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

Chicago "The Chicago Story: Complete Greatest Hits"

The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning is a double greatest hits album by the American band Chicago, their twenty-seventh album overall. Released in 2002, this collection marked the beginning of a long-term partnership with Rhino Entertainment which, between 2002 and 2005, would remaster and re-release Chicago's 1969–1980 Columbia Records catalog.

In Europe, a greatest hits compilation was released as The Chicago Story: Complete Greatest Hits with a different track listing.

The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning combines almost all of Chicago's greatest successes from their entire recording career up to that point, excerpting material from all of their regular studio albums with the exception of 1979's Chicago 13 and 1980's Chicago XIV. Several songs appear in an edited form, including "I'm a Man", which is missing the Danny Seraphine drum solo, and "Dialogue (Part I & II)", which is presented in its shortened single version. There is a new edit of “Make Me Smile”—which bridges the namesake part and the “Now More Than Ever” part of the “Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon” together as in the original single, but without omitting the full intro or guitar solo of the former or the full outro of the latter,—and a new version of “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”—which is a stereo version of the original single, including all but the free-form piano intro.

Track listing

Disc 1

1. "Make Me Smile" (James Pankow) – 4:26 (From the album Chicago)
2. "25 or 6 to 4" (Robert Lamm) – 4:50 (From the album Chicago)
3. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Lamm) – 3:20 (From the album Chicago Transit Authority)
4. "Beginnings" (Lamm) – 6:26 (From the album Chicago Transit Authority)
5. GH edit
6. "Questions 67 and 68" (Lamm) – 4:52 (From the album Chicago Transit Authority)
7. "I'm a Man" (Jimmy Miller, Steve Winwood) – 5:44 (From the album Chicago Transit Authority)
8. "Colour My World" (Pankow) – 3:00 (From the album Chicago)
9. "Free" (Lamm) – 2:17 (From the album Chicago III)
10. "Lowdown" (Peter Cetera, Danny Seraphine) – 3:34 (From the album Chicago III)
11. "Saturday in the Park" (Lamm) – 3:56 (From the album Chicago V)
12. "Dialogue (Part I & II)" (Lamm) – 5:00 (From the album Chicago V)
13. Single version
14. "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 3:42 (From the album Chicago VI)
15. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (Cetera, Pankow) – 4:14 (From the album Chicago VI)
16. "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (Pankow) – 4:29 (From the album Chicago VII)
17. "Wishing You Were Here" (Cetera) – 4:36 (From the album Chicago VII)
18. "Call on Me" (Lee Loughnane) – 4:02 (From the album Chicago VII)
19. "Happy Man" (Cetera) – 3:15 (From the album Chicago VII)
20. Edited version from 1981's Greatest Hits, Volume II
21. "Another Rainy Day in New York City" (Lamm) – 3:00 (From the album Chicago X)
22. "If You Leave Me Now" (Cetera) – 3:57 (From the album Chicago X)

Disc 1 length: 75:20

Disc 2

1. "Old Days" (Pankow) – 3:31 (From the album Chicago VIII)
2. "Baby, What a Big Surprise" (Cetera) – 3:06 (From the album Chicago XI)
3. "Take Me Back to Chicago" (Seraphine, David Wolinski) – 2:57 (From the album Chicago XI)
4. "Alive Again" (Pankow) – 4:04 (From the album Hot Streets)
5. "No Tell Lover" (Cetera, Loughnane, Seraphine) – 4:13 (From the album Hot Streets)
6. "Love Me Tomorrow" (Cetera, David Foster) – 3:58 (From the album Chicago 16)
7. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away" (Cetera, Foster, Lamm) – 5:05 (From the album Chicago 16)
8. "Stay the Night" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:50 (From the album Chicago 17)
9. "Hard Habit to Break" (Steve Kipner, John Parker) – 4:45 (From the album Chicago 17)
10. "You're the Inspiration" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:49 (From the album Chicago 17)
11. "Along Comes a Woman" (Cetera, Mark Goldenberg) – 3:47 (From the album Chicago 17)
12. "Will You Still Love Me?" (David Foster, Tom Keane, Richard Baskin) – 4:12 (From the album Chicago 18)
13. "If She Would Have Been Faithful..." (Randy Goodrum, Kipner) – 3:51 (From the album Chicago 18)
14. "Look Away" (Diane Warren) – 4:00 (From the album Chicago 19)
15. "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" (Jason Scheff, Bobby Caldwell, Chas Sandford) – 4:14 (From the album Chicago 19)
16. "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (Warren, Albert Hammond) – 3:57 (From the album Chicago 19)
17. "We Can Last Forever" (Scheff, John Dexter) – 3:44 (From the album Chicago 19)
18. "You're Not Alone" (Jim Scott)[2] – 4:00 (From the album Chicago 19)
19. "Chasin' the Wind" (Warren) – 4:18 (From the album Twenty 1)
20. "Sing, Sing, Sing" – with the Gipsy Kings (Louis Prima) – 3:20 (From the album Night and Day: Big Band)

