You’re The Inspiration: A Collection, by Peter Cetera
When examining a collection like this–and at seven songs it’s really too small to be considered an album, and it is most properly (though not labeled explicitly) as an EP–one has to figure out the reason why it exists. In its current form, it has a release date of 2005, though it was originally released in 1997 to capitalize on the release of two charting singles by the group Az Yet that included Peter Cetera, were cover versions of songs that Cetera had written and sung for Chicago (namely Hard To Say I’m Sorry and You’re The Inspiration), both of which hit the Hot 100 in their cover versions, along with a couple of songs from the previous album that Cetera had released, which was called “One Clear Voice” at the time but which was re-named and re-released in 2005 as “Faithfully,” along with another Chicago remake and a couple of new songs that became singles for the AC market and did moderately well. If few people bought this collection as a whole, it served as an effective short collection of songs that were relevant in the late 1990s to Cetera as a continuing AC artist and whose re-release indicated a return to album-length viability in the aftermath of the rebranding of the album Cetera had released before this particular project. Is it any good, though?
This collection begins with “If You Leave Me Now,” Chicago’s first #1 hit and a clear early example of Cetera’s AC sensibilities. This version has backing vocals and is a pretty austere acoustic version focusing on guitars and harmonies more than horns. “Do You Love Me That Much” is one of two new songs here, a lovely piano ballad that adds to Cetera’s frequent tradition of writing gorgeous love songs for his daughter. This was an AC hit single, and it is a worthy one, demonstrating Cetera’s continuing sincerity with hints of country instrumentation. “You’re The Inspiration” is another Chicago smash hit given acoustic treatment with Az Yet. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a minor AC hit as well and it has somewhat country instrumentation as well. “She Doesn’t Need Me Anymore” is another gentle song about love for a daughter that is growing up that has sincere lyrics and vocal presentation and which was a minor hit on the AC charts, and is the second of the two new songs on this collection and it too has some twangy country instrumentation. “Baby, What A Big Surprise” is an acoustic pop country remake of another classic Chicago song that was sung by Cetera. Of course it works here, not only as an interpretation but along with the rest of the collection as a whole. Closing out the collection are two of the better and more popular songs from “One Clear Voice/Faithfully,” namely “(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight,” a gorgeous love ballad with Crystal Bernard and the ABBA remake “S.O.S.,” , with country singer Ronna Reeves, the first of which is a bit more adult contemporary than the rest of the collection but which blends well overall in bridging this collection with Cetera’s most recent work, and the second of which is definitely more country and more in line with this collection as a whole.
When examining a collection like this, it is worthwhile to understand the context in which it was released. In 1997, only two years after the release of an album that was grossly and undeservedly neglected, there was no great demand (nor a large or clear body of new music) for a follow-up album, but Cetera’s career had shown a resurgence with his work with Az Yet and there were a couple of new songs that needed some kind of home collection, and so this collection was a natural result of working with what material was available and seemed to be resonating with the public–re-recorded versions of Chicago songs, a couple of tracks from the last album worthy of reconsideration and renewed attention, and a couple of new songs that could be released to a format that still regarded Cetera highly. In 2005, simultaneous with the successful re-release of “One Clear Voice” as “Faithfully,” this collection was re-released as well to decent success, and it has been at least moderately successful in streaming, with all songs on this album over 1 million streams and three of the songs over 10 million streams, which indicates at least a consistent audience of listeners even now. If you view this album as a greatest hits album it is woefully inadequate, but if you see this collection as having a somewhat urgent logic in the late 1990s in an age when some kind of collection was seen as necessary to capitalize on the resurgence of Peter Cetera as a worthwhile hit-making artist, and this as being the best that could be done on the spot, then it makes perfect sense.
