I have a love/hate thing with live albums. I love them because I feel like I was there and hate them because in most cases, I wasn’t. But they seem so rare these days that I’m treating Sugarland’s live album like the gem that it is. (It comes out Aug. 4 in Wal-Mart’s Live on the Inside CD/DVD set.) When I first read the track listing, none of the cover songs sounded familiar. But because it’s Sugarland, and Jennifer Nettles’ voice soars and Kristian Bush’s mandolin sings, all the songs now sound like theirs to me.

So when you see “Circle” and realize it’s the song by Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, don’t let that deter you. Or Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire” or R.E.M.’s “The One I Love” or Pearl Jam’s “Better Man.” These were all songs I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t know and/or love until Sugarland did them. The B-52s‘ “Love Shack” becomes an instant classic when Sugarland spins it. Then there’s Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable.” Why does a kiss-off song sound so much stronger with this twang? Like Nettles says on the “Better Man” intro, “It’s all about all kinds of music up here in Sugarland. We do it a little countrified.” And by countrified, she means that “can’t” becomes “cain’t,” the mandolin takes center stage and the guitars sound a little pluckier than on the originals.

There are still some Sugarland songs here: “Love,” “All I Want to Do,” “Joey” and “Stay.” So really, there’s something for the diehard fans who want songs they know and the rookie country fan who digs late ’90s alt-rock and Beyoncé. (Because, really, who doesn’t love Beyoncé?) But the one thing everyone will love, I predict, is the spontaneous live nature of the music. The performances were captured from shows in Minnesota, Canada, Texas, Kentucky and Georgia. And if you’ve ever seen the band live, you know just how good this will sound.

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