Album Review: The Lemonheads – Varshons II (Fire)

Well, we haven’t heard any new songs from Evan Dando in about 15 years, but here he is with the latest version of The Lemonheads covering 13 tunes…some well-known, others obscure.

For those not paying close attention, this second edition of Varshons follows up the previous version which saw the light of day nearly a decade ago. That record was produced by Butthole Surfers’ Gibby Haynes and featured songs from everyone from GG Allin to Leonard Cohen.

This second installation isn’t nearly so eclectic, although there are some interesting selections by some fairly cult-like bands.

The set gets underway with a fairly faithful reproduction of Yo La Tengo’s Can’t Forget, a laconic, easygoing track from their 1990 album, Fakebook. Dando sounds in good voice and he is joined by a female vocalist on harmonies and “la la la’s”. I’m sorry I can’t tell you who it is as liner notes are hard to come by these days…a sad by-product of digital downloads.

That laid-back vibe continues with The Lemonheads’ take on The Jayhawks’ Settled Down Like Rain, although that vibe is interrupted by a rather jarring fuzz guitar solo that seems to have been inserted from a completely different session.

The two cult bands that Dando revisits are The Bevis Frond and their psyched-out Old Man Blank and the criminally underrated and mostly forgotten NRBQ with their 1972 tune Magnet. Dando turns Old Man Blank into a 90s-style alt rocker, with psychedelic tendencies, but doesn’t quite capture the charms of NRBQ’s original version of Magnet.

There are a few well-known songs scattered among the rubble here.

One is John Prine’s Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness, one of Prine’s finest compositions. Dando pretty much nails it, although doesn’t add anything new.

Lucinda Williams is represented with her song, Abandoned. Dando has added a squalling electric guitar to run throughout the track, which I found distracting to the intimate nature of the lyrics, but at least he was trying.

Then there is the cover of the Eagles/Jackson Browne mega-hit Take It Easy. Possibly one of the most pointless covers ever. Nothing new is revealed in this tune most of us have heard thousands of times.

One track that does stand out is TAQN, originally by a late 70s punk band called Eyes. The title stands for “Take A Quaalude Now” and Dando and his band attack the tune with all the punkish energy they can muster.

Oh, and there is a straightforward reading of Nick Cave’s Straight To You, that again, feels unnecessary.

So, it’s a mixed bag here. Dando’s vocals are always solid and the song choice is interesting. It did cause me to go back and revisit the original version of a few and remember how much I liked them, so, not a complete waste of time. And maybe younger listeners will get turned on to a few of these old chestnuts as well.

Marty Duda

Varshons II track list:

1. Can’t Forget (Yo Le Tengo)
2. Settled Down (The Jayhawks)
3. Old Man Blank (The Bevis Frond)
4. Things (Paul Westerberg)
5. Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness (John Prine)
6. Abandoned (Lucinda Williams)
7. Now And Then (Natural Child)
8. Magnet (NRBQ)
9. Round Here (Florida Georgia Line)
10. TAQN (Eyes)
11. Unfamiliar (The GiveGoods)
12. Straight To You (Nick Cave)
13. Take It Easy (Eagles/Jackson Browne)