Soundstage Presents Peter Cetera In Concert
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C Concert: C+
Did Peter Cetera make the right decision when he left his
longtime band Chicago? Well, both have
certainly survived without each other, so they obviously did not need each
other, but it is also obvious it has never been the same for either since the
split. As a follow-up to Chicago’s
appearance on the series Soundstage, we will look at the Peter Cetera
installment. Oddly, Amy Grant is more
present than expected, performing the following set solo:
1) Baby
Baby
2) Simple
Things
3) El-Shaddai
Cetera then shows up sometimes dueting with her on the
following:
4) One Good
Woman
5) Glory Of
Love
6) Restless
Heart
7) If You
Leave Me Now
8) After
All
9) The Next
Time I Fall
10) Baby, What A Big Surprise
11) You’re The Inspiration
12) Have You Ever Been In Love
Though it would be easy to blame Grant for this, the truth
of the matter is that Cetera is far too laid back in his covers of his Chicago
hits and does not fare much better on the newer solo material. Cher is greatly missed on the After All
duet she and Cetera did for the 1989 Robert Downey Jr./Cybill Shepherd romantic
comedy Chances Are. Cetera’s
female backup singer just cannot cut it, which says something since Cher’s
voice was not in its 1970s peak on the record.
Everything in general is done with limited vocal effort and little
passion, making this a very disappointing concert overall.
The image is once again credited as 4 X 3 (1.33 X 1) full
screen, yet the DVD case gleefully celebrates the fact that the show is shot on
Hi(gh)-Definition video. The problem,
all current HD is 1.78 X 1 aka 16 X 9.
The result is we actually get a compromised reframing that is not
anamorphic and looks like some lopsided version of 1.66 X 1, which defeats the
whole purpose of shooting in HD to begin with.
That is unfortunate, but that’s what has been done here, so be
forewarned. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
is better than the Dolby 2.0 with Pro Logic surrounds, but would have been
better had it been in DTS. Like German
TV’s Ohne Filter series, many installments of which have been reviewed
elsewhere on this site, the new Soundstage does its best to boast
state-of-the-art playback. This
combination is passable, but not everything it could or should have been. Extras include bio/discography of Cetera and
Grant over three text frames without separation, a “backstage pass” feature
that shows how the new show is set up that is interactive, an 18 frame stills
gallery, a discography of Cetera’s solo work only, a band segment that only
covers Grant & cetera (?!?) and three bonus tracks:
1)
25 Or 6 To 4
2)
Even A Fool Can See
3)
Hard To Say I’m Sorry
Even these add nothing to the DVD, with 25 Or 6 To 4
done not as the bombastic Pop classic the band did with him, or the mechanical
disaster they charted with without him, but as a very laid back orchestral
oddity that is the lamest version yet.
Overall, only diehard Cetera fans need apply. I guess he left the band because he gave up on being exciting;
something the band did far better in their Soundstage installment. Judge for yourself.
- Nicholas Sheffo
