Under the Influence

 (101 customer reviews)

I don't know how it was reviewed by the "critics", but I really liked it. It, like he said, will never be as good as the origionals, but they are good. I liked his selection of songs, not just popular ones, but ones that are a little less known to fans. He keeps them close to how they were meant to be and for that reason, on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best), I give it a 5+.

Mainstream country music has lost its soul. Independent labels still produce authentic country in its many guises, but fail to gain the mass radio plays that allow dull rock acts in cowboy hats to dominate the top of the country charts. The one exception is Alan Jackson. To prove that point, he released this superb covers album which pays tribute to his musical heroes. Toby Keith or Lonestar fans may wonder where the Eagles cover version is (and who on earth is Charley Pride). Alan Jackson knows and we should be grateful that he did include Kiss An Angel Good Mornin' ahead of Hotel California. This is a rare example of a country covers album that actually covers real country music. There are classics originally recorded by Jim Ed Brown, Gene Watson, Merle Haggard and George Jones. Alan Jackson's rich baritone effortlessly brings these songs into the current market place and deservedly into the spotlight after years of neglect. Jackson should be applauded for his choice of material,...Read more

Most of Alan Jackson's albums include a lot of original songs with the occasional cover. This album is different, entirely focusing on covers. This gave Alan the chance to illustrate some of his musical influences, including Merle Haggard (My own kind of hat, The way I am), John Anderson (She just started liking cheating songs), Hank Williams Junior (The blues man), Gene Watson (Farewell party), Don Williams (It must be love) Charley Pride (Kiss an angel good morning) and George Jones (Revenooer man, Once you've had the best).Right in the palm of your hand was originally recorded by Crystal Gayle and later covered by Mel Mc Daniel. It is Mel who gets Alan's credit - no mention is made in his comments about Crystal. The most surprising inclusions here are Pop atop (Jim Ed Brown) and Margarittaville (Jimmy Buffett), this last being a duet with Jimmy.Alan does not attempt to do anything different with the songs - they sound just how you would expect them to sound. He never expected...Read more