''Sleepless'' is the sixth
solo album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
by
Peter Wolf, released in 2002. The album ranked 427 on
Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...
.
Wolf told ''The
Boston Phoenix
''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' an ...
'' in 2002 that he had a "pessimistic sensibility" in his approach to making the album with no great expectations about the album’s commercial viability after watching his previous record "die on the vine" due to his then label (along with several others) being "swallowed up in (a) big corporate conglomerate". He explained that he "made this record figuring, ‘I have a lot of different interests, a lot of different roots, and this is the painting I feel like painting right now.’ And what’s the single? There is no single. I wasn’t thinking of hooks."
Music , My dinner with Peter
The album features notable guest appearances by Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
, Wolf's former J. Geils bandmate, Magic Dick
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, and Steve Earle.
Track listing
#"Growin' Pain" (Angelo Petraglia
Angelo Petraglia (born May 5, 1954) is an American record producer and songwriter. He was a member of the new wave band Face to Face and is best known for his work with Kings of Leon.
Early life
He was born in the Bronx and grew up in Pelham, N ...
, Wolf) – 3:12
#" Nothin' but the Wheel" (John Scott Sherrill
John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. His brother, Donn Sherrill, was a Vanderbilt student. He introduced John Scott to his fraternity brother, Scott Siman who recorded demos of his ...
) – 4:34
#"A Lot of Good Ones Gone" (Will Jennings
Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs " Tears in Heaven" and " My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has wo ...
, Wolf) – 3:33
#"Never Like This Before" ( Isaac Hayes, Booker T. Jones
Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...
, David Porter) – 3:21
#"Run Silent, Run Deep" (Timothy S. Mayer, Wolf) – 4:13
#"Homework" (Dave Clark, Al Perkins
Al Perkins (born January 18, 1944) is an American guitarist known primarily for his steel guitar work. The Gibson guitar company called Perkins "the world's most influential dobro player" and began producing an "Al Perkins Signature" Dobro in 2 ...
, Otis Rush) – 2:39
#"Five O'Clock Angel" (Jennings, Wolf) – 3:00
#"Hey Jordan" (Jennings, Wolf) – 3:03
#"Too Close Together" ( Sonny Boy Williamson) – 2:24
#"Some Things You Don't Want to Know" (Jennings, Wolf) – 2:31
#"Oh Marianne" (Jennings, Wolf) – 4:19
#"Sleepless" (Jennings, Wolf) – 4:05
Personnel
* Peter Wolf – vocals
* Kenny White
Kenny White is a New York City–based singer-songwriter, studio musician, and writer.
For many years, White was a fixture in the NY studio scene, writing and producing hundreds of commercials for TV and radio. In this capacity, he worked with ...
– organ (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12), backing vocals (1, 4, 5), acoustic piano (2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12), acoustic guitar (2, 10, 12), Wurlitzer electric piano
The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...
(5, 8, 10)
* Brian Mitchell – accordion (11)
* Larry Campbell
Larry W. Campbell (born 28 February 1948) is a Canadian politician that served as the 37th mayor of Vancouver, Canada from 2002 until 2005 and since 2005 has been a member of the Senate of Canada.
Before he was mayor, Campbell worked for th ...
– guitars (1, 2, 3), mandolin (1, 10), fiddle (1, 2, 5, 6, 10), backing vocals (1), pedal steel guitar (2, 5, 12), resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guit ...
(4, 6), acoustic guitar (12)
* Duke Levine – guitar solo (1), mandolin (2, 6), electric guitar (7, 10, 12), baritone guitar (12)
* Angelo Petraglia
Angelo Petraglia (born May 5, 1954) is an American record producer and songwriter. He was a member of the new wave band Face to Face and is best known for his work with Kings of Leon.
Early life
He was born in the Bronx and grew up in Pelham, N ...
– acoustic guitar (1, 4, 10)
* Cornell Dupree
Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis and Steve Gadd, appeared on David Letterman, – guitar solo (4), guitars (12)
* Stuart Kimball – electric guitar (4, 10)
* Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
– electric guitar (9), vocals (9)
* Tony Garnier – acoustic bass
The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...
(1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12)
* Warren McRae – electric bass (3, 7)
* John Conte – electric bass (8, 11)
* Paul Ossola – acoustic bass (9)
* Shawn Pelton
Shawn Pelton is an American drummer and percussionist. He has recorded with a wide range of artists and has been a first call player since moving to New York in the late 1980s.
Shawn has recorded with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, ...
– drums (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8-12), drum loop
In music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections can be repeated to create ostinato patterns. Longer sections can also be repeated: for example, a player might loop what they play on an entire verse of a song in order to ...
(12)
* Kevin Shurtleff – additional drums (1), percussion (3)
* Charley Drayton
Charles Leslie Drayton (born May 9, 1965) is an American multi-instrumentalist and producer, known primarily as a drummer. Artists he has recorded or performed with include The Cult, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Mi ...
– drums (3, 7)
* Dan Reiser – drums (11)
* Sammy Merendino – additional percussion (12)
* Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
– harmonica (2), vocals (2)
* Magic Dick
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
– harmonica (9)
* Crispin Cioe – alto saxophone (12)
* Arno Hecht – tenor saxophone (12)
* Bob Funk – tenor trombone
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
(12)
* Larry Etkin – trumpet (12)
* Rob Eaton – backing vocals (1)
* Teresa Williams – backing vocals (2, 10)
* Ada Dyer – backing vocals (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12)
* Cire Jones – backing vocals (3, 11)
* Catherine Russell – backing vocals (3-8, 11, 12)
* Steve Earle – vocals (10)
* Milt Grayson – bass vocals (11)
* Fred Griffith – backing vocals (11)
Production
* Peter Wolf – producer
* Kenny White – producer
* Rob Eaton – recording (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12), mixing (1, 5, 6, 12)
* Ben Wisch – mixing (2, 3, 7, 8, 11), recording (3, 7, 8, 11)
* Phil Greene – mixing (4, 9, 10)
* Dave Westner – additional engineer (1), mixing (4, 12)
* Chris Rival – additional engineer (12)
* Tom Waltz – additional engineer (12)
* John Weston – additional engineer (12)
* Steve Mazur – assistant engineer
* Jacques Obadia – assistant engineer
* Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)
* Karen Rome – project coordinator
* Jill Dell'Abate – session coordinator
* Frank Olinsky – design, cover photography
* Joe Greene – photography
References
{{Authority control
Peter Wolf albums
2002 albums
Artemis Records albums
Albums produced by Peter Wolf
Albums produced by Kenny White
Blues rock albums by American artists