"Under the Influence" released on student-run label Heavy Rotation Records
By Andrew R. Chow, Crimson Staff Writer
There are thousands of song covers spread across the Internet, and most of them are bad. Some are exact renditions which don't try to add any value to the original song; some, too adventurous, lose the original meaning of the song altogether; some are terribly sung, played, and recorded. Covers are dangerous ground for aspiring musicians, and knowing the breadth of the existing mediocrity, Jeff Dorenfeld must have approached his new covers project, "Under the Influence," with trepidation. Dorenfeld, the faculty adviser of the Berklee School of Music's Heavy Rotation Records, spearheaded this covers album in which Berklee students and alumni cover the songs of popular alternative rock bands such as Gang of Four, Smashing Pumpkins, and R.E.M. The album is an impressive display of Berklee talent, as each artist completely restyles their two chosen songs without losing the ingenuity of the original compositions.