Album Review: The Derailers – Under the Influence of Buck

The Derailers came out with their tribute to the late, great Buck Owens on Tuesday, aptly titled Under the Influence of Buck. Owens enjoyed The Derailers music and it was him who invited them to perform at his 70th birthday party in Bakersfield, CA, and it was The Derailers who honored Owens by adhering to his sound.

The album opens with a faithful duplicate of “Foolin’ Around.” Any praise or criticisms lobbied at The Derailer’s rendidtion would have to equally apply to Owens’ version; it’s really that close to the original. Following up is the song from whence the album got it’s name, “Under the Influence of Love,” and again, it’s another recreation of the original, which isn’t an entirely bad thing, but unless you’re a big fan of The Derailers, I don’t see much point in choosing this version over Buck’s.

The Chuck Berry song, “Johnny B. Goode,” is included on the album, which seems an odd choice with all the great material they had to pick from, but as the band explained it at their CD release performance at Hill’s Cafe on Wednesday night, Owens liked to close his shows with the rockin’ tune. It’s hard to pick apart song selection for a tribute album, especially considering the band knew Buck Owens personally, so I won’t even try.

One of my favorite covers is the final song, “Big In Vegas.” The differences are subtle, but Brian Hofeldt injects enough humility into the vocal to make the song shine. I don’t think I could choose between the two versions if I had to; I like them both.

After listening to a capable band like the The Derailers cover a few of Buck Owens’ classics and a few that aren’t as well known, it reminds you how bland the scene can be at times. You also get the impression that The Derailers were the perfect band to revive some of Owens’ classics. They have the retro look (which is awesome) and the honky tonk sound to do him proud. There won’t ever be another Buck Owens, but here’s to hoping. The material for the album is great and The Derailers perform masterfully, but the lack of interpretation holds it back. If you haven’t listened to any Buck Owens or The Derailers before, I’d say give it a shot and tell you how great the album is, but for everyone else, I give it three stars.