Peter Wolf – Come As You Are

Every single time I wrote about J Geils and now Peter Wolf, I always gush about how great of a frontman the man is. I would put him against anyone in rock. With the film clips I’ve seen, he is electric on stage. Wolf was the lead singer and songwriter of The J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983. In 1983, Wolf and the J. Geils Band parted ways after the singer expressed his interest in returning to the band’s rock ‘n’ roll roots.

When the band was splitting up, he stepped out on his own.  I asked CB if he had any artists in mind, and he thankfully sent me a few, and Wolf was one of them. I remember this song from the 1980s. He always brings energy and a fun atmosphere to work with. I also remember Lights Out that I have at the bottom.

I also found some more songs of Wolf that I really like. He did some music with Merle Haggard and others that I will be posting soon. Wolf and Tim Mayer wrote this song, as well as many of the songs on the album. I listened to this album this week, and it’s what Peter Wolf is: fun and energetic. 

This song was on the album Come As You Are released in 1987. The song peaked at #15 on the Billboard 100, #29 in Canada, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Charts. The album peaked at #53 on the Billboard Album Charts. 

He released his autobiography, called Waiting On The Moon, on the 11th of this month. It’s one that I just ordered from Amazon. Wolf has lived a full life, to say the least. A teaser for the book said this: He roomed with David Lynch in college and married Faye Dunaway. Drank his first real Irish Guinness with Mick Jagger. Smoked hash with Peter Sellers. Ate lamb chops with poet Robert Lowell.  Marilyn Monroe once handed him M&Ms.

Here is another song that came back to me . 

Come As You Are

They hung a sign outSign out at the sevenDown at the hive of such a busy beeSo sorry honey sign up for heavenThe guilt tonight is you and meCome as you are, now come onCome as you are and we’ll have a ballAin’t gonna be no masqueradeCome as you are, or don’t come at allHe’ll be a hot time, hot time at the lake sideBarry and the boys are filling in for freeWe’ll jump and move and take it for a joyrideI still get up there for you and meCome as you are, now come onCome as you are and we’ll have a ballAin’t gonna be no masqueradeCome as you are, or don’t come at all

I’m just a bluebird, bluebird at your windowAnd it’s for sure you’re a pretty sight to seeBut lives are short; I know what you’re intoCome on, it’s you and meCome as you are, now come onCome as you are, and we’ll have a ballAin’t gonna be no masqueradeCome as you are, or don’t come at allWhoa, whoa, whoaCome as you are now, come onCome as you are, and we’ll have a ballAin’t gonna be no masqueradeCome as you are, or don’t come at allCome as you are

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

46 thoughts on “Peter Wolf – Come As You Are”

  1. Pingback: Peter Wolf – Come As You Are – MobsterTiger

    1. Oh yes…it has to be!
      He has also done some Americana stuff that I never knew about that I’ll post in the future. I’m looking forward to the book.

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    4. Randy I’m reading Peter Wolf’s autobiography…he DID do it as a tribute to this film. He liked that movie. Thanks for bringing this up because I knew exactly what he was talking about.

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      1. Well there you go you my friend! It would be remarkably coincidental if he didn’t know that movie and it’s great that he honoured it. I think it’s one of the most amazing things I ever seen anyone do in a movie. Not sure how they pieced it all together but it was something.

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      2. He said a funny story with it. He said he didnt think about it before he commited to it. He is an insomniac… so he took this new medicine on the market that his doctor gave him to sleep the night before…he said it worked! After the last scene…he then asked the director when does he start hopping? The Director told him you already did lol…the medicine was taken off the market because of extreme short term memory loss.

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  4. When I was in high school probably around my jr. year (’80/’81) is when the J. Geils Band hit it on the top 40 charts & we loved ’em. Wolf is/was a talented dude. The musical era changed on ’em not long after that or he would’ve had a better solo career on the top 40 charts I think.

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    1. To me…when I think of “lead singer” for a band…his is the guy I would want. I agree of course…around that time is when it all came crashing down lol.

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  5. I remember this song but it never grabbed me much. ‘Lights Out’ was better but to me his solo stuff never came close to his Geils work. Great voice and stage presence for sure but he seemed to need the rest of the band around for the ideas. Same could be said for the certain British frontman with the moves that he is sometimes compared to and apparently drank Guinness with

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    1. He has done stuff I never knew about. Did you know he worked with Merle Haggard and others? He ventured into Americana which I never knew. This brought back a lot of good memories of the time.

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      1. No, that surprises me. Hope you post a tune or two if you find it (his Americana), could be interesting. Being David Lynch’s roommate when young, I did know & it seemed like every DJ in the ’80s pointed out he was married to Faye D.

