Everclear — The Vegas Years

I saw Everclear at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern in the early '90s and thought they were a great live band. Sparkle And Fade came out and "Santa Monica" became a huge hit in 1995, and that momentum continued through 1997's So Much For The Afterglow. Two separate volumes of Songs From An American Movie followed in 2000, and 2003's Slow Motion Daydream continued their gradual decline. I completely lost interest by the time 2006's Welcome To The Drama Club came out, but was mildly curious about The Vegas Years — a collection of 14 covers recorded from 1994 to this year. Disappointment set in again. "Bad Connection" put a smile on my face, as it retains the melody of Yaz's electro-pop classic, but few other similarities. Other notables include a faster version of Neil Young's "Pocahontas," a rocked up rendition of old country favourite "Night Train To Memphis," a pretty faithful "Kicks" and the live show closer that also ends the album: Tommy Tutone's "867-5309 (Jenny)." The rest is pretty forgettable, and I hope that a band who once showed so much promise don't end up living out their existence on the B-list casino circuit.

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