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The Lemonheads are for all intensive purposes an Evan Dando solo vehicle in 2009. He still clings to the bankable name like a security blanket but it has been all about him for many years now. Being the sole proprietor means he can take the music where he wants and over the 23 years of the band’s existence it has travelled from the punk and hardcore of the early days to 1990’s vastly underrated Lovey and onto the country pop of Its A Shame About Ray.

The cover album Varshons (produced and partially selected by Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes) take a similarly diverse snapshot of Dando’s influences and collects together some frequently brilliant versions of his favourite songs. From the nihilistic US punk GG Allin to post-punk’s Wire, pop princess Christine Aguilera and alt country legends Gram Parsons and Townes Van Zant – all bases are covered and treated with Dando’s magic touch.

Parsons and Van Zandt are obvious choices with Dando’s predilection for sad and lonely country music. He sounds a dead ringer for the latter on ‘Waiting Around To Die’, remaining faithful to the original soul-baring country ballad. Parsons is probably somewhat of a idolised figure to Dando, both in lifestyle and music and he makes ‘I Just Can’t Take It Anymore’ a Lemonheads classic in the vein of those acoustic strummers he built his career on.

Allin’s ‘Layin’ Up With Linda’ sounds a bit like Guns n Roses ‘Used To Love Her’ and it breezily tells of the murder of the aforementioned Linda. Dando takes the evil of Allin and turns it into a love song of sorts. Elsewhere he gives the garage rock song ‘Green Fuzz’ an acoustic RHCP trippy feel before venturing deeper into mystical territory on the tabla  driven YesterLove and on a rockier psychedelic trip – July’s ‘Dandelion Seeds’.

The big misstep on Varshons is ‘Dirty Robot’ featuring Kate Moss on vocals. It is given a cheesy electro treatment with Moss intoning inane lyrics over the top. “Go away why don’t you just shut up” she sings at one point – wishful thinking indeed. Dando has strayed into this territory before on the Favorite Spanish Dishes EP where he used similar musical backing for his cover of New Kids On The Block’s ‘Step By Step’. There he went completely over the top and breathed comical life into the song. Here he seems to be taking it semi-seriously and it fails big time.

Liv Tyler fairs a lot better duetting with Dando on Cohen’s ‘Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye’. She coos softly throughout but staying fairly true to the original it works well as a innocent and pretty song about lovers departing.

Rounding out the album is what looks bemusing on paper but which works well in reality. Christine Aguilera’s ‘Beautiful’ (written by Linda Perry) is a strong affirmation of self belief and stripped of any associated sappiness it stands up well with Dando’s subdued approach. Melodically it is a killer and it shows that Dando’s strength lies in those sweetly infectious melodies that he writes in his own songs and that he so successfully brings to the surface in most of these Varshons. Now he has that out of the way, bring on a new album of originals.

Reviewed for The Dwarf.