Michael Weiskopf is clearly a Bob Dylan fan. He’s the lead singer in a Dylan cover band (The Complete Unknowns), the one non-original track on his debut album is a Dylan song (“I’ll Remember You “) and at one point on the record Weiskopf declares that he is “driven by Dylan.” So to say this disc is Dylanesque is to speak the obvious. The question is, does Weiskopf do a good enough job at emulating his hero that Weiskopf is worth hearing in his own right?
The simple answer is “yes.” New Dylans have been around for decades. Just ask artists such as Loudon Wainwright III, Steve Forbert or the hundreds of others who have been saddled with that moniker over the years. At least Weiskopf is forthright about Dylan’s influence. More importantly, Weiskopf writes, sings and performs solid material with strong guitar lines and literate lyrics. He may not be Dylan, but he’s still pretty damn good. (From a review of "Insomnia" by Steve Horowitz for Pop Matters).
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