Pages

Thursday, June 29, 2017

"I Need You Tonight" by Peter Wolf

Song#:  2085
Date:  10/13/1984
Debut:  68
Peak:  36
Weeks:  13
Genre:  Pop, Rock



Pop Bits:  After leaving the J. Geils Band, singer/songwriter Wolf set out on a solo career. His debut LP, Lights Out, scored a hit when its first single, the album's title-track, got to #12 Pop, #6 Rock, and #11 Dance. For a follow-up, Wolf pushed out this more pop-oriented tune. It didn't quite attract the same attention and it stalled just inside the Pop Top 40 while only getting to #22 at Rock. Although the album wouldn't be a major hit the size of J. Geils' multi-platinum Freeze Frame, it would still be a good seller reaching #24.

ReduxReview:  I've always thought this was a really good pop tune and I liked its chugging synthpop arrangement. It was well-crafted and should have been a bigger hit. I'm not sure what stopped it from doing better. The whole album is really a lost gem of its time. I'm also a bit surprised this wasn't shuffled over to AC for airplay as it seems like it would have been a good fit for that format. Someday this album will finally be issued either on CD or digitally and folks can then rediscover it.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Wolf co-wrote this tune with songwriter Peter Bliss. Bliss got his start in the business right out of high school when he signed a publishing deal with Buddah Records. After getting established, he tried for his own solo career. He signed with United Artists and was able to issue a self-titled debut album in 1977. Nothing came from it, so Bliss went back to working behind the scenes. Also in 1984, Bliss' song "Emotion" would be recorded by Barbra Streisand. It would become the title track to her album and would be released as the LPs third single (#14 AC/#79 Pop). Another Bliss song, "I Guess It's Christmas Time," would be recorded by *NSYNC for their 1998 holiday-themed album Home for Christmas.

_________________________________________________________________________________

No comments:

Post a Comment