World Falling Down Review

07/13/2005 4:24 AM, AMG


Having made a more agressively contemporary album working with Madonna compatriot Patrick Leonard on his last outing, Peter Cetera collaborated with Andy Hill on World Falling Down for an album that maintained his usual production sheen but moved more toward a melodic rock & roll feel -- lots of chiming guitars and 4/4 rhythms. Cetera's airy tenor didn't really have enough grit to carry such an approach off, and Warner Bros. may have worried that he had veered too far from his traditional power-ballad base, since there are two added tracks produced by old partner David Foster that are more in keeping with Cetera's old hits. The record company also was careful to release only ballads as the album's singles, with the perhaps predictable result that "Restless Heart," "Feels Like Heaven" (a duet with Chaka Khan), and "Even a Fool Can See" (one of The Foster productions, with a Chicago-like born chart) were all over Adult Contemporary radio for the next year, though only "Restless Heart" made the pop Top 40, while the album was a commercial failure. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide