Reviewed by James Lewis

This is his much-vaunted Return to Rock, back from 40 days in the wilderness of acoustic folk and blues. Well, it's certainly not Led Zeppelin - most of the stuff here really wouldn't have sounded too out of place on his last release - The Man With The Unprounceable Album Title! The main difference is lyrics - I didn't think the lyrics here are a patch on the man's previous work, where insightful imagery was a particularly strong point, and now seems mostly resorting to "Baby, Baby" cliches of good love and love gone bad, the latter gaining sway. Reportedly, his marriage to kooky songstress Victoria Williams was in trouble between this album and the last and if the lyrics are anything to go by ("Vanishing Act", "Never Comin' Home"), I'd say things have probably got worse. (They have, they're now divorced. Ed.) Nevertheless, 'Six-Pack Of Love' is, at times, an enjoyable record. Peter hints at hope in Heaven as in previous work, and in "Beyond The Blues", even pays tribute to Blind Willie Johnson. Musically, it is the same blend of acoustic and electric as John Cougar Mellencamp's "Jack And Diane".

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