Under the Influence

Album Review

The term singer/songwriter implies that an artist expresses himself emotionally through both singing and composing. But if singer/songwriters do much of their own writing, that doesn't mean that they are obligated to do all of their own writing. Indeed, many of the top singer/songwriters (from Joan Baez to Sarah McLachlan to Joni Mitchell) have recorded covers along the way. So when artists in the folk-rock/adult alternative realm opt to record the occasional album of covers, that doesn't necessarily mean that their singer/songwriter credentials should be questioned. And on Under the Influence, singer/songwriter Tony Lucca performs covers exclusively. The Michigan native/Los Angeles resident is a self-described member of Generation X, but this 2011 release finds him sending a shout-out to icons of the Baby Boomer generation, and those icons range from the Rolling Stones on "Waiting on a Friend" to Tom Petty on "You Got Lucky," to Steely Dan on "Dirty Work," and to Bruce Springsteen on "State Trooper." Although R&B songs aren't a high priority on this album, Lucca performs Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands" and has no problem making the song work well in an adult alternative environment. And Lucca also acknowledges some hard rock artists, including Led Zeppelin on "That's the Way" and Jimi Hendrix on "Angel." Of course, those two songs aren't hard rock; "Angel" is a laid-back ballad (not everything Hendrix recorded was as aggressive as "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady," or "Spanish Castle Magic"), and Lucca's performance of "That's the Way" reminds us that even though Zeppelin were best known for hard rock and heavy metal, they also gave us some classic folk-rock songs (not only "That's the Way" but also "Going to California," "Tangerine," "The Battle of Evermore," and the inescapable "Stairway to Heaven"). Thankfully, Lucca doesn't go for a lot of fancy studio gloss on Under the Influence; he opts for minimalism instead, and it serves him well. Although not as essential as some of his previous albums, Under the Influence is a sincere and consistently likable acknowledgment of some of the artists he admires.