No difference between a juke joint and a honky-tonk...Peter Wolf chats about "Midnight Souvenirs" on NPR

Thursday, April 08 2010 @ 01:37 PM PDT

"Growing up in the era that I did, when the first generation of rock 'n' rollers were coming out ... there was a fusion of rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll that was very profound," he says. "And I think that the R&B and blues artists always listened to the Grand Ole Opry. And the Grand Ole Opry artists always listened to Sonny Boy Williamson on the King Biscuit [Flower] Hour. And I think it was real, blue-collar music — and I don't really see the difference between a juke joint and a honky-tonk." - Peter Wolf from a recent interview on NPR ... click here to read the entire interview http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125538517

I gotta tell ya, Peter Wolf's duet with Shelby Lynne "Tragedy" sets the tone as track 1 on Sin City Social Club Vol. 13's sampler and it's been stuck in my head for 3 weeks now!  There's a Stonesy quality to the song and I LOVE the pairing of Peter and Shelby and sure hope that we have the opportunity to see them perform together sometime soon!  

Of course you've heard that he's brought in sweet yet haunting voice of Neko Case on "Green Grass of Summer" and Merle Haggard on "It's Too Late For Me" but those are the only other stand outs - I'm kinda partial to the dirty blues arrangement on "Thick As Thieves" and the sweet soul groove on "Overnight Lows" (which I'm swayin' to while writing this!)  



Rolling Stone gave the record 4 Stars this week... click "read more" to check out their review  We've also posted "footage from the making of the album" over on our "Hey Yall, Watch This" video page...click on the TV screen to your right!   Whatchoo waitin' for...go get you some!

**** ROLLING STONE

"Love kills time, and time kills love," Peter Wolf sings on Midnight Souvenirs, but this delightful new album makes one thing clear: Nothing can kill Wolf's charm, musicality and youthfulness. His first release in eight years, Souvenirs shows off the virtues that have made Wolf's work a pleasure through 16 years as lead singer with the J. Geils Band and now seven solo albums since 1984. He is less an outstanding singer than a convincing one — the passionate impresario of his own musical world, sharing his love of classic country, soul and R&B with anyone who cares to listen.

Wolf's enthusiasm is contagious on a series of duets with some A-list peers. "The Green Fields of Summer" is a striking acoustic song where Wolf and Neko Case exude stark, autumnal beauty. "Tragedy" sounds like a killer Stones ballad, with Wolf laying his love-struck voice over a loose groove while country singer Shelby Lynne turns in some soulful heartache of her own.

Now 64, Wolf gets that nothing lasts forever. "The Night Comes Down" bids farewell to rocker Willy DeVille with steady-rocking grandeur. But Wolf knows that dourness doesn't suit him. On "It's Too Late for Me," a duet with Merle Haggard, the two singers croon like old running buddies quietly congratulating themselves for outracing the sunrise yet again. It's a lighthearted country lullaby about growing old that could have been written in 1955 — and another vital, world-wise moment on an album full of them.

Anthony Decurtis, April 5, 2010 for Rolling Stone

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