In the tradition of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, and Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham bring you "L'Avventura", a record that is sly, silky, sexy and... romantic. Singing together and apart, Dean and Britta have created a distinctive collection of originals and classic songs that evoke the warm breeze of spring and amour.
The dreamy and multi-talented Britta Phillips has been playing with Luna for three years. She is known to some as the singing voice of the cartoon character Jem, she acted alongside Julia Roberts in the film, Satisfaction, and was also a member of the UK-based band Belltower. Dean Wareham led the legendary indie band Galaxie 500, before forming Luna in 1992.
Tony Visconti produced many of the greatest rock records ever made, he is known for his amazing work with David Bowie and T.Rex, as well as Thin Lizzy, the Stranglers and the Moody Blues, but this could be the best record he has made in many years. Tony plays additional guitar and keyboard on this record, and contributed a number of sweeping string arrangements.
Additional musicians include drummer Matt Johnson (who has also played with Jeff Buckley and Beth Orton), the Scorchio String Quartet (who performed on David Bowie's latest record), and vibraphonist Sean McCaul.
"Working with Tony Visconti was great," says Dean. "He is like a scientist, he knows exactly how to solve every problem that you encounter in the studio, and got me to sing better than I ever have... I confess that I was very nervous when David Bowie dropped by. He gave us a few suggestions, but mostly entertained us with some amusing stories."
Dean and Britta wrote a handful of beautiful new songs for the record. "Nightnurse" is the shimmering duet that opens the record, complete with Dean's tasteful guitars and Britta's smooth bass style, and a splendiferous string arrangement. Like sugar and medicine, Britta and Dean's voices mesh together in the most delightful way. "Ginger Snaps" is another duet, with the feel of early disco, a simple beatbox, dirty fake strings, pseudo-funky guitar and Dean's sly wordage. The overall effect is irresistible.
"Moonshot" was written by Native American folksinger Buffy St. Marie, who wrote songs that were made famous by Elvis, Donovan and Nancy Sinatra. This one is more obscure, it was a protest song penned when we were putting people on the moon. This song features another glorious string arrangement, Britta and Dean sing together, and Dean plays a perfect 12-string guitar solo.
On Madonna's "I Deserve It," Dean's vocal take is almost a perfect male counterpart to the original.
"Out Walking" and "Your Baby" were written by Britta and feature her sultry "just woke up" voice, all smoke and cobwebs.
"Hear the Wind Blow" was originally written and recorded by Opal, the finest of the 80's Paisley Underground bands, they later morphed into Mazzy Star.
The record closes with "Indian Summer" from the Door's Morrison Hotel, wherein Visconti creates a sparse and mysterious backdrop for Dean's voice.
There you have it. "L'Avventura" is a soundtrack to get lucky to, a record to fall in love with, filled with songs of infatuation, desire, addiction, regret and bliss.
