A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.
My record collection
[283] Luna / Cheval Sombre - Lonesome Cowboy Bill
Last time out I managed to write a lengthy post that mostly wasn’t about this single so, as promised I’ll try and make amends…
Back in early 2016 Dean Wareham and Chris Porpora (aka Cheval Sombre) went into Palmetto Studios to record their wonderful (but sadly now a little lost) album of “cowboy songs” Dean Wareham vs Cheval Sombre and at some point during these sessions Luna recorded a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Lonesome Cowboy Bill” that was released on this 7” single with a cover by Cheval Sombre on the other side.
But… these weren’t Luna sessions!? The session was to record for a Dean and Cheval Sombre album, and, ironically Cheval Sombre’s version wasn’t recorded during these sessions!?
So, were Sean and Lee just passing through? <shrug>
Dean shared the track on his newsletter a year after the single came out so… I guess I can share it too:
In December 2018 Dean and Britta and Cheval Sombre played three shows in support of the Dean vs Cheval Sombre release and the New York show as Le Poisson Rouge was recorded and in 2022 a few recordings from the show were released on D&B’s Patreon… including this lovely take on Lonesome Cowboy Bill:
Mike was at the show and shared this clip of them performing the song:
There are also a stack of beautiful pictures from that show by Ellen Qbertplaya.
So… a post about a Luna song with very little Luna content - so, I better fix that. Here’s Robert’s lovely clip of Luna playing the song in Bristol in 2018:
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/070
- Artist: Luna / Cheval Sombre
- Title: Lonesome Cowboy Bill
- Format: 7”
- Bought from Dom at Great Pop Supplement.
- Buy ‘Lonesome Cowboy Bill as part of the excellent Postscripts’ on Bandcamp
Previously in my record collection: