"I Don't Think Anyone Can Work As Much As That"
Anyone who knows me knows about my addiction to The Wedding Present...even if you didn’t know me I always had a Wedding Present t-shirt on during non-uniform days or through a week at college...David Gedge et al could and still can’t do much wrong through my ears. This is a band that has been with me growing up since the age of 16 up until the heady age of 41...so 25 years give or take of the Leeds-based band being pretty front and central to my musical preference. It’s taken me through the most important parts of my life...births...deaths...marriage...divorce...always there to share the good times and the bad.
One of the best reviews I have read about The Wedding Present came from Martin (from the Ruth and Martin Album Club) who wrote:
“If I could never get the girl, I had The Smiths to help me. If I wanted to be the girl and experiment with her make-up, I had The Cure to help me. And If I never wanted the girl ever again but instead to stew in my own existential juices and have no friends for the rest of my life well, then, I had The Fall to help me.
But if I got the girl, and she ended up leaving me, probably for my best mate, then I always had The Wedding Present!”
This sums them up perfectly...and I found my every-day life occurrences happening within Gedge’s lyrics.
Formed in 1985 from the ashes of the band The Lost Pandas...David Gedge (Vocals and Guitar) and Keith Gregory (Bass) were soon joined by school friend Peter Solowka (Guitar) and Shaun Charman (Drums). Their early singles went on to form the album Tommy but not before their debut George Best was released.
George Best
Released: 1987
Produced by Chris Allison
Label: Reception Records
My Wedding Present experience started in 1990...3 years late to the party...as always...but I was just starting my final year at school and my brother was in his first year at University. I remember him bringing back a tape with George Best on one side and bits of Tommy on the other. I was still trying to find my feet musically at this point with the ‘Madchester’ scene starting to rumble on...this tape sounded like nothing else I was listening to. David Gedge’s unrefined northern growl and tinny...jangly guitar along with Peter Solowka’s high velocity distorted strumming and Keith Gregory’s tuneful bass had me hooked. I always remember a Weddoes fanzine called ‘Invasion of The Wedding Present’ and it pictured Peter “Grapper” Solowka playing his guitar...and all you could see of his hand was a blur...that boy could play!!!
From the reviews in the press at the time they were seen as a second rate band to The Smiths...but to me they were far better...I used to hate The Smiths for all the publicity they used to get...I didn’t like Morrissey as a person...and still think he’s an idiot but don’t get me wrong I have a lot of time for The Smith’s now...and that’s down to @musicnostalgic’s influence.
If I was only allowed to listen to 10 albums for the rest of my life then this would always be an easy pick for me...it features some of Gedge’s best lyrics to date...as John Peel stated “The boy Gedge has written some of the best love songs of the rock’n’roll era – you may dispute this, but I’m right and you’re wrong.”
The majority of his songs were written from the perspective of an optimistic but always unlucky in love fella...the excitable indie boy dreamer turned bitter by a flight of fancy...then to see that girl out with someone else. If I was ever going to try and break someone into the Wedding Present gently I would always try this album first...and that’s because I don’t think indie music gets better than this. “Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft” is the perfect starting point for the album with its catchy jangly guitars and the lyrics that give you the impression that you are re-living a youthful Gedge experience. Firm fans favourites “A Million Miles” and “Anyone Can Make A Mistake” feel like they have been in your musical psyche for years...the amazing accuracy with which he captures the awkward yet exhilarating adolescent obsession is quite incredible...“I must have walked past this doorway thirty times/ Just trying to catch your eye/ You made it all worthwhile/ When you returned my smile”. Add songs like “All This and More” and “Getting Nowhere Fast” and they are keeping the indie mosh pits alive for just a little bit longer.
For me though it is “Give My Love To Kevin”, “Shatner” and the colossal “My Favourite Dress” that sets this album apart from others. In my mid teens I always used to stay friends with failed love interests...and the lyrics to "Give My Love To Kevin" always hit home to make that song pretty special “Why should I want to know his name?” and “I just can’t imagine you sharing a bed with him”. In “Shatner” I feel this is one of the most imaginative songs written about domestic violence...”Wear something bright and turn away/ Imagine girls behaving in that way/ Why don't you pack your bags and leave?/ Look here's another bruise I didn't see/ You can't say it doesn't really matter/ This isn't TV, he isn't William Shatner".
Finally...the song that sits on top of my Wedding Present pile...”My Favourite Dress”...the young man that is watching the object of his desires with a new boyfriend...anyone who has been in that situation instantly remembers how it feels...”a stranger’s hand on my favourite dress”...devasting!!! The guitar riffs were as raw and wistful as the woes of the songs throughout...but it’s Gedge’s “Ohhh” at the end of the song that caps the story off with a proverbial kick in the nuts.
A quite amazing piece of work that any indie boy/girl with an ounce of knowledge about decent music will have or want to have in their collection...an album that feels like a ‘Best Of’ album with classic Wedding Present around every corner...not bad for a debut album released by a band without the help of a big label.
Tommy (1985-87)
Released: 1988
Produced by Carl Rosamond, The Wedding Present and Chris Allison
Label: Reception Records
This album was a collection of their first four singles with the addition of four songs that were performed on the BBC’s Peel Sessions with the legendary John Peel. It brought together material that had been written in the first two years of The Wedding Present’s existence and shows that their essence was there from the start. Trying to catch John Peel’s ear so to speak was the early inspiration to form the band...Gedge said in 2004 following Peel’s death “I had friends who were in another band called the Chameleons and they hung around outside Radio One, and when he came out they gave him a demo tape and from that they were offered a Peel Session. Then they got signed to a label and got to release a record, so I thought to myself ‘I fancy a bit of that’."...John Peel being the man he was invited them into the BBC where they watched him play records during his show...he invited them back to record a couple of Peel Sessions and placed their songs on heavy rotation on his show.
Tommy as an album is more than just an early insight into the band...it was one of the best albums of the late 80s Indie scene. Twelve full on essential indie songs featuring reviewers highlights and fans favourite “Felicity”...which is a cover of Postcard’s Indie pop pioneers Orange Juice...the emotional chasm that is the Peel session version of “My Favourite Dress” and the frenetic blistering pace of “Go Out And Get ‘Em Boy”, “Living and Learning” and “Once More”. Personally...this album contains some of my favourite Wedding Present songs...that instantly take me back to a carefree time in my life where nothing mattered more than spending time with my mates...playing football with jumpers for goalposts...summer afternoons messing about on bikes in the North York Moors...new exciting friendships...solidifying old ones...all wrapped up in Gedge’s lyrics....songs like “You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends”, “At The Edge Of The Sea” and “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?” are like a comfort blanket when times are hard...if you are ever angry..pissed off...heartbroken...lost in romance...don’t look anywhere further than David Gedge and The Wedding Present to see you through!
Bizarro
Released: 1989
Produced by Chris Allison
Label: RCA Records
This album saw the first of many changes to TWP line-up...drummer Shaun Charman was replaced by Simon Smith before recording took place.
Bizarro was the first with the big label backing...RCA Records were looking for hits...and in “Kennedy” and “Brassneck” they definitely got them!!! Bizarro has a bigger rock sound than its jangly indie predecessor. The fast guitars are still there..and then some...but the production edged towards showcasing the guitars. The guitar work throughout the album is a step up from George Best and particularly on “Kennedy” where you can get so lost in the frenetic guitar swirls and rumbling bass that the lyrics don’t seem to matter...although “Lost your love of life?/Too much apple pie” will always be a fans favourite lyric. The song is a tribute to the over dramatisation of JFK’s assassination and was set to become a b-side until the Industry men made it the first single off the album. It became their first Top 40 hit.
