REVIEW: Wedding Present, Singles 1989-1991 (Manifesto)
- Christina Apeles
Headed by David Gedge, who founded the band in 1985 in Leeds, Britain, Wedding Present's music can be compared to a rollercoaster ride that never ends with enough revolutions and twists to keep you bobbing your head all day long. If your ears have yet to be blessed with the ditties of Wedding Present, Singles 1989-1991 is the perfect way to get a sampling of their finest. A double CD packed with close to two hours of pogo-friendly tunes, this release is a godsend for dedicated fans and a certain treat for new listeners. Even if you own all of their albums, this would be a fine companion to your collection with rare, previously unreleased, and out-if-print Wedding Present B-sides and live tracks.
Gedge has a voice that has all the machismo you could ever ask for, backed by guitar riffs galore, and pounding drums in indie-hits "Crawl" and "Kennedy," never letting the momentum drop. Of course, having fifteen of the recorded and live tracks produced by Steve Albini of Big Black (whose also produced the likes of Sonic Youth and Nirvana) only serves as proof of the kind of rock appeal that Wedding Present offers. My personal favorites continue to be "Corduroy," "Dalliance," and "Lovenest," all energetic, jangly tunes culled from their celebrated 1991 Seamonsters release, but the covers and live tracks that account for half of Singles are not to be dismissed.
There are a slew of covers ranging from the low tempo Lou Reed-penned "She's My Best Friend" to Pavement's indie fave "Box Elder" and the early punk song "Don't Dictate" by Penetration. The most notable covers are the rockin' version of "It's Not Unusual," yes, made famous by Tom Jones, and Wedding Present's pop punk rendering of the King of Skiffle, Lonnie Donegan's "Cumberland Gap." Meanwhile, the band's live tracks, which include "Brassneck" and "Everyone Thinks He Looks So Daft," are a nice addition to Singles, though it is hard to discern them from the studio-recorded songs except for some audience cheers, because the Wedding Present is such a tight band it just goes to show they sound just as exceptional live.