Disc 2 total length: 75:21

Track listing (Europe and Australia)

Disc 1

1. "If You Leave Me Now" (Cetera) – 3:57
2. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (Cetera, Foster, Lamm) – 3:51
3. "You're the Inspiration" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:49
4. "Hard Habit to Break" (Kipner, Parker) – 4:45
5. "Will You Still Love Me?" (Foster, Keane, Baskin) – 4:12
6. "Baby, What a Big Surprise" (Cetera) – 3:06
7. "Look Away" (Warren) – 4:00
8. "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" (Scheff, Caldwell, Sandford) – 4:14
9. "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (Warren, Hammond) – 3:57
10. "Love Me Tomorrow" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:58
11. "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 3:42
12. "Happy Man" (Cetera) – 3:15
13. "You're Not Alone" (Scott) – 4:00
14. "Chasin' the Wind" (Warren) – 4:18
15. "Wishing You Were Here" (Cetera) – 4:36
16. "No Tell Lover" (Cetera, Loughnane, Seraphine) – 4:13
17. "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (Pankow) – 4:29
18. "Colour My World" (Pankow) – 3:00
19. "You Come to My Senses" (Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg) – 3:48 (From the album Twenty 1)
20. "We Can Last Forever" (Scheff, Dexter) – 3:44

Disc 2

1. "25 or 6 to 4" (Lamm) – 4:50
2. "Saturday in the Park" (Lamm) – 3:56
3. "Questions 67 and 68" (Lamm) – 4:52
4. Same edit as American issue
5. "I'm a Man" (Miller, Winwood) – 5:44
6. Same edit as American issue
7. "Stay the Night" (Cetera, Foster) – 3:50
8. "Only You" (Foster, Pankow) – 3:54
9. Originally issued on Chicago 17
10. "Dialogue (Part I & II)" (Lamm) – 5:00
11. "Old Days" (Pankow) – 3:31
12. "Beginnings" (Lamm) – 6:26
13. Same edit as American issue
14. "Lowdown" (Cetera, Seraphine) – 3:34
15. "Another Rainy Day in New York City" (Lamm) – 3:00
16. "Call on Me" (Loughnane) – 4:02
17. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (Cetera, Pankow) – 4:14
18. "Take Me Back to Chicago" (Seraphine, Wolinski) – 2:57
19. "Sing, Sing, Sing" – with the Gipsy Kings (Prima) – 3:20
20. "Along Comes a Woman" (Cetera, Goldenberg) – 3:47
21. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Lamm) – 3:20
22. "Make Me Smile" (Pankow) – 4:26
23. "Street Player" (Seraphine, Wolinski) – 4:22 (From the album Chicago 13)

Chicago – production on "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover", compilation production

David Donnelly – remastering

Bruce Fairbairn – production on "Sing, Sing, Sing"

David Foster – production from Chicago 16 to Chicago 18

James William Guercio – production from The Chicago Transit Authority to Chicago XI

Lee Loughnane – remastering

Jeff Magid – remastering

David McLees – compilation production

Ron Nevison – production from Chicago 19 to Twenty 1

Phil Ramone – production on "Alive Again" and "No Tell Lover"

Chas Sandford – production on "What Kind of Man Would I Be?"

