Many of the songs here are reworked to fit the basic Everclear template: plenty of grungy guitarwork, the occasional well-placed acoustic string instrument (the mandolin appearance on "This Land"), lots of insistent hard-rock drumming. The most striking reinvention is perhaps a remake of Yaz's "Bad Connection," an underrated cut from the British synth band's first album. In this instance, the band (Version 1.0) is clearly having such a good time pushing Vince Clarke's synthesizer burbles into pop-punk that you share their sense of glee. It's perhaps the one clear case on the album where Art's vocals prove more apt than original deep-throated mama Alison Moyet, who always seemed too earthy for this lightweight li'l pop tune.

So do the boys do ultimately justice to their chosen covers?

In general, yes, though I've never been much enamored with their off-rhythm take on Thin Lizzy, while their version of "Sealed" won't make you forget either the Go-Go’s or Fun Boy Three. In a couple of cases, the band's tempo shifts remind us what made the originals sound so good in the first place: a sped-up remake of "Southern Girls" swaps the original's poppy sexiness for simple acceleration, while their slow-down "American Girl" mainly shows what a power-pop classic Tom Petty's version was.

Still, the tracks remain amusing, even if I suspect that many of Alexakis' fans - the ones attracted to his psychodramatic originals, the drugs and shattered marriage and absent father songs - will come away disappointed. As a Baby Boomer, I recall originally feeling a similar sense of discontent over John Lennon's Rock 'N' Roll, but over the years I've learned to appreciate that disc's modest charms.

Does Vegas Years' song selection tell us anything about the group? Not much really, though the inclusion of two teevee theme songs ("Land of the Lost" and just-in-time-for-the-movie, "Speed Racer") lets us know what Art was watching as a boy on Saturday mornings. Perhaps that's sufficient for this diverting placeholder of an album.