Midnight Souvenirs

Peter Wolf | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 6, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Verve
• ASIN: B0030E5NKK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,500 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the Artist

"I never obsess about the commercial aspect of my music, just like with my artwork," says Wolf, also an accomplished painter whose art world connections have included Norman Rockwell, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol and Director David Lynch. "What matters is if the painting is interesting to keep or show to somebody. It's the same with the songs; you hope people will make an emotional connection. I absorb the influences and reshape them," he says. "The act of creation is what gives meaning to my life and keeps me going--in music and in art."

Product Description

Midnight Souvenirs (Verve/UMe), Peter Wolf's seventh solo album is a continuation of the singer-songwriter's distinctive and eclectic tales that brighten and interpret a world gone noir. Following in the tracks of Wolf's Sleepless, which was honored by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the "500 greatest albums of all-time," the new collection gives hope to the love-wounded and promises "there's still time for the midnight wine," even if "sometimes you heal, sometimes you're scarred." Featuring duets with country legend and national treasure Merle Haggard, the soulfully transcending dynamic award winner Shelby Lynne, and the haunting and majestic voice of Neko Case, "Midnight Souvenirs" integrates and embraces rock, R & B, blues, folk and country in a way that has distinguished Wolf's storied career. Measurable are his decades as the leader and frenzied focal figure of the J. Geils Band, with whom he showcased his talents on such hits as "Centerfold," "Freeze Frame," "Love Stinks" and "Musta Got Lost." "Midnight Souvenirs" was packed fair and square in the studio by Wolf and Kenny White, who also co-produced "Sleepless" and 1998's "Fools Parade," celebrated as one of the "50 most influential albums of the '90s" by Rolling Stone Magazine. Much like the material on those two discs, the majority of the new songs were co-written with Oscar winner Will Jennings (Eric Clapton's "Tears From Heaven," Steve Winwood's "Higher Love," and Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warens duet "Up Where We Belong"). Also contributing to the album were songwriters Angelo Petraglia and Taylor Rhodes, whose songs have been recorded by Kings of Leon and Aerosmith.

The 14 songs on the album range from the country blues of "Tragedy"--with Shelby Lynne--and the hard-rockin' "The Night Comes Down" (dedicated to the late Willy DeVille) to the bittersweet texture of "It's Too Late For Me" with Merle Haggard, and the punchline impact of vintage Philly roots R & B on "Overnight Lows." Wolf and Neko Case deliver an eternal bouquet on "The Green Fields of Summer."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once Again - He Nails It!, April 15, 2010

By 

DELFIN J PARIS III (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Midnight Souvenirs (Audio CD)

The only reason I listen to Peter Wolf was that I read a GLOWING review in Rolling Stone back when his album "Fool's Parade" came out by the founder and publisher of RS, Jann Wenner. He never reviews anything, and he basically said it was one of the greatest things he had ever heard. Now, of course I grew up listening to some J. Geils, but I didn't know Peter Wolf AT ALL.

That album was fantastic, as well as his follow-up "Sleepless." When I read recently it had only sold 40k copies, I was blown away. That's insane. I have played his music for people over the years, and everybody who has listened, says how great he is. I mean, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards played on his last album. That's not an easy pair to score.

On this album, he has duets with Merle Haggard, Neko Case, and Shelby Lynne. If you're hesitant at all about buying this album, just go online and search for his recent performance with Shelby Lynne on Jimmy Fallon. You'll find it pretty easily, and I can say that I actually prefer the live version to the studio, and the studio version is great.

But if you're reading this, you probably already know who Peter Wolf is, and love him. So, do this instead. Get this album for a friend. Or just play it for your wife or best friend. More people need to know who he is, beyond the guy who sang "Love Stinks."

Peter Wolf is amazing. End of story.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars +1/2 - One of rock's great voices returns with something to say, April 11, 2010

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Midnight Souvenirs (Audio CD)

Peter Wolf's first new release in eight years will instantly make fans realize just how big a hole his absence left in their lives. It will also make you long for a time when cool rock music was everywhere, could be heard regularly on the radio, and didn't need adjectives to claim it independent of the mainstream - it was the mainstream. Wolf's solo works have always retained the fire of his earlier sides with the J. Geils Band, but they were also the product of an adult voice. Together with longtime producer Kenny White, Wolf's crafted a sleek album of rock music that draws heavily on its R&B, soul and blues roots. He's written or co-written all but one of the fourteen tracks, and covers Alan Toussaint's "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky." The latter is a perfect vehicle for the Wolf showmanship.

Wolf duets on the opening "Tragedy" with Shelby Lynne, calling, responding and harmonizing as a couple dancing passionately on the razor's edge between reconciliation and extinction. The song opens with Wolf singing against rich guitars, giving listeners a moment to luxuriate in the qualities of his voice. But as Lynne and the band kick-in, she proves herself the perfect foil and the arrangement builds and subsides with the song's exhilarated and exhausted emotions. Romantic turmoil and opportunities are considered alongside Wolf's thoughts on mortality. "There's Still Time" is resolute in making the best of current opportunities, while "Lying Low" looks forward. The themes twine together in "Green Fields of Summer," a duet with Neko Case that realizes the actions and relationships of the here and now echo into the hereafter.

Mostly it's women that are on Wolf's mind. He dreams and chases, fights and makes up, keeps an eternal flame in "Always Asking for You" and laments losses in "Then it Leaves us All Behind." There's hard-won experience in both his optimism and heartbreak, and he expresses this with humor on the motor-mouthed soul rap "Overnight Lows." The album closes with a pair of honorifics, the retrospective tribute to Willy DeVille, "The Night Comes Down," and the beautifully crafted Merle Haggard duet, "It's Too Late for Me." Wolf sounds great throughout the album, in good voice and reveling in his blue moods; his new songs are crafted to tell stories with their arrangements as well as their lyrics. Let's hope the next triumph isn't eight years away! 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary - He's back, April 8, 2010

By 

Rosebud43 (Herkenrath, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight Souvenirs (Audio CD)

The music of Peter Wolf belongs to my life for more than 35 years, and like old wine, he's getting better all the time. J. Geils was great but Pete solo is the best.
This new album is everything you can expect from music: heartache, tears and move ass. Just like "Sleepless" it burns to my heart, great voice, great lyrics, great music, great songs.

Please Mr. Wolf, don't let us wait another 8 years.

Many greetings

Jürgen from Herkenrath, Germany