The Lemonheads: Varshons (The End)

After their lukewarm 2006 comeback, no one expected Evan Dando and co to be back in the saddle for a while. But then Varshons comes along and we are yet again elated. Inspired by old mix tapes of Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes, who also produced this album, Varshons sees Dando at his best covering classic and obscure tracks like punker GG Alin’s ‘Layin’ Up With Linda’ and Linda Perry’s ‘Beautiful’ (written for Christina Aguilera). Most of the album is acoustic but there are some offbeat moments such as the electro duet with model Kate Moss on ‘Dirty Robot’ and another haunting duet with Liv Tyler for Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye’. This album has masterpiece written all over it – even if it’s not by Dando’s own pen.

Here’s a blast from the past: The Lemonheads covering Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Mrs Robinson’. Note the grunge slacker look was still in back then.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM15SifTgcw[/youtube]