Long time rocker Peter Wolf is a romantic at heart and Midnight Souvenirs encompasses all of the repercussions of being just that. At 64-years-old, Wolf is convinced that he’s still deserving of his piece of the love pie, but is tragically realistic when he reflects about his old flames of the past and their fate to eternally stay put in hindsight. With vocal contributions by Neko Case, Shelby Lynne, and the legendary country star Merle Haggard, Midnight Souvenirs is an undeniably poignant soulful album laced with the traditions of good ‘ol rock ‘n roll and blues.

Despite Wolf’s eight-year gap between this solo release and his last, Sleepless, Wolf is still the spring chicken that he has always been – his youthfulness certainly has stayed with him after all these years. If you ever thought Wolf lost his abilities to rock during his absence, call Midnight Souvenirs a comeback album because his passion pervades throughout, especially on “There’s Still Time”, the most thematic track of the bunch. Relieved and ready in the first verse of the song, Wolf sings with his guitar as if he’s building up his courage to break out and start anew. “It’s good to be out in the street again, life is just passing by, time for another try…” By the first chorus, Wolf is already confident, assured that there is still time for the “midnight wine.” In the final minutes of the song, Wolf not only has proved to himself that he still has time, the triumphant orchestra of violins, horns and his female backup singers mixed with Wolf’s passionate wails of will convinces even the most unconvincing that he does have time on his side.

Precarious as human emotions tend to be, the same goes for Wolf’s. When he loses grasp of his hope and excitement for the good road ahead, songs like “Overnight Lows” suggest that the road ahead may be too windy to navigate. The track creates a happy medium between a Barry White slow jam and Beck’s mock on “Debra”, off of 1999′s Midnite Vultures. With confessions in that White-esque sing-talk fashion (“Sitting all alone in the dark in my underwear with a cold bologna sandwich and a confused, confused heart there, girl”), Wolf’s desperation surfaces, as he’s watching the time pass by, waiting for his ex-girlfriend to call him up on the phone. These particular “lows” are ones to put anyone at their lowest ebb… you can’t help but laugh.

Back in the late sixties to the early eighties when Wolf was in The J. Gelis Band, he was heavily involved in making blues music, and you can hear his musical background come through in the organs, harmonica, and electric guitar jams (“Everything I Do (Gonna Be Funky)”) and the vocal trade off between the soulful Lynne and Wolf (“Tragedy”).

Whether Wolf is looking up or looking down, the most adoring aspect of this album is his unabashed honesty about his past and his struggle to do right. With Midnight Souvenirs, Wolf’s songwriting is at maturity’s peak — let’s just hope he keeps the ball rolling with more to come.