Chicago "The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary"

The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary is a double greatest hits album, and the thirty-first album overall, by American rock band Chicago, released by Rhino Records on October 2, 2007. It consists of two discs containing 30 of Chicago's top 40 singles. It is the fourth compilation of past hits released by their label since beginning of the decade. Most of the songs on this compilation are presented as their shorter length radio-single edits, as opposed to the album versions. It also features "Love Will Come Back" without Rascal Flatts' vocals.

The 39 tracks of The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning holds all the tracks of 40th Anniversary except for the tracks 13-15 on disc 2.

Although no indication is given on the discs or the cover, the album could also be considered as Chicago XXXI (31) in their canon, as it is preceded by Chicago XXX (30) in 2006, and followed by Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus in 2008. This is further emphasized by the display of albums on the band's website.

Track listing

Disc One

1. "Questions 67 & 68" (Single version) Robert Lamm Chicago Transit Authority, 1969 3:26
2. "25 or 6 to 4" (Single version) Lamm Chicago, 1970 2:52
3. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Promo single version) Lamm Chicago Transit Authority 2:45
4. "Make Me Smile" (Single version) James Pankow Chicago 2:59
5. "Beginnings" (Single version) Lamm Chicago Transit Authority 2:48
6. "Colour My World" Pankow Chicago 3:02
7. "Saturday in the Park" Lamm Chicago V, 1972 3:56
8. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" Pankow/Peter Cetera Chicago VI, 1973 4:14
9. "Just You 'n' Me" Pankow Chicago VI 3:42
10. "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (Single version) Pankow Chicago VII, 1974 4:18
11. "Call on Me" Lee Loughnane Chicago VII 4:01
12. "Wishing You Were Here" (Single version) Cetera Chicago VII 3:00
13. "Old Days" Pankow Chicago VIII, 1975 3:30
14. "Another Rainy Day in New York City" Lamm Chicago X, 1976 3:00
15. "If You Leave Me Now" Cetera Chicago X 3:56

Disc Two

1. "Baby, What a Big Surprise" Cetera Chicago XI, 1977 3:06
2. "No Tell Lover" (Single version) Loughnane/Danny Seraphine/Cetera Hot Streets, 1978 3:50
3. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (Single version) Cetera/David Foster Chicago 16, 1982 3:41
4. "Love Me Tomorrow" (Single version) Cetera/Foster Chicago 16 3:58
5. "Hard Habit to Break" Cetera/Foster Chicago 17, 1984 4:45
6. "You're the Inspiration" Cetera/Foster Chicago 17 3:48
7. "Will You Still Love Me?" (Single version) Foster/Tom Keane/Richard Baskin Chicago 18, 1986 4:13
8. "If She Would Have Been Faithful..." Steve Kipner/Randy Goodrum Chicago 18 3:51
9. "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" Albert Hammond/Diane Warren Chicago 19, 1988 3:54
10. "Look Away" (Single version) Warren Chicago 19 4:00
11. "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" (Single version) Jason Scheff, Chas Sandford, Bobby Caldwell Chicago 19 4:19
12. "You're Not Alone" (Single version) Jim Scott Chicago 19 4:00
13. "Here in My Heart" Glen Ballard/James Newton Howard The Heart of Chicago 1967–1997, 1997 4:20
14. "Feel" (Horn section mix) Danny Orton/Blair Daly Chicago XXX, 2006 4:31
15. "Love Will Come Back" Scheff/Jay DeMarcus/Sandford Chicago XXX 3:43

Producer – Jay DeMarcus, David Foster, James William Guercio, James Newton Howard, Ron Nevison, Phil Ramone, Chas Sandford, Mike Engstrom, Cheryl Pawelski

Album cover design – Mark Paul Rosenmeier

Design – Joshua Banker, Don Jr. Garlock, Vincent Gonzales, Jim Jamitis, Jean Krikorian, Arnaud Leger, Al Mainwaring, Craig Stevens, Ashley Underwood

Photography – Jimmy Katz

Remastering – David Donnelly

Liner notes – Bill DeYoung

Product Manager – Mike Engstrom

Project assistant – Scott Webber

Supervisor – Jeff Magid

Editorial Supervision – Vanessa Atkins, Sheryl Farber

Annotation – Steve Woolard