Having tasted success with
Chicago throughout the '70s,
Peter Cetera decided to launch his solo career at the dawn of the '80s with this ten-track exercise in rock. In an immediate departure from the successfully safe formula
Chicago utilized to exhaustion,
Cetera employed a stellar crew of guest artists to reinforce that this was his project.
The Beach Boys'
Carl Wilson and
Ricky Fataar make guest appearances, as does
Toto wunderkind
Steve Lukather, to complement
Cetera's distinctive voice and bass playing. They waste no time in getting going with the rocker "Livin' in the Limelight," which features
Lukather delivering a blazing guitar solo and
Cetera trying to be as hard rocking as any soft rocker could possibly be. Think
Don Johnson's "Heartbeat" and you're still nowhere close. Things simmer down a bit, and even return to
Chicago-friendly territory, with "Mona Mona" and "On the Line." But the mandate remains the same: to distinguish this record as a solo endeavor, even though many songs here would lay the blueprint and signal the direction
Chicago would take with
Chicago 16 and the chart-topping juggernaut
Chicago 17. For anyone but die-hard
Chicago/
Cetera fans, this is nothing more than a passing fancy, and those looking for
Cetera's safe and accessible ballads will be mildly disappointed. But fans of early-'80s rock will be pleasantly surprised if they approach this record with open ears. ~ Rob Theakston