Up to No Good is the third solo album by the American musician Peter Wolf, released in 1990 on MCA Records.[1][2]

Up to No Good
A painting of a woman in a teddy sitting on a bed
Studio album by
Released1990
Studio16th Avenue Sound and Emerald Studios (Nashville, TN); The Bennett House and The Castle (Franklin, TN).
GenreRock, hard rock
Length43:23
LabelMCA
ProducerPeter Wolf, Robert White Johnson, Taylor Rhodes
Peter Wolf chronology
Come As You Are
(1987)
Up to No Good
(1990)
Long Line
(1996)

Production

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The album was produced by Wolf, Robert White Johnson, and Taylor Rhodes.[3] "Never Let It Go" is about the car crash that killed Wolf's high school girlfriend.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Calgary HeraldC−[5]
Robert Christgau [6]
Los Angeles Times     [2]
Ottawa Citizen     [7]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide     [8]

The Calgary Herald missed "the juvenile appeal that Wolf lucked into just before he and his J. Geils Band buddies went their separate ways."[5] The Toronto Star wrote that "it's a charming record, a lively and knowledgeable tome that finds its ground somewhere between the Detroit and Philadelphia schools of soul, while standing firm on a harder rock footing."[9]

The Ottawa Citizen labeled some of the songs "classic primal funk with a conscience."[7] The Globe and Mail dismissed the album as "just one more attempt to capitalize on the appealing, but somewhat limited, rockaboogie sound Geils and company milked throughout the seventies."[10]

Track listing

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All songs written by Peter Wolf, Taylor Rhodes and Robert White Johnson, unless noted otherwise.

  1. "99 Worlds" – 3:35
  2. "Go Wild" – 3:43
  3. "When Women Are Lonely" – 3:45
  4. "Drive All Night" (Wolf, Desmond Child) – 3:42
  5. "Up to No Good" – 4:33
  6. "Lost in Babylon" – 3:57
  7. "Arrows and Chains" – 3:25
  8. "Daydream Getaway" (Janna Allen, Wolf) – 3:44
  9. "Shades of Red – Shades of Blue" – 4:07
  10. "River Runs Dry" – 5:01
  11. "Never Let It Go" (Wolf, Will Jennings) – 3:57

Personnel

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Technical personnel

  • Peter Wolf – producer
  • Robert White Johnson – producer
  • Taylor Rhodes – producer
  • Rob Feaster – engineer, mixing
  • Paula Montondo – assistant engineer
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York, NY)
  • Manhattan Design – design
  • Todd Schorr – cover painting
  • Bobby DiMarzo – black and white photography
  • Jeff Katz – color photography

Charts

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Up to No Good chart performance
Year Chart Position
1990 The Billboard 200[11] 111

References

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  1. ^ Morse, Steve (25 Feb 1990). "Lone Wolf". The Boston Globe. p. B27.
  2. ^ a b Hunt, Dennis (29 Apr 1990). "In Brief". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 83.
  3. ^ Milward, John (19 Apr 1990). "What Is Peter Wolf Up to These Days?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E1.
  4. ^ Heim, Chris (9 Mar 1990). "Peter Wolf and Nick Lowe resurface on new labels". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. Q.
  5. ^ a b Obee, Dave (22 Mar 1990). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. F4.
  6. ^ "Peter Wolf". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  7. ^ a b Erskine, Evelyn (30 Mar 1990). "Peter Wolf Up to No Good". Ottawa Citizen. p. D6.
  8. ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 885.
  9. ^ Potter, Mitch (23 Mar 1990). "Peter Wolf Up to No Good". Toronto Star. p. D18.
  10. ^ Niester, Alan (23 Apr 1990). "Up to No Good Peter Wolf". The Globe and Mail. p. C7.
  11. ^ "Peter Wolf". Billboard. Retrieved 8 March 2023.