A Man Under the Influence

Alejandro Escovedo

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 24, 2001)
• Original Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bloodshot Records
• ASIN: B00005AVO8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #66,496 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Ripe with the enigmas of loss, love, and connections across great distances, Alejandro Escovedo's sixth solo album realizes the promise of his remarkable gifts as singer, songwriter, and arranger. On spiraling tiers of pedal steel, cellos, violins, and electric and acoustic guitars, his chamber-rock vision comes to full fruition. He's never made freer garage pop than "Castanets," never stirred a more sweeping lyricism than in "Don't Need You," and never laid bare more soul than in the heartbreaking "Follow You Down" (a ballad Escovedo often dedicates to Townes Van Zandt). Even more amazing are the pairing of "Wave" and "Rosalie," subtle dramas of the Mexican-American passage through separation and faith, and the swirling, aching "About This Love," which concludes "It's all about the way/We break, to love again." Escovedo has always sought a poetic fusing of sound and image; with A Man Under the Influence, that search is complete. --Roy Kasten

Product Description

Produced by Chris Stamey (former dB's) and performed by many of Alejandro's band of usual suspects, it also features the contributions of Eric Heywood (Richard Buckner, Freakwater),Mitch Easter, members of Superchunk, Ryan Adams, Chip Robinson (The Backsliders), Caitlin Cary (Whiskeytown) and more. The album's first two tracks inspired Alejandro to write the play 'By The Hand Of The Father', which has already premiered in L.A. and was be performed at SXSW 2001. 11 tracks. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars File under "Amexicana", June 19, 2001

By	wm "wordmule" (...onward....thru the fog!) - See all my reviews

The tragic irony about Alejandro Escovedo is that he's the greatest contemporary singer songwriter who most people will never hear of. And that's a shame, because he's got tremendous talent, blending all kinds of influences, from Brit rock to Lou Reed to Iggy Pop to folk, but most of all, he gives it an Austin, Texas feel. It's also a sound uniquely his own, although he fits neatly in with the so called "Americana" musicians like Lucinda Williams or The Jayhawks. His music has a beautiful melancholy in it. There's also a very strong undercurrent of Mexican American music, and there should be; he is after all, a Mexican American. It's not the same overt Mexican American flavor exemplified by bands like Los Lobos, however, but instead much more subtle. He has collaborated loosely with the Walter Salas Humara/The Silos bunch over the years. In one of their greatest collaborations, which is now hard to find, since it's long out of print, they call themselves "The Setters...If you can get ahold of this CD, get it. Also, as others have said in reviews of Alejandro, you want to catch him live. Like some of the greatest musicians out there, he's continuously reinventing himself, and each time you see his show, it will have a totally different mood, texture, and atmosphere. I'm not sure there is such a thing as a bad Alejandro Escovedo CD, but this one, and the one before it are without a doubt his most polished.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic CD, August 14, 2003

By	Frank J. Freeman II "Iowa State Hockey Fan" (Ames, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This CD was a CD of the month at my local Public Radio station (KUNI), and Alejandro was featured on "The World Cafe". Because I had heard a few of the songs on the CD...I was both reluctant and hopeful when I bought the CD. I should not have been reluctant. The CD was enough for me to travel to Minneapolis to see Alejandro in concert. A Man Under the Influence is both masterful and approachable. Masterful enough for my father to enjoy it and approachable enough that my stepson requested that I burn Castanets onto a CD for him.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another strong, consistent, rewarding disc, December 18, 2001

By	Music fan (Norfolk, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Escovedo veers wildly over the sonic map from Stonesy rocker to symphonic country ballad to Tex Mex melancholy. What doesn't change is his unerring eye for writing a compelling story - check out "Rosalie." The result is an emotionally resonant disc that seduces you slowly, rewarding with each repeated listening.

Flawless production by Chris Stamey, who also contributes his usual tasteful guitar licks (along with old buddy Mitch Easter).