A Man Under the Influence
2001 studio album by Alejandro Escovedo
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A Man Under the Influence is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo, released on April 24, 2001, on Bloodshot Records. It was produced by Chris Stamey. A deluxe edition was released on November 15, 2009.[1]
| A Man Under the Influence | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 24, 2001 | |||
| Studio | Modern Recording, Chapel Hill, North Carolina | |||
| Genre | Roots rock | |||
| Length | 50:09 | |||
| Label | Bloodshot | |||
| Producer | Chris Stamey | |||
| Alejandro Escovedo chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [3] |
| Blender | [4] |
| Now | 4/5[5] |
| Pitchfork | 8.3/10[6] |
| Q | [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [9] |
| Slant Magazine | [1] |
| Spin | 7/10[10] |
Billboard wrote that A Man Under the Influence was "the best studio performance Escovedo has ever delivered".[11] Similarly, Joshua Klein wrote in The A.V. Club that the album "could be Escovedo's best yet",[12] and James Mann said in PopMatters that the album was "far and away his best work".[13]
Several critics also commended Stamey's production on the album: Joe Tangari wrote in Pitchfork that on the track "Velvet Guitar", his production "keeps [the five guitarists on that track] all in their respective places, avoiding a sloppy mess."[6] Additionally, Raoul Hernandez wrote in The Austin Chronicle that Stamey "deserves credit for the LP's overall cohesion of sound",[3] while Michael Barclay of Exclaim! wrote that Stamey's production "captures the mood perfectly".[14]
Conversely, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice selected "Wave" and "Castanets" as "choice cuts", indicating good songs "on an album that isn't worth your time or money."[15]
Track listing
All tracks composed by Alejandro Escovedo; except where indicated
- "Wave"
- "Rosalie"
- "Rhapsody" (Escovedo, Stephen Barber)
- "Across the River"
- "Castanets"
- "Don't Need You"
- "Follow You Down" (Escovedo, Stephen Barber)
- "Wedding Day" (Escovedo, JD Foster)
- "Velvet Guitar"
- "As I Fall"
- "About This Love"
Personnel
- Alejandro Escovedo - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
- Ryan Adams - vocal harmony, backing vocals
- Lynn Blakey - vocal harmony, backing vocals
- Caitlin Cary - violin, backing vocals
- Tonya Lamm - vocal harmony, backing vocals
- Michael "Cornbread" Traylor - bass
- Mike Daly - bass, 12-string electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mando-guitar, mandolin, pedal steel
- Mitch Easter - electric guitar, engineer
- Eric Heywood - pedal steel, pump organ, vocal harmony
- Joe Eddy Hines - electric guitar, slide guitar
- Hector Muñoz - drums, orchestral percussion, tambourine
- Aaron Oliva - bowed double bass, double bass
- David Perales - violin, vocal harmony
- Chip Robinson - vocal harmony, backing vocals
- Chris Stamey - bass, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, electric guitar, Kurzweil synthesizer, sleigh bells, engineer
- Brian Standefer - cello
- Jon Wurster - shaker
- Technical
- John Plymale, Tim Harper - mixing
- Markus Greiner - design
- Dana Lee Smith - artwork