Perhaps hoping lightning will strike twice — their take on “Mrs. Robinson” remains The Lemonheads’ best-known song — Evan Dando and his latest assortment of sidemen next month will release an entire album of covers.
Due June 23, the 11-track Varshons was produced by the Butthole Surfers’ Gibby Haynes and features covers of songs by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Wire, Gram Parsons and G.G. Allin — plus that increasingly oft-covered, Linda Perry-penned Christina Aguilera hit “Beautiful” (see full tracklist below).
This time around, the Lemonheads — aside from Dando, the band’s only constant since forming in 1986 — include Vess Ruhtenburg (bass) and Devon Ashley (drums), while the record also features guest vocals by model Kate Moss and actress Liv Tyler.
According to the band’s Web site, the covers album was inspired by Haynes, who, for years, has made mixtapes and sent them to his longtime friend Dando.
“Making a good mix is an art, and Gibby has it down,” Dando says. “I thought it would be fun to share these songs with other people like he shared them with me. So I picked the ‘greatest hits’ from his mixes and covered them, along with a few other songs I always wanted to play.”
Dando and Co. will hit the road at the end of the month to preview Varshons, starting May 30 in Boston and wrapping June 27 in Washington, D.C. (full dates below).
Tracklist: The Lemonheads, Varshons
1. “Just Can’t Take It Anymore” (Gram Parsons)
2. “Fragile” (Wire)
3. “Layin’ Up With Linda” (G.G. Allin)
4. “Waiting Around To Die” (Townes Van Zandt)
5. “Green Fuz” (Randy Alvey & The Green Fuz)
6. “Yesterlove” (Sam Gopal)
7. “Dirty Robot” (Arling & Cameron)
8. “Dandelion Seeds” (July)
9. “New Mexico” (FuckEmos)
10. “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye” (Leonard Cohen)
11. “Beautiful” (Christina Aguilera)
Lemonheads tour dates:
May 30: DCR Hatch Band Shell, Boston, MA
June 8: The Casbah, San Diego, CA
June 9: Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA
June 10: Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
June 12: Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA
June 13: Mission Theatre, Portland, OR
June 15: Liquid Joe’s, Salt Lake City, UT
June 16: Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO
June 18: Triple Rock, Minneapolis, MN
June 19: Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
June 20: Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
June 21: The Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI
June 22: Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
June 24: Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA
June 25: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
June 26: Ottobar, Baltimore, MD
June 27: Black Cat, Washington, DC
Looking forward to this, after hearing the Leonard Cohen cover…