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Everclear: The Vegas Years |
Contributed By: Beyond 2000
Created On: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Hits: 78
 The Vegas Years Still, this album isn't a sweet spot for Everclear. Over the years the group has, admittedly, made its living doing interesting covers onstage – sometimes making them the centerpiece of the night's set. In fact, that translates well to tape on The Vegas Years' ripping version of Tommy Tutone's "867-5309 (Jenny)," which will create smoke in your speakers – it's that hot. "Rich Girl" is a peculiar choice, but it fits in the lower-class workingman's struggle Everclear wears on its sleeve, and the original Hall & Oates version was so flat that Everclear's reworking gives it a welcome shot of HGH.
The band carved its niche mashing out distortion-fueled, garage-y cuts, and some of these songs (Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town," for instance) sound on paper like they'd be great ideas. But Everclear was at its tip-top absolute best when they were pissy Nirvana-bes, territory that a reconstituted Everclear (as in, frontman Art Alekakis was the sole holdover from the band's salad days) recaptured at moments with 2006's Welcome to the Drama Club. When the band's playing original material, they have half a chance, because Art's in control of the message and its delivery. Happy-crappy rock anthems – or, in the case of "This Land is Your Land,” rock-ized folk tunes – just don’t suit this band.
The only possible defense for doing a whole record of covers is that Art owed something to Capitol, or perhaps he wanted back onto a major label and some A&R dude told him this was the only way – making a throwaway along the lines of R.E.M.'s Dead Letter Office. In that case we don't have to take it too seriously. But egads, TV themes like "Land of the Lost" and "Speed Racer?" Cheap Trick's "Southern Girls?" By Everclear? This will tax even the hardiest of the band's fans, and will make new fans likely wonder where the heck these guys are coming from, or worse, where they're going. These songs are the stuff that B-sides, bonus tracks, and free downloads at MySpace are made of; they don't really hang together to make a full album. Here's hoping Art Alexakis & Co. gets back to original stuff sooner than later. There are clearly still some rockin' miles left in their tire tread, but time's a-wasting.
 
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