John Lennon tackles songs from the '50s by many of his favorites, from Gene Vincent to Lloyd Price. Of course, these are the kinds of songs that turned up on early Beatles albums, and while Lennon doesn't reinvent them as strikingly as his old group did, he gives them an affectionate, knowing treatment. He released his solo debut Cheating at Solitaire , a blistering collection of originals that covered the spectrum of his musical influences - country, rock, punk and blues. Following a mere 7 months later, Under the Influences digs deeper, finding Ness covering tracks by many of those influences including Hank Williams and Marty Robbins. Fans of Social Distortion will find Ness' familiar punk attitude throughout, but musically he lets his country roots show a lot more.
Several songs feature a prominent acoustic guitar.
Hear Cheating at Solitaire first, but this one makes a great companion piece. It's about time someone recognized Jimmie Rodgers. And where the latter would go on to father modern blues, the former can legitimately be called the Father of Country music, Bluegrass and what we know as folk music. The performers paying tribute here are first rate, including project organizer Bob Dylan, as well as Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dwight Yoakam and Jerry Garcia making his last recording only months before his death. The album opens with a sad ballad lovingly performed by Bono without a hint of his characteristic smarm.