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Luna

The Best of Luna (Rhino)

By Noreen Sobczyk
Published: August 24th, 2006 | 11:05am

Luna said goodbye to fans after a decade plus of recording and touring, several incarnations, and an album (Penthouse) dubbed by Rolling Stone as one of the best of the nineties. The Best of Luna culls seventeen songs from seven albums including guest appearances by the highly respected artists Sterling Morrison of the Velvet Underground and Tom Verlaine from Television. The influence of both bands can be heard in Luna's music along with that of vocalist Dean Wareham's prior band Galaxie 500.

Through various line- up changes undeniable musicianship has been a constant, but there is always magic in the multi faceted interplay between guitarists Wareham and Sean Eden, who manage to create simplistic soothing lullabies for adults as well as soundscapes compelling in their complexity. In contrast to standard rock offerings Luna's music lulls and swells like a score punctuating the short stories or slice of life lyrics sung by band founder Wareham. The song "23 Minutes in Brussels" is hypnotic like a less dark mutation of the Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" while other tracks pick up the pace to an easy cruise. Luna transcends musical trends and it is perhaps their artistic integrity and lack of bells and whistles which garnered them critical acclaim and loyal fans, but ultimately prevented them from reaching rock n roll stardom.

A brief summary of the trials and tribulations of the band and their farewell tour were beautifully filmed and presented in the wryly humorous bittersweet Matthew Buzzell documentary Tell Me Do You Miss Me recently released on DVD. The Best of Luna and Buzzell's film represent part of who Luna were and present the characters and songs of a band who always percolated just under the surface of commercial success. The band has ended with a quiet dignity and this collection serves as a treasure trail to a trove of discoveries for future fans.