"These songs are for you..." Alejandro Escovedo closes out his dedication to his sister Alice, in 'A Man Under the Influence', and truth be told, these songs feel as if they are written for and sung to each and everyone of us individually.

Alejandro Escovedo is one songwriter and musician that I was fortunate to run into not too long ago, one who magically manages to seamlessly blend influences from folk, rock & roll, punk, country and texmex music. After learning about him, this album, with all its "dia de los muertos" motif instantly captured my attention: gladly I later found out most of his fans consider it to be his best production to date. To me the 11-song was like a book consisting of two intertwined chapters, somewhat (and two very solid chapters, for the matter). From the opening chord of "Wave", into the contagious "Rosalie", the first chapter is mostly straight-up rock 'n roll with songs that equally borrow from The Beatles in their early years or Los Lobos, while still retaining a uniqueness that makes them refreshing, making you want to listen to them over and over again.

The other chapter of the album shows a far more personal side of Escovedo, with "Across The River", "Velvet Guitar" (a very Tom Petty-like tune), the intimate "Don't Need You" and the closing "About This Love" making you wonder: what on earth are we listening to these days, when a guy like Alejandro Escovedo is far from being well known? (to the point on depending on his friend's and fan's help to get back on his feet after collapsing in April 2003 -you can also help him by going to http://www.alejandrofund.com/)