You know how many cool versions of Bacharach/David songs there are from the 1960s? Several zillion. From the ‘70s? Still oodles. From the ‘80s? Enough. The ‘90s? A severe drop-off, but those few are dark and distinctive:

• Back to Back Bacharach, Casino Royale (1999). A Herb Alpertian lounge go-go act. Irresistibly oddball, like a costume party put-on.

• That’s New Pussycat, Various Artists (2000). Indie surf and punk acts turn Bacharach & David tunes into instrumentals that might have co-existed (in a different ‘60s genre) with the pop originals, but didn’t. There’s some brilliant interpretations here, from Connecticut’s own Mill Valley Taters doing “Walk On By” to two different versions of “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,” by Deadbolt and Mummy the Peepshow.

• What the World Needs Now, Various Artists (1998). Power pop bands from the Big Deal label take the songs out for a spin. Splitsville’s “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” redrawn in a litany of pop styles from Merseybeat to ELO, is leagues beyond the rest, but The Absolute Zeros’ “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me is killer enough.

• Meow, “This Guy’s In Love With You.” From the album Goalie for the Other Team (1995). Morose, droney reading of the classic. Dark and mysterious as the original, an inspired update for the early emo era.