First released as a five-song EP on an Italian label in 1988 and re-released as a full CD in 2007 with extra live tracks on
LTM
,
Brown Plays Tenco
finds
Steven Brown
and various compatriots interpreting the work of cult '60s
Italian pop
singer
Luigi Tenco
, noted for his sharp, strong singing and songwriting as well as his melodramatic suicide. The original studio tracks, with
Tuxedomoon
bandmate
Peter Principle
among the backing musicians, are enjoyable
electronic
-
rock
fusions in keeping with
Brown
's general work, interpreting
Tenco
's performances for a newer era. The one English-language translation,
"Lontano Lontano,"
brings the elegant but wracked and haunted power of
's work to a wider audience, while the remaining four find
assaying the originals quite well, from the brawling kick of the aggressive
"Ciao Amore!"
to the stark sorrow of
"Vedrai Vedrai."
The live tracks come from two separate Italian dates in 1988, the first batch with a quintet lineup and the remainder featuring only
and pianist
Daniele Biagini
. Both sets are well recorded and, some track duplication aside, feature different foci -- the quintet tracks mostly consist of
's own songs, including the galloping piano-led
"Lowlands Tone Poem"
and the drama-ridden
"What Use?"
"Vedrai Vedrai"
gets an airing similar to the studio take. In contrast, the duo performances that conclude the disc take a further look at
's work, aside from an opening medley of
and
"Lowlands Tone Poem."
The version of
"Lontano Lontano"
is as lovelorn as the EP take but perhaps even more affecting with the stripped-down arrangement, while
's additional instrumental parts on sax and clarinet add nicely to
Biagini
's good keyboard work. As ever, the
version's liner notes are exhaustive, including biographies of both
. ~ Ned Raggett