The album version of “Brassneck” although being a classic will never live up to the reproduced Steve Albini version that was used as the single. Albini’s version gives a significant change in mood that is punctuated by beautifully timed feedback that would fit right in with the emerging shoegazing scene.
“Thanks” is a storming catchy bass-lead song that had me throwing myself around my room as a kid...it is about the protagonists’ ex who has been showing the deeply personal love letters he sent her to her new lover...but then saying that he can’t get mad with her...it doesn’t matter what she does to hurt him...poor lad.
“Granadaland” is an old favourite of mine...even though lots of album reviewers have it down as one of the poor songs on the album. I used to love watching the Weddoes video *punk that had a live version of it played in Leeds...the instrumental jamming between Gedge and Solowka was excellent...I was spellbound.
For me though...this was the start of the Wedding Present epics...with songs like “What Have I Said Now?”, “Take Me” and the beautifully hypnotic “Bewitched”. “Bewitched” in particular with its sonic sprawl that fades and fades to a close until it explodes into a full throttle euphoric smack in the face...and “Take Me”...at over nine minutes featuring an instrumental that could have been very happily at home on Tommy’s “You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends”. I can see other fans points of view over this album being a bit weaker than their debut and although there are some absolute classics on it I do tend to agree...although I still listen to it regularly and never skip songs off it if they appear randomly on my iPod....with the introduction to Steve Albini though on “Brassneck”...what was to come was very intriguing indeed.
Seamonsters
Released: 1991
Produced by Steve Albini
Label: RCA Records
Seamonsters has become a bit of a holy grail album in some respects...mainly by Weddoes enthusiasts...as the album didn’t have the desired effect in the charts that RCA was after. They wanted and demanded chart hits and to break the new markets that the Wedding Present were not touching...typical record company greedy swagger to aim for more than they had...what they did have though, was a loyal following and this album was a beaut! The aforementioned Steve Albini who before re-recording “Brassneck” had caught Gedge’s eye from his work on Pixies Surfer Rosa album. “Surfer Rosa is probably my favourite album of all time,” says Gedge. “On the one hand, it was kind of in your face and you can hear the band in the room playing, which I think is how pop music should be. On the other hand, it had that sort of weirdness to it and an atmospheric quality.” To be honest the same could be said about Seamonsters.
This was the first Wedding Present album that I had the pleasure to anticipate its release...having been won over by George Best, Tommy and Bizarro in the space of two or three months earlier...I found out that they were releasing a new album....and it was different...it was dark...brooding...and emotional...and it was excellent!!!
The album..full of one word song titles...is drenched as usual with the stories of relationships, love, and more than anything...loss of that love...which is nothing unusual for a Wedding Present album...what seems to have changed here though is that Gedge edges more towards bitter nostalgia...and bitter this album is...one of the most bitter, repressed and angst-ridden albums I've ever listen to. The relationships involved are more intense...passionate affairs...far beyond the youthful crushes that were talked about in George Best. That being said...Gedge's lyrics manage to find a lot of optimistic fodder in the use of irony and sarcasm...so by the end of the album Gedge comes off as a clever and witty lyricist. “Dalliance” starts off the album with typical chiming indie guitars, then as each chorus and verse takes its place the guitars get more riled up, another distortion pedal is stamped on, until by the end of the song you find yourself in a thunderstorm of layered assault-melodies. “Dare” and “Suck” delve into previously unknown territories involving sensual encounters with women that he was struggling to even talk to in their first albums.
“Blonde” and “Rotterdam” pair together like an immediate juxtaposition with the male protagonist in “Blonde” getting used as a one night stand to the female in “Rotterdam” losing out. “Rotterdam” is a largely acoustic song with some excellent chiming guitars and squeaky clean production.
