| Alejandro Escovedo |
Rock
Alejandro Escovedo is one of rock's rarest breeds -- an artist who's been able to gracefully mature and mellow, from punk rock beginnings to jut-jawed rootsiness to his current footing in singer-songwriter sincerity. A melancholy elegance pervades A Man Under the Influence, Escovedo's sixth solo album, one that can be heard in the languid blend of cello, pedal steel, and acoustic guitar that serves as the canvas for many of the songs here. Escovedo is most affecting on those songs -- like the two-pronged heart attack of "Wave" and "Rosalie" -- that are most personal to him, in this case, tales of immigrant passage that cut the listener to the quick. On the other hand, he needs nothing more than an unanswered phone or a whiff of perfume to call up images, like those permeating "About This Love" and "Don't Need You," that conjure infectious feelings of romantic longing. A Man Under the Influence is rife with songs that combine hope and resignation in a manner likely to ring true with anyone trying to keep his or her head above the emotional riptide. David Sprague
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