When it comes to cover versions, I don’t know that there are hard and fast rules for a good one, necessarily. Staying completely faithful to the original is, well, pointless: if you’re not going to bring something new, why bother? Stray too far and you alienate fans of the song. The important thing, as with life, is to have fun – and in doing so, show enough love of a song to, for the four minutes or so that it lasts, make it your own. Everclear have a ball on ‘The Vegas Years’.It’s no secret that I love cover versions. I’ve said it bunches of times how great it is when a band does a great song, that isn’t theirs well. I like to hear a new spin on things, I like knowing what a band likes. Occasionally I’ll do a web trawl for MP3s, only specifying ‘cover version’ to see what hits. I keep a playlist on my iPod – other than ‘New Stuff’ it’s the only one I update regularly – of my favourite covers at any given time.So it was a real treat to wrap my Sennheisers around Everclear’s ‘The Vegas Years’, a compilation of cover versions recorded by the Portland, Oregon rock band over the past fourteen years.While we’re here, it occured to me while researching this piece how freaking awesome Portland is as a musical city. With the possible exceptions of Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul, is there any other city with more great bands per head of population? I know I’m going to be corrected on some point here, but still: Everclear, The Shins, Elliot Smith, Weinland, Gossip, The Kingsmen, The Dandy Warhols, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, M. Ward, The Stolen Sweets – and the list goes on. It’s a murderers’ row.Anyway. Everclear completists – and from what I understand, there are plenty out there – will have a lot of these tracks already, as at least half of the album has previously appeared across a number of b-sides; as well as the soundtrack to ‘Detroit Rock City’ (‘The Boys Are Back In Town’). ‘Rich Girl’, ‘Kicks’ and ‘Land Of The Lost’ are new; as are the versions of ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ and ‘Southern Girls’. ‘This Land is Your Land’ contains new guitars and keyboards, because the original mix got lost.The album is sort of an alternate retrospective of Everclear – the majority of songs being b-sides and contributions to compilations, they all fit with where the band was at a given time – though with that said, it doesn’t give you any real insight into, say, Art Alexakis’ much publicised history with drugs, or any of the personal and professional problems that the band endured. In a way it’s almost a purer retrospective than a regular best of – in performing cover versions it becomes all about the music; there’s no trying to interpret lyrics (because they’re not theirs); it’s not a revelation of the band’s dark secrets – it’s a collection of songs that they think rock.‘The Vegas Years’ is fun and summery – it’s best served with blue skies, burgers and beer. The performances are enthusiastic, interesting and a refreshing spin on some alt-rock and classic rock greats. Be warned – should you listen in the car, I can’t imagine it’s even remotely possible to drive slowly to the ‘Speed Racer’ theme – probably best to keep that one for public transport or video game driving only (and if the Wachowski Brothers don’t use it for the movie, they’re missing out). The versions of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and ‘867-5309 (Jenny)’ are solid live tracks too – they make you feel like you’d want to go to an Everclear show. The rest of the songs will make you want to drive fast, sing along and dance like a fool – and probably even two at the same time. This one will be in my rotation until the clouds come by again.Track Listing1. Rich Girl (Originally by Hall & Oates)2. Our Lips Are Sealed (Originally by The Go-Go's and Fun Boy Three)3. The Boys Are Back in Town (Originally by Thin Lizzy)4. Bad Connection (Originally by Yazoo)5. Kicks (Originally by Paul Revere & the Raiders)6. Pocahontas (Originally by Neil Young)7. Night Train to Memphis (Originally by Roy Acuff)8. This Land Is Your Land (Guthrie)9. American Girl (Originally by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)10. Brown Eyed Girl [Live] (Originally by Van Morrison)11. Southern Girls (Originally by Cheap Trick)12. ‘Land of the Lost’ Theme13. ‘Speed Racer’ Theme14. Live Intro15. 867-5309 (Jenny) [Live] (Originally by Tommy Tutone)