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ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO - A Man Under The Influence The album starts with the intensely beautiful chamber group meets modern band sound Escovedo has championed the last few years. The band lays down a subtle sexy wall of sound for the world weary Leonard Cohen/Nick Cave/Mark Lanegan-ish vocals: "Wave Goodbye, everybody waves goodbye Climb aboard the train, turn and wave goodbye again, Some go North, Some go South Maybe East, some left town Some are rich, some are poor, Everybody's got to wave Wave Goodbye, they headed for the other side The Sun shines brighter there Everyone's got golden hair" WAVE Everyone is on the move, everyone searching for his or her spot in the sun as Alejandro stays in the Cohen/Cave vocal groove, quietly understating the human condition or the legend of a million Hollywood celluloid tales. But rather than just a bitter tale of disillusionment, it's a beautiful warning. The music is Texas dirt meets pop sensibility with lyrics out of a Joe Ely, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, early Jagger-Richards, Ray Davies grit without sounding like any of them. With the cello, violins and rock guitars mixing textures like a French chef with a ten minute deadline, "A Man Under the Influence" drags you so laconically throughout the breakup of a longtime relationship with such style and grace, you hardly notice the whiplash you're suffering as Alejandro Escovedo tries to find a place to stand where he can cherish the past, endure the present and reach longingly to a better future. But it's "Across the River" where you find your heart being squeezed way beyond the ersatz country on CMT. I saw your face across the river Without a trace, they all lapsed into gray The old men said they all heard the laughter And then the laughter seemed to fade away. What kind of love destroys a mother And sends her crashing through the tangled trees What kind of love destroys another And sends them crashing through the tangled trees Even the guitars cry as the long time relationship dissolves The old men say that they saw you walking The old men say you seemed to fade away What kind of love destroys a mother And sends her crashing through the tangled trees. ACROSS THE RIVER But like most songwriters, Escovedo looks for a way to survive. And a trip to the cantina shows him the wicked rock and roll way. Sex and sweat and his rock and roll best. Crashing, stunning rock and roll opens the best Stones song since the Stones could still roll. Or think Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters blues reality as Escovedo ruminates over his favorite waitress. Or think Marty Robbins laying down his life in a cantina in the Mexican badlands. But shake your ass while you're thinking. She plays castanets, she works without a net I like her better when she walks away I like the sun shining through her dress I like her better when she walks away I like her hair when it's a tangled mess I like it better when she walks away. CASTANETS The fact that this little rocK & roll gem will never make the radio just reiterates the tiredness and trenchant mediocrity that floats the airwaves. This is a simple shot of lust that has nothing to do with little pouty girls bouncing their barely pubescent breasts so that aging station programmers can pretend they're with it. This has to do with real women and real men. Try it you might like it... RatherRuss at the Dedicated Fool Store.Read full review