A Cure for Loneliness [LP]

by Peter Wolf

Overview

With over ten solo albums, Peter Wolf's music remains rooted in American music traditions -- rock, blues, R&B, country. That said, he delivers them with more complexity and nuance than in his role as frontman for the J. Geils Band. A Cure for Loneliness reassembles members of his longtime backing band the Midnight Travelers: guitarists Duke Levine and Kevin Barry, and bassist Marty Ballou -- augmented by drummer Shawn Pelton and keyboardist and co-producer Kenny White. Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, and others appear in supporting roles. Wolf wrote or co-wrote all but three songs here. The material builds on the foundation laid on 2010's Midnight Souvenirs. The songs are more often than not sad, but they're never downers. Wolf's protagonists don't ask for pity or empathy. This is borne out in the covers too: Moe Bandy's honky tonk waltz "It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)" and the 1959 doo wop hit "Tragedy" by Thomas Wayne & the DeLons. In the slow roots rock in "Rollin' On," one of four songs co-composed with Will Jennings), Wolf sings "...there's a big wide world I was born to see/I'm rollin' on/Leave hard times back behind me/Moving on/Down the road is where you'll find me...I've got miles on this heart/But I've never been afraid to start/Cut it loose and set it free/Straight from here to eternityâ?¦" The guitars entwine and chime, and a B-3 whines as tom-toms underscore each line while backing vocalists testify to the truth in the grain of his voice. It's a gentle anthem, an axis the recording turns on. The soulful "Peace of Mind" is where Wolf first shows his R&B roots. The singer's words offer proof of all the emotional places he's been and the goal in all his searching. "Fun for a While," co-written with Tim Mayer, is confessional Americana that reflects folk, country, and, in its lyrical elegance, Doc Pomus. It's a tender testimony to life in the rearview from a survivor. "It's Raining" was co-written with Don Covay for a session between Wolf and Bobby Womack, but the latter passed before it transpired. It's an easy soul groover with punchy horns and a lyric that uses the weight of difficult experience as an opportunity in providing shelter for another. Wolf revisits his own catalog with live versions of the Stones-esque "Wastin Time" (from 1996's Long Line) and an acoustic bluegrass version of the J. Geils' hit "Love Stinks," which is merely interesting -- once -- but could have easily been left off. That one misstep aside, A Cure for Loneliness is solid Wolf. At 70, he has no intention of resting on his laurels, slowing down, or changing his mercurial ways. As an artist he has one direction: forward. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	05/13/2016
Label:	Concord
UPC:	0888072389571

Tracks

1. Rolling On
2. It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)
3. Peace of Mind
4. How Do You Know
5. Love Stinks
6. Mr. Mistake
7. Tragedy
8. Stranger
9. Wastin' Time
10. Some Other Time, Some Other Place
11. It's Raining
12. Fun for Awhile

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Peter Wolf   Primary Artist,Harp,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Larry Campbell   Guitar,Pedal Steel,Fiddle
Marty Ballou   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Paul Bryan   Bass
Rose Polenzani   Vocals (Background)
Kevin Barry   Guitar,Lap Steel Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Aaron Lippert   Vocals (Background)
Teresa Williams   Vocals (Background)
Tom West   Keyboards
Kenny White   Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Kris Delmhorst   Vocals (Background)
Crispin Cioe   Horn
Duke Levine   Guitar,Mandolin,Vocals (Background)
Catherine Russell   Vocals (Background)
Tony Garnier   Bass
Shawn Pelton   Drums
Ada Dyer   Vocals (Background)
Paul Ahlstrand   Horn
Jeff Ramsey   Vocals (Background)
Arno Hecht   Horn
Tom Arey   Drums
Athene Wilson   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Don Covay   Composer
Will Jennings   Composer
Joe Greene   Photography
Fred Burch   Composer
Ben Wisch   Mixing
Rob Eaton   Mixing,Engineer
Wayne Walker   Composer
Sanger D. Shafer   Composer
A. L. "Doodle" Owens   Composer
Gerald Nelson   Composer
Peter Wolf   Composer,Producer,Additional Production
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Kenny White   Producer
Irene Stanton   Composer
Seth Justman   Composer
Duke Levine   Composer
Grace O'Connor   Drawing,Paintings
A.L. Owens   Composer
Tom Dube   Engineer
Tom Schick   Mixing
Dave Westner   Engineer
Carrie Smith   Package Design
Tim Mayer   Composer
Chris Rival   Engineer