With RCA Records demanding chart hits...”Lovenest” for me was a strange choice as a single...and I would think that Wedding Present fans would be of similar thinking. It is a great song to pick up the pace of the album and for me it is the perfect build up of distorted feedback to lead into one of the best songs that I have ever heard live...”Corduroy”!!! The song about re-acquainted love reminiscing about their great days of yesteryear...as well as about getting rid of “those” photo’s...“I'll make you laugh/ when you see this photograph/ It's not from that day/ I threw all those away”...the song could quite easily be “an ode to" George Best/Tommy as I think it is one of the only songs on Seamonsters that reverts back to a similar feeling of happy nostalgia in between the darkness.
The final three songs “Carolyn”, “Heather” and “Octopussy” finish the album beautifully with another three songs in a similar vein to the openers...”Heather” though stands out for me for being an amazing song...the pained protagonist devastated at the thought of his old girlfriend revisiting old haunts of theirs to spend intimate times with her new lover... “What made you want to take him there?/ What made you think I wouldn't care?/ And did you walk from the town into the heather/ To where we used to lie down when we were together”.
It’s not that The Wedding Present are playing all minor chords here...this isn't "dark" in the gothic sense of the word...when you look at them they are simple, melodic pop songs...but oh how they sigh and heave and cry...guitar noise heaven.
In between finishing the album and starting to tour the band replaced their guitarist Peter “Grapper” Solowka with Paul Dorrington...it seemed like a strange move with the connection that Grapper had with the fans.
Hit Parade 1
Released: 1992
Produced by Chris Nagle and Ian Broudie
Record Label: RCA Records
Released:1993
Produced by Jimmy Miller and Brian Paulson
Record Label: RCA Records
The year 1992 was the year that The Wedding Present had the idea that would push RCA Records to their marketing limits...and it would splatter Gedge et al all over Top Of The Pops every month and stick two fingers up at the record labels that didn’t think of the idea first. Their idea of releasing a new 7” single every month for a year to some may seem a bit crazy...as the amount of time needed to write a song...produce it...market it...and distribute it must have been a brain melting scenario...but they pulled it off! They limited the sale of the singles to 10’000 and deleted them from the catalogue straight after release so that all the 7” singles sold out on day of release which catapulted them into the top 20 every month and saw them on TOTP. Every single had a cover as a B-side and as a marketing idea I thought it was great.
My brother managed to get 3 out the 12 released...Blue Eyes (1), The Queen Of Outer Space (11) and No Christmas (12)...these were then passed onto me when his love of vinyl ran out...I was too busy collecting CDs in those days...the heathen I was! What they produced didn’t have the same impact as what had gone before...but it was great...even funny at times seeing so much of them on the telly. I would love to know if there is anyone out there that started following The Wedding Present after seeing them on TOTP.
So the way it worked was to have the singles from January to June along with the six B-sides and this formed the album Hit Parade 1...and the singles from July to December making up the Hit Parade 2. I don’t know if it was the bands’ idea to release the albums in this way...I think that it was probably the record company trying to get as much out of the idea that they could...but I think personally that if they had released a Hit Parade double album at Christmas that year instead of splitting them in half...with the singles on one album and the B-side covers on the other.
The singles in all fairness were full of Indie pop with a good Wedding Present twist...it was much brighter than Seamonsters and looked and sounded as if they had fun with the whole project. From the majority of reviews at the time the singles got more praise over their covers than the actual star attraction. For me though, they were all little gems featuring their only top ten hit to date “Come Play With Me” and songs like “California”..”Boing!” and “Blue Eyes”...these songs saw Gedge return to the youthful and somewhat inexperienced romantic interludes that was ever-present on George Best.
Throw in the mix the fun “Silver Shorts”..”Flying Saucer” and “Love Slave”...and you have a brilliant mix of songs to throw at the usual chart listeners. A challenge to anyone would be to watch the video for “Love Slave” without it leaving mental scars for life!!!
It would be rude of me not to mention the b-side covers...having produced some excellent covers previously e.g. Steve Harley’s “Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)” is covered really well on the Corduroy/Crawl single..their version of David Bowie’s “Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family” is a personal favourite on the Hit Parade...but also the Go Between’s “Cattle and Cane”...the Monkees’ “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and the crazy version of Bow Wow Wow’s “Go Wild In The Country” are all extra elements that add something a bit different to the 7” experience.
It was to see the end of their work with RCA Records...and another change in line-up that would see David Gedge being the only original band member in The Wedding Present when bassist Keith Gregory was replaced by Darren Belk.
Watusi
Released: 1994
Produced by Steve Fisk
Record Label: Island Records
Many reviews of this album head off in the same direction that this was 60s American Lo-Fi album...to me it is probably the most underrated Wedding Present album of them all!!! It never gets a mention in peoples top tens...or albums that changed their life...but this is one hell of an uplifting fast paced slice of indie pop heaven. There is pure joy emanating from songs like “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” and “It’s A Gas” that keep the album ticking along at a decent pace...it’s amazing that some people think that this album is too light and poppy...especially with “Click, Click” and my personal favourite “Catwoman” on there..both songs have a strong Velvet Underground influence that I love.
Gedge hands over the front man reigns to Belk on “Shake It” who sings the sexually charged lyrics behind a veil of distortion...to the untrained ear people might think it was still Gedge. The frenetic pace of the guitars and lyrics for the chorus make this the most catchiest song on the album with Belk shouting..."Shake it, you gotta shake it, We gotta make it, Make it tonight/ Undress me, darling caress me, I'll die unless we make it tonight".
“Spangle” is a lovely slow waltzy shuffle of a song...sang over a crackling old vinyl Gedge’s lyrics are as strong as ever...this time the protagonist is trying to end a relationship over the phone...” It's so clear, I can hear/ And I'm not gonna share you with no one/ Well, surprise, I've got eyes, now goodbye” as Gedge grumbles the song fades away into the distance..just like the relationship.
Paul Dorrington left after touring the album...with Darren Belk doubling up on bass.
If anyone has been put off by crappy reviews then give this a go...this is a real hidden gem in the Wedding Present discography and an album that always puts a smile on my face...that’s what music is meant to do yeah?
This was the last new Wedding Present album that I excitedly anticipated and I was not disappointed...it was the start of a hiatus from the band that I put down to being a bit of a fickle indie kid...they were a band that I grew up with...other bands were starting to change my musical taste and becoming more important...at the time The Wedding Present released their next album 2 years later...The Charlatans..who I loved from their Indian Rope beginnings released The Charlatans album full of absolute indie dancefloor classics...Beck brought out Odelay and The Beta Band were in the midst’s of releasing their Champions EP. I really dont’ know why Saturnalia passed me by...then Cinerama happened. I find it funny that people can’t understand how I can like The Wedding Present but not like Cinerama...I just don’t feel the same way about the music..yes David Gedge is still the main component of the band and his lyrics are still strong...I just missed the Wedding Present guitars and heavier bass sound. It took a birthday present from this year (2016) to get me back on all things Wedding Present again.
Saturnalia
Released: 1996
Produced by Cenzo Townshend and The Wedding Present
Record Label: Cooking Vinyl
My beautiful and amazing girlfriend Claire got me tickets for The Wedding Present in Leeds at the Brudenell Social Club where they were touring their Saturnalia album...it was an album that I had not given any justice to in 20 years...so it was about time I did...and I’m so glad I did.
The band as a three-piece wrote and produced the car-based mini-album that they named Mini. Jayne Lockey, who sang backing vocals on Mini joined the band on bass...and Simon Cleave replaced Darren Belk on guitar after he quit. This new line up headed for the studio and Saturnalia was born.
Saturnalia saw The Wedding Present return to the similar guitar sound of Seamonsters that had been missing throughout Watusi and some of the singles from The Hit Parade. What was evident on this album though was the subtle change in music that would become the beginning of their next project Cinerama...but a good album to bow out on nonetheless.
