorized war and military service.





martes, 1 de abril de 2025

Juice Newton "Queen Of Hearts (Single & Video)"

Queen of Hearts is a country-pop song written by Hank DeVito, the pedal steel guitarist in Emmylou Harris's backing group The Hot Band. It was first recorded by Dave Edmunds on his 1979 album Repeat When Necessary. Edmunds' version was released as a single and reached number 11 in the UK and number 12 in Ireland that year, but failed to chart substantially elsewhere in the world. The most successful version of the song was recorded by Juice Newton in 1981 – her version reached number two in the United States and South Africa. Newton's version also reached the top 10 in Canada, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand.

Following an appearance on the 1980 Rodney Crowell album But What Will the Neighbors Think, on which composer DeVito played guitar, "Queen of Hearts" had its highest-profile rendition in a version by country-rock singer Juice Newton from the 1981 album Juice. Newton would later recall: "I did ['Queen of Hearts'] live for about a year...Then I brought it to [producer] Richard Landis when we started the Juice album. He wasn't convinced at that point that it was a breakout song but I told him I think this is a real cool song … so we cut it". Newton's own favorite cut on the Juice album, "Queen of Hearts" was issued as the album's second single and would reach number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1981. While still at number two, "Queen of Hearts" was certified Gold for domestic sales of one million units.

"Queen of Hearts" also gave Newton her second huge international hit, with top 10 chart positions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland, and more moderate success in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. Her recording of the song earned Newton a 1982 Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocalist, Country and Western category, "Queen of Hearts" having been a number 14 country hit. In June 2014, Newton's version of the song was ranked number 92 by Rolling Stone on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.

Newton re-recorded "Queen of Hearts" for her 1998 album The Trouble With Angels.





Juice Newton "Angel Of The Morning (Single & Video)"

"Angel of the Morning" is a popular song written by Chip Taylor, originally recorded by Evie Sands but which first charted with a version by Merrilee Rush. The song has been covered by many artists including Chrissie Hynde, Dusty Springfield, P. P. Arnold, Connie Eaton, Mary Mason, Guys 'n' Dolls, Melba Montgomery, Olivia Newton-John and Juice Newton, who reached the Billboard Hot 100 top ten with her version in 1981.

The song was composed in 1967 by Chip Taylor, who said of it: "I wrote 'Angel of the Morning' after hearing the Rolling Stones song 'Ruby Tuesday' on the car radio when I was driving into New York City. I wanted to capture that kind of passion."

"Angel of the Morning" was originally offered to Connie Francis, but she turned it down because she thought that the lyrical message was too risqué for her image.

Taylor produced the first recording of the song with Evie Sands, but the financial straits of Cameo-Parkway Records, which had Sands on their roster, led to a highly limited single release and no promotion.

The second recording was by UK vocalist Billie Davis, made in 1967 by Danny Michaels for Lee Hazlewood's LHI label. Davis' version was later included on her 1970 debut album Billie Davis. P. P. Arnold provided backup vocals for that version and later released a version herself on her 1968 album Kafunta.

The highest-charting and best-selling version in the United States was recorded and released in 1981 by country-rock singer Juice Newton for her album Juice. Newton re-interpreted the song at the suggestion of Steve Meyer, who promoted Capitol Records singles and albums to radio stations and felt that a version of the song by Newton would be a strong candidate for airplay. Newton stated that she would never have thought of recording "Angel of the Morning", even though she immediately recognized the song when Meyer played it for her: "I [had not been] really aware of that song because...when [it] was popular I was listening to folk music and R&B and not pop, and that was a very pop song."

Newton's version reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 22 on the Billboard country music chart, and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in April of that year. The recording also earned Newton a Grammy nomination, in the same category as Rush's 1968 hit, at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards. More than one million copies of Newton's single were sold in the United States, and it reached the Top 5 in a number of other countries, including Canada (number 1), Australia (number 2), South Africa (number 3), Switzerland (number 4) and New Zealand (number 5). Notably, Newton's video for "Angel of the Morning" was the first country music video aired on MTV, debuting the day the network launched, in 1981. In the UK, the recording reached No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart, marking the song's third appearance on that chart without becoming a major hit. Newton recorded the song again in 1998 for her album The Trouble with Angels.



domingo, 30 de marzo de 2025

Journey "Recupera Tus Clásicos - 4 Álbumes Originales (Mexico, Sony Music, 886978985323)"

Journey - Recupera Tus Clásicos es un recopilatorio de 4 álbumes de la banda de Rock, Journey, editado en México en 2011.

Tracklist:

Escape
  1. Don't Stop Believe 4:09
  2. Stone In Love 4:25
  3. Who's Crying Now 5:00
  4. Keep On Runnin' 3:40
  5. Still The Ride 3:49
  6. Escape 5:17
  7. Lay It Down 4:13
  8. Dead Or Alive 3:19
  9. Mother, Father 5:28
  10. Open Arms 3:19
Frontiers
  1. Separate Ways 5:26
  2. Send Her My Love 3:55
  3. Chain Reaction 4:20
  4. After The Fall 5:01
  5. Faithfully 4:26
  6. Edge Of The Blade 4:30
  7. Troubled Child 4:29
  8. Back Talk 3:16
  9. Frontiers 4:09
  10. Rubicon 4:18
Departure
  1. Any Way You Want It 3:21
  2. Walks Like A Lady 3:16
  3. Someday Soon 3:32
  4. People And Places 5:05
  5. Precious Time 4:49
  6. Where Were You 3:00
  7. I'm Cryin' 3:43
  8. Line Of Fire 3:05
  9. Departure 0:39
  10. Good Morning Girl 1:44
  11. Stay Awhile 2:46
  12. Homemade Love 2:53
Infinity
  1. Lights 3:10
  2. Feeling That Way 3:28
  3. Anytime 3:28
  4. La Do Da 3:01
  5. Patiently 3:22
  6. Wheel In The Sky 4:13
  7. Somethin' To Hide 3:30
  8. Winds Of March 5:04
  9. Can Do 2:39
  10. Opened The Door 4:37