Peter Wolf: Come As You Are : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

"Oh, baby, it's hard to get started again," sings Peter Wolf on "Can't Get Started," the opening track of Come As You Are. This good-natured lament seems to be Wolf's poke at himself for the time it's taken him to follow up Lights Out, his debut solo album, which appeared in the summer of 1984. But the former J. Geils frontman should relax – Come As You Are captures him in fine, exuberant form.

The album was coproduced by Wolf and Eric "E.T." Thorngren, best known for his work with Talking Heads. The duo fired up a hot, bright sound that is fresh and modern in its hard-hitting directness and, at the same time, consistently reminiscent of the ragged R&B-laced rock that has always been Wolf's main inspiration. Streamlined arrangements – basic guitar-bass-drum-keyboard workouts, occasionally juiced up by horns and additional percussion – reinforce the no-frills sonic approach of the production.

As always with Wolf, energy is in ample supply on Come As You Are. The infectious title track, the album's first single, revamps the riff from the Music Explosion's "Little Bit o' Soul," spikes it with a sassy sax solo and issues a be-yourself invitation to fun that's impossible to resist. But disarming enthusiasm is not the source of the LP's greatest appeal. In fact, two of its most supercharged songs – the staccato "Wind Me Up" and the hyperactive "Thick As Thieves" – seem more histrionic than passionate and end up diminishing the record's winning momentum.

The album's most compelling song, "Blue Avenue," strikes a quieter note; it's a soulful meditation on pulling your life together and leaving the pain of the past behind. In an interesting counterpoint, the midtempo numbers "Love on Ice" and "Flame of Love," along with the burner "Can't Get Started," suggest – in their explorations of stalled creativity and stagnant or unconsummated love – the discontent that fuels some of the album's dynamism.

Upbeat and openhearted, Come As You Are represents a solid progression from the slamming street rhythms of Lights Out, and it leaves Wolf in a strong position to progress still further as a solo artist. As moody reflections like "Blue Avenue" and "Love on Ice" suggest, Wolf's emotional range is considerably broader than he's allowed himself to express in full. The possibility that he will tap this aspect of himself more deeply makes Wolf's future work well worth anticipating.