Peter Wolf: A Cure For Loneliness

The Woofa Goofa cuts a very stately rug.

Peter Wolf A Cure For Loneliness album cover

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

Given he just turned 70, you wouldn’t expect Mr. Wolf to be delivering cardiac arrest R&B. His latest album majors in broken-hearted affairs of the soul and it’s all pretty good, if not downright spectacular.

Those bad boys from Boston, J. Geils, get a look in with a semi-Appalachian version of Love Stinks, and there’s a careful interpretation of the old rockabilly noir weepy Tragedy as a reminder that Wolf is also an accomplished DJ.

The music is easy-paced with country-style hot licks and light grooves reminiscent of Dr. John. Wolf is in amazingly good shape vocally and with guitarist Duke Levine fronting a crack band, all the tracks are neatly resolved.

Bob Dylan regulars Larry Campbell and Tony Garnier pop up but this isn’t a star-studded exercise, more of a stylish platter aimed at grown-ups. Reassuringly, Wolf isn’t pretending to be a born-again rock star – he’s just acting his age. Fair dos.

Max Bell

Max Bell worked for the NME during the golden 70s era before running up and down London’s Fleet Street for The Times and all the other hot-metal dailies. A long stint at the Standard and mags like The Face and GQ kept him honest. Later, Record Collector and Classic Rock called.