''Sleepless'' is the sixth

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century ...

Peter Wolf Peter Wolf (born March 7, 1946) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and as a solo artist. Early life and education Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946, in the Bronx ...

, 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 indu ...

. Wolf told ''The

Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the now defunct ''Boston Phoenix'', '' ...

'' 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 musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

, Wolf's former J. Geils bandmate,

Magic Dick Richard Salwitz (born May 13, 1945), known as Magic Dick, is an American musician, noted for playing the harmonica for the J. Geils Band. In addition to the harmonica, Salwitz plays the trumpet (the first instrument he learned) and saxophone. Ear ...

, and

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

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 student at Vanderbilt, where he introduced John Scott to his fraternity brother, Scott Siman, who recorded demos ...

) – 4:34 #"A Lot of Good Ones Gone" (

Will Jennings Wilbur Herschel Jennings (June 27, 1944 – September 6, 2024) was an American lyricist. He was known for writing the songs " Up Where We Belong", " Higher Love", " Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He was inducted into the Songwriter ...

, Wolf) – 3:33 #"Never Like This Before" (

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

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 artis ...

, 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 Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter who has been long revered as one of the creators of modern Chicago blues; though he was respected and praised, the success he sought e ...

) – 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 Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(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 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

(5, 8, 10) * Brian Mitchell –

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

(11) *

Larry Campbell Larry W. Campbell (born February 28, 1948) is a Canadian politician who was the 37th mayor of Vancouver, Canada, from 2002 until 2005, and a member of the Senate of Canada from 2005 until his retirement in 2023. Before he was mayor, Campbe ...

– guitars (1, 2, 3),

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

(1, 10),

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

(1, 2, 5, 6, 10), backing vocals (1),

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

(2, 5, 12),

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar (often generically called a " Dobro") 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' ...

(4, 6), acoustic guitar (12) * Duke Levine – guitar solo (1), mandolin (2, 6), electric guitar (7, 10, 12),

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...

(12) *

– acoustic guitar (1, 4, 10) *

Cornell Dupree Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz fusion and Rhythm and blues, R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis, and Steve Gadd, appeared on ''L ...

– guitar solo (4), guitars (12) * Stuart Kimball – electric guitar (4, 10) *

– 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 an ...

(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. Pelton has recorded with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, N ...

– drums (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8-12), drum loop (12) * Kevin Shurtleff – additional drums (1), percussion (3) * Charley Drayton – drums (3, 7) * Dan Reiser – drums (11) * Sammy Merendino – additional percussion (12) *

–

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

(2), vocals (2) *

– harmonica (9) * Crispin Cioe – alto saxophone (12) * Arno Hecht – tenor saxophone (12) * Bob Funk –

tenor trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...

(12) * Larry Etkin – trumpet (12) *

Rob Eaton Rob Eaton is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with the renowned Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, of which he has been a member since 2001. Career Rob Eaton grew up in Vermont and was inspired to start playi ...

– 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) *

– 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 Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

– 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 Albums recorded at Power Station Blues rock albums by American artists