“Venus” is straight out of the blocks with their trademark guitars and bass...maybe not in the same sonic furore of distortion of Grapper’s Telecaster but still an amazing start. “Dream World” is the Gedge big ballad full of “what you see is what you get” and “wearing your heart on your sleeve” lyrics with the added catchy indie pop chorus...in true Wedding Present style.
“2,3, Go” was the main single from the album...how this didn’t hit the top 40 I can’t understand...it is a real highlight...with quiet verses and loud chorus in typical Seamonsters/Albini style that when they hit it shows how much of a lovely marriage this album is of old and new Wedding Present.
The NME exclaimed that “David Gedge has just written one of the best pop albums of the year” and in “Montreal”, “Jet Girl” and “Kansas” you could understand why. The introduction of Lockey’s vocal support and lack of sonic guitars seemed to commercialise the songs...using her soft at times ethereal voice to counteract against Gedge’s gruff northern growl.
This album feels like a bit of an ending for me...Cinerama as a band were just around the corner...but for me the biggest shift was in the lyrical content and how it shows the confidence that the protagonist has now. From the very start with George Best...the protagonist within Gedge’s lyrics has always been trying and failing to find and keep his love interest...in Saturnalia it feels to me as if he’s finally at peace with himself...he has the confidence to face the world without feeling as if he is going to lose everything again.
Many people, wrote off the Wedding Present after Seamonsters...I must admit I was in that category after Watusi...but Saturnalia is a very good album...even though it’s taken me 20 years to realise it!!!
One of the best quotes from Gedge when being interviewed about his Wedding Present songs up to this point was when he was talking about a downside to changing the sound of the band...he said of the public...“If they buy a record and it has a certain sound they'll buy another one. It's like buying a box of cornflakes. You wouldn't buy any more cornflakes if they tasted like a box of Weetabix.”
In 1997, Gedge paired up with his then girlfriend Sally Murrell to produce an album situated around his love of film scores. They were joined by an ever shifting number of supporting artists and formed Cinerama. They produced 3 studio albums over the next 5 years...the last of which was a heavier guitar-laden album that was closer to the old Wedding Present sound. There was a shock split between Gedge and Murrell that saw the end of Cinerama and the re-emergence of The Wedding Present. After swapping Leeds for Seattle, Washington...new material was written that seemed to encapsulate the end of Gedge’s relationship with Murrell.
Take Fountain
Released: 2005
Produced by Steve Fisk and David Gedge
Label: Scopitones
The line-up was Cinerama...the music was more on Wedding Present end of the scale...David Gedge (Guitars and Vocal), Simon Cleave (Guitars), Terry De Castro (Bass and backing vocal) and Kari Paavola (Drums) recorded Take Fountain...the first Wedding Present release in 9 years. Musically this is probably the most varied album that the Wedding Present have released so far and for me it is probably the one album in their collection that I don't like as much as the others. There are some songs that find their way onto my iPod from the album though...“Ringway To Seatac”, “It’s For You”, “Always The Quiet One” and Gedge’s personal choice from his back catalogue for a first-dance at a wedding...“Perfect Blue”.
A lot of reviews...especially by hardened Weddoes and Cinerama fans love “Interstate 5” and have it as their standout track on the album...for me though...I’m not too sure about it or the album as a whole...maybe because it was set out to be a Cinerama album?
Simon Cleave left the band in 2006 with their sound engineer Chris McConville replacing him...Kari Paavola was replaced by Charlie Layton on drums for the tour of North America and with Graham Ramsey on drums for their tour of Europe. Songs were co-written during this time and eventually El Rey was released.
