|
Alan Jackson: Under The Influence
 Alan Jackson, the 1990s' preeminent tradition-based singer,
kicked up a fuss at the 1999 CMA Awards over the Country Music Association's
cavalier treatment of George Jones. That same deep, abiding reverence for the past clearly inspired this collection of oldies, all of them Jackson's personal favorites. Many choices aren't surprising, such as the 1967 Jim Ed Brown barroom anthem "Pop a Top," Merle
Haggard's "My Own Kind of Hat" and "The Way I Am," Don
Williams's "It Must Be Love," the 1963 George Jones hit "Revenooer
Man," Hank Williams Jr.'s "The Blues Man," and Gene Watson's
"Farewell Party." The performances are competent enough, yet
something's missing. Passion, normally a given on Jackson's recordings,
surfaces only on Charley Pride's "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'." Given
Jackson's undeniable love for the material, his delivery seems detached, even
clinical. More out of place is his duet with Jimmy Buffett on Buffett's
shopworn "Margaritaville," which seems less of a stand-alone
performance than an entry in a future CMA "Vocal Event of the Year"
sweepstakes.
|
|
