Dean Wareham works well with others. The musician got his start as the main man of dream-pop Galaxie 500, before moving on to nineties indie-pop Luna. More recently, he’s done everything from team-up with his wife Britta Phillips as Dean & Britta (QRO spotlight on) to make music for Andy Warhol’s 12 Most Beautiful… (QRO review), plus solo work (QRO album review) and reunited Luna. Now he rides with Chris Porpora, a.k.a. Cheval Sombre, in country covers record Dean Wareham Vs. Cheval Sombre.
Covers of country songs have been done since there was country music, even before, by everyone from hippies to rednecks. But Vs. has a decidedly sweeter, softer take on pieces such as “My Rifle, My Pony and Me” (made famous by another Dean, Dean Martin, in classic western Rio Bravo). Admittedly, it’s not the Wild West we’ve come to know, just light trots like Blaze Foley’s “If I Could Fly” and traditional “Wayfaring Stranger”, plus quiet loneliness in Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow is a Long Time” and Stephen Merritt’s “Grand Canyon”.
If you’re a country fan looking for country music, there’s a good chance that Dean Wareham Vs. Cheval Sombre isn’t quite for you. But if you’re a fan of Dean Wareham (or Cheval Sombre), it’s an appealing and interesting take from him & more.