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      2. And…how the hell did he meet Marilyn Monroe? He had to be a kid. Yea I didn’t know that about Dunaway…
        Speaking of Americana…I have a band tomorrow that at one time had members of The Jayhawks, Wilco, Replacements, and my favorite…Big Star.

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  7. Yeah, CB always comes as he is. The two tunes are when he first busted out of Geils. There was plenty more to come. Interesting guy for sure. A bit of a music historian. Passing down the stories down the old way. Verbally with great music mixed in.

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    1. Someone at work stopped by my office when I was playing Wolf loud this week. He stopped and said how much Peter Wolf knew about music’s history. I didn’t know the work guy knew anything about music… I’m looking forward to posting the Americana songs. The book should be fun as well. I told Ron and he is going to order it.

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      1. Hearing Wolf in conversation is entertaining. he just likes being alive. Very cool on the workmate. Amazing that he is still putting out quality “Americana’. I’ve been listening to Peter for many moons and i will continue that trend.

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      2. That is why I’m looking forward to hearing him narrate this book. This should be entertaining. Now I wished I would have posted that stuff first…but I will the second time. I really like “Wastin’ Time” (thats what I originally picked) , The Green Fields Of Summer, and more…Like Greg Kihn…I was only getting a fraction of his career.

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  9. Peter Wolf is great. I saw him once with the J. Geils Band during the first half of the 2010s and then again solo in June 2018. On that second occasion, he was one of the opening guests for Lynyrd Skynyrd on what was billed their farewell tour. With Skynyrd still being on the road, I suppose that tour morphed into a Deep Purple style “never ending goodbye tour!😆 In any case, Wolf was a great frontman in both concerts I saw. He still had the same swagger from his earlier ‘70s days with the J Geils Band!

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    1. I believe in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s case…when Rossington passed away they decided to go on. Yea Wolf is there with Mick Jagger as far as frontmen…I like his voice and he goes everywhere. They are good friends so that makes sense.

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    1. He is an interesting guy Lisa…he did some music with Merle Haggard and others…I’m going to post that stuff next time…more of the Americana Wolf…which I had never heard before.

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  11. (The hopping bit is a rip-off, but in a fun way, with a little tip of the hat the the Van- the older car and the milkman bit- so I can give some leeway. It’s not like they tried to say ‘this is all new, all our idea!’)

    Sometimes people at work turn out to be more than we think. And with hidden interests that we never imagined. That matronly secretary who would’n’t say boo to a goose might have been a Vegas showgirl 40 years ago!

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    1. Yea plus it could be a parody…so that is perfectly excusable.
      You are correct…this guy knowing who Peter Wolf was….a miracle to me. Sometimes it just takes something to bring them out I guess.

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  12. This one’s good, but I prefer “Lights Out”. Last time I checked, “Lights Out” wasn’t available on digital format, just You Tube videos, which I find hard to believe, since I thought it was a pretty good-sized hit. Maybe a problem with the rights. Seems like I read somewhere (maybe here) that Peter and Van Morrison were pretty tight when Van lived around Boston.

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    1. Yes…him and Van were tight. I can’t wait to listen to that audible book that I’m starting Monday on my way to work. Over 2 hours drivetime counting back and forth…so I go through books quickly.

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      2. That is me at home…I can’t listen to them at home or around someone. That is why I only listen to them going to work. Wolf narrates it as well…so that should be good.
        I do get what you are saying. I thought it was the dumbest idea when I heard it…but then I started to get used to it. Sometimes I have to “rewind” for a minute if I missed something.

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      4. I read a story about them in a bar. They refused to serve both of them because of the time…then they figured out who Van was and started to grovel…Van had a few choice words and left with both him and Wolf laughing.

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  13. I had an old boyfriend from California–apparently The J. Geils Band was really big there, famous for their Bruce Springsteen like marathon concerts. Anyway, he turned me onto a lot of their pre Freezeframe stuff.

    I’d forgotten about Peter Wolf’s solo stuff…I like Come as You Are. Liked it then…liked it now. Wolf was a fantastic frontman. So uninhibited. Not a poser trying to be cool, but a fanboy who loved R&B rock….he could sing and jump around for hours.

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    1. I like a lot of their pre Freeze Frame stuff….much more. Like Must of Got Lost and things like that. They also have a live album from the seventies that is fantastic called Live Full House.
      I’m looking forward to reading that biography on him. I’m starting on Monday…one thing into another…I just read one about Jonestown…now I’m going to a much happier subject.

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