Michael Weiskopf is a New York City based singer-songwriter, who just released his second album, Suffering Fools. Weiskopf is open about being influenced by the musical explosion of the ’60s, the singer-songwriters who emerged from the folk movement, but also the British Invasion, Motown and Soul music. Dylan is clearly a major influence and Weiskopf also is the lead singer of The Complete Unknowns, a group that celebrates Dylan’s music and was also a member of two other groups that played music of the ’60s, The Lost Keys and Psychedelic Summer. Many of his songs are blatantly political and topical, and while one can detect a bit of Phil Ochs on “Thank You Canada (The Ted Cruz song),” lyrically Weiskopf is closer to Bruce Cockburn. In fact, he closes the album with Cockburn’s “Pacing The Cage,” and also includes a cover of Bob McDill’s “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” a 1980 country hit for Don Williams. Musically, Weiskopf explores what once was called folk-rock with occasional touches of twang and country. However he is at his best when he stays away from obvious targets like Cruz and digs deeper. “No Reason,” is an epic tune that has a clear debt to Dylan’s “It’s Alright, Ma,” both musically and structurally. With laser like precision, Weiskopf explores every aspect of the 21st Century daily horror, the constant wars, the spying, the lying, the technology, the poverty, the pollution, the destruction, the corruption, the corporate madness, and he pulls it off. “Frozen” echoes much later Dylan, namely “Ain’t Talkin’.” Both songs borrow heavily from the traditional “Wayfaring Stranger,” and both songs start with a theme of walking, and though Weiskopf ultimately tells a different story entirely, it may be a little too close for comfort, though everything about the way he sings it tells you he means it, and despite the obvious comparison, it keeps you listening. The most powerful song is “Guns Don’t Kill.” Written a few days after the Sandy Hook incident, Weiskopf avoids the usual gun control clichés and instead writes from inside the mind of the mass murderer. He wisely keeps it general enough so it could be any of the mass shooters, none of them or one yet to come. The result is powerful, disturbing and scary. This is a song that not only deserves to be heard, but needs to be heard.