What happens when the most morose pop act this side of Leonard Cohen gets covered by some of today's most ennui-stricken bands? As comedian Bill Hicks used to say: "Let the party begin!" On Come On Beautiful: The Songs of American Music Club, Lambchop, Calexico, Portastatic, Steve Wynn , Ida, the Walkabouts' Chris & Carla and a half dozen other artists all pay tribute to the San Francisco band that made the Smiths sound cheerful.

The new project is a limited-edition labor of love compiled by Paul Austin of the Boston band Willard Grant Conspiracy, who contribute their own version of AMC's "Will You Find Me."

"Paul and I are big fans and have been for years," says Willard Grant Conspiracy frontman Robert Fisher, whose own songwriting has been known to slip into the realm of the melancholy on more than a few occasions. "Paul asked all his favorite bands, 'Will you do this?' And amazingly, they all said, 'Yes.'"

Well, maybe not all of them. According to Austin, Joe Pernice, who "even sang a goddamn song about listening to AMC's 'Johnny Mathis' Feet' on a Scud Mountain Boys release," and Marcy Mays of Scrawl were unable to make it.

When it came time to record their own track for the tribute, even Willard Grant Conspiracy had a few problems grappling with the ghost of Mark Eitzel's old band. "I was a little daunted actually," explains Foster, "because Mark is one of those people that, when you approach covering one of his songs, you hear his voice in your head. His songs are so personal, it's kind of like John Lennon. You know, it's hard to cover a John Lennon song, at least his solo work. But I'm happy with the way it turned out and I think the record sounds amazing. Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I never feel like fast forwarding through anything on it."

And how does Eitzel himself feel about the project? "I think it's fucking great," says the former American Music Club frontman between mixing sessions for his next solo album, I'm Bound to the Stars, which is set for May release on Matador. "I hate to sound corny, but I really feel honored and happy [about] the thing."

Come On Beautiful: The Songs of American Music Club can be ordered from Merge Records (www.mrg2000.com).

Track listing for Come On Beautiful:

Ida, "What Holds the World Together"
M. Ward, "Fearless"
Lambchop, "Why Won't You Stay"
Jenny Toomey & Amy Domingues, "Last Harbor"
Calexico, "Chanel #5"
Paula Frazer, "Hollywood 4-5-92"
Willard Grant Conspiracy, "Will You Find Me?"
Chris & Carla, "Blue and Grey Shirt"
Steve Wynn, "Highway Five"
Ver Clouzot, "Pale Skinny Girl"
Portastatic, "Firefly"
Dakota Suite, "This Year"

BILL FORMAN
(January 17, 2001)