Review: Peter And The Wolves - Love/Hate Thing

Peter And The Wolves - Love/Hate Thing
2008, Peter Foret

Peter And The Wolves have been rocking Ottawa and the outer environs since 1985. Band leader Peter Foret writes and plays music in a vast array of styles across several different bands. Peter And The Wolves’ latest release, Love/Hate Thing came out in 2008. It’s worth a listen.

Love/Hate Thing opens sounding like a 1970's jazz/pop/soul record. You could easily hear someone like Al Jarreau singing the opening track, Gravity. Love/Hate Thing (The title track) has a funky core with dancing synth and a great horn section. Peter Foret has a pleasant voice: not earth shattering but an easy listen. His mellow vocal style fits perfectly to the arrangements here. I Found A Love sounds like something out of the James Taylor catalog from the 1970's. Trail Of Tears is one of my personal favorites, an upbeat pop/funk piece that would have been right at home in about 1978.

The Chill steps forward into 1980's gritty funk, with some nasty guitar work on the edges. The best performance on Love/Hate Thing is the reggae driven Kiss Me You Fool. Foret's vocals get a little odd here. More specifically he seems to lose his ability to enunciate at points during the song. This is a minor point but it does draw attention away from the performance which is excellent. I Do will end up on mix tapes for those who are lucky enough to hear this CD. Color Me Gone is an upbeat outro, followed up by Carry Me Back, which plods into the finish line as perhaps the only true weak link on the CD.

Peter And The Wolves play a sugary blend of jazz and pop that is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It's not terribly challenging music but is fun to listen to. Foret shows flashes of brilliance as a songwriter, but spends most of Love/Hate Thing just being very good, which is more than good enough. This CD is definitely worth spending some time on.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Peter And The Wolves at http://www.peterforet.com/. You can pick up a copy of Love/Hate Thing at www.cdbaby.com/cd/peterwolves.