(Heads Up/Do the Math)

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You have to wonder what the members of the Bad Plus are thinking as they decide what to interpret. Do they really think songs by Yes, Pink Floyd and the Bee Gees will stand up to jazzy interpretation, or are they doing for the humor factor?

This time out, the trio varies its approach by including vocalist Wendy Lewis on nearly all the tracks. With a voice that frequently sounds like Suzanne Vega, Lewis plays the role of the subdued torch singer to the band's accompaniment, leaving plenty of room for them to go off on a wild tangent as they see fit. Sometimes this happens during a vocal chorus. To start the album, they revisit the Nirvana songbook (following their notorious take on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 2003, on These Are the Vistas) with a languid version of "Lithium" which clicks, at least, as a concept. Between vocal tracks the trio also reinvents classical works by Milton Babbitt, Igor Stravinsky and Gyorgi Ligeti.

Bassist Reid Anderson performs spot-on recreation of the chugging rhythm guitar in Heart's "Barracuda." Although "Comfortably Numb" should be buried someplace and never heard again, Lewis manages to find some beauty in this radio staple's melody. But taken as a whole album, the concept becomes a shtick. Nearly every song slows the original tempo to a crawl, while Lewis sucks on the lyrics and delivers them with cool, detached delivery. They prove that "Long Distance Runaround" is a dumb song, but that might not be a mark in their favor.

Standout Tracks: "Radio Cure," "Semi-Simple Variations" MIKE SHANLEY