#86 "Hannah and Gabi" by The Lemonheads

I can't believe that I've nearly gone through a third of this list and I've yet to talk about Evan Dando. He's been a favorite of mine for a long time.

Like most people, my introduction to The Lemonheads came via their rockin' cover of "Mrs. Robinson" from their 1992 breakthrough album "It's a Shame About Ray." I thought it was pretty cool and loved how they sped up the original Simon and Garfunkel classic. It seemed like just a little while later I couldn't turn on MTV without seeing "Into Your Arms" every five minutes and hearing about what an alt-hunk Dando was. That song was good and certainly catchy, but I hadn't heard enough to make me want to go out and buy their cd. Remember... this was way before Itunes and Napster. You were taking a financial risk commiting $12 to a full album when you'd only heard a single song from it, especially if it wasn't a proven band that you'd liked for a while. But somewhere along the way I finally broke down and grabbed one of their albums. I think it was 1996's "Car Button Cloth," after loving "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You" and "Outdoor Type." Yeah... I'm cheap. It takes me a while to invest. Humorously enough, that ended up being their last album!?! At that point, I'd waited long enough that there was plenty of back material to listen to though.

Sometimes I think that if I could sing like anyone, I might choose to sound like Evan Dando. It's not that he's got some spectacular voice or anything. He doesn't have the range of Jeff Buckley or recognizability of some other famous singers, but there's this great warmth to his vocals. I once read a review that said he had a syrupy baritone. I don't know about that, but over the years the quality of his voice has endured and even after all of the touring, the drugs, the cigarettes, and everything else Dando has sadly subjected himself to, he can still conjure up something wonderful every time he opens his mouth.

"Hannah and Gabi" has long been one of my favorite Lemonhead tunes. When I finally got the chance to see Dando in concert a few years ago, it was on my list of hopefuls to hear. I was so excited when I heard those opening notes. Among Dando's other gifts is his ability to play guitar. Actually, I think he's one of the more underrated acoustic strummers around, and those chops are on display in this song. What you also get is Dando's HUGE Graham Parsons' admiration, whose alt-country influence is usually on display in the best of The Lemonheads' catalogue.

"Hannah and Gabi" is from the album "It's a Shame About Ray." To hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.