El Rey
Released: 2008
Produced by Steve Albini
Record Label: Vibrant Records
From the very start this album gripped me...the “Steve Albini” factor could be heard...the prominent guitars...rumbling bass...distortion and feedback were there. The stylish soft ballad vocals were there from Take Fountain but this time the pace was faster and the music heavier..I love it!!! I can’t understand why some people don’t rate this very highly...probably because it will always be compared to Seamonsters with Albini being involved...nevertheless it is great to have Gedge back. The old stories of heartbreak are still there but they are still more than prevalent and important today as they were in 1987...nothing has changed that much in human nature over the last 20 years.
“Santa Ana Winds” kicks the album off with swirling guitars and lovely harmonies between Gedge and De Castro...followed by the humorous “Spider-Man On Hollywood” with the lyrics “I thought I saw a flying saucer last night but of course it was just an aeroplane/ I thought I saw Winona Ryder but my eyes were playing tricks again”...humour is something that is rife throughout the album with “Don’t Take Me Home Until I’m Drunk” following on with similar tales. The standout songs for me on this album sit next to each other on the playlist but they couldn’t be more distance between them in musical terms...”I Lost The Monkey” and “Soup”.
“I Lost The Monkey” is Gedge back to his heartbreaking best...anyone that has been in the protagonists position will understand the loss...longing...and relationship game playing going wrong... “This has all been a mistake; I didn’t know what was at stake/ I was playing some kind of stupid game”..eventually he drives her away into a new lovers arms...silly man. All of this over the beautiful backdrop of My Bloody Valentine-esque guitar reverb...brilliant!!!
“Soup” is a crazy song and a bit of new Wedding Present...I doubt you would have found anything like this on any of their older albums...going from slow verse to fast chorus...it’s a great catchy indie pop pleaser with a dose of heavy and dirty grunge guitar thrown in at the end to fade out.
“Palisades” has lyrics that are as raw as the Albini guitar sound that his production demands. When he’s saying “I knew something wasn't quite right you hadn't said a word all night/ We didn't even kiss/ Now you're suddenly telling me that you're leaving me/ Do I get a say in this?” everything is to the point...unlike the responses that he is getting...“So have you felt like this for long?/ You wouldn't tell me what went wrong/ I don't know where I'm at”. It’s powerful emotive stuff that we expect from Gedge.
“Boo Boo” is an end of evening epic for the drunken indie boy stood on his own on the dark dance floor to sing-along to in his loudest voice...when all of his mates have gone home with someone on their arm and he’s left on his own...alone.
This is an album that if I take the rose-tinted Wedding Present sunglasses off looks like a band that are trying to get back to the sound that gave them such a perfect album in Seamonsters...I think they just about did it!
More line up changes in 2009/10 with guitarist Chris McConville leaving to be replaced by the bands’ drummer Graham Ramsay...with Charlie Layton becoming their official drummer. De Castro quit the band after a 12-year association with Gedge to be replaced by Pepe le Moko.
Valentina
Released: 2012
Produced by Andrew Scheps
Record Label: Scopitones
The album kicks off with the very punchy “You’re Dead” which sets the tone with its soft to loud guitars and Mark E Smith vocal sounds on the chorus...it is a good starting point. “You Jane” pushes the tempo up a notch with a similar opening feel to the Hit Parade’s “California”...with slacker garage rock guitar riffs...as with the opening song though the lyrics have Gedge stamped all over them. “Meet Cute” is a song about admitting that the girl he is after is too good for him...wrapped up in a blanket of building guitar noise up until a stop start ending...like when you stick your head out of a car window doing 70mph then bring it in again.
David Gedge really has a fantastic quality for producing some excellent indie pop songs and for me up to this point he hasn’t hit the same heights as he did throughout his first 2 albums...that was until “Back a bit...Stop”. This song leaps right off the album as a perfect quintessential Wedding Present song...it could quite easily find a home on Tommy if it wasn’t so well produced. I’ve never heard it live...which is something I need to rectify...the mosh pit would get another po-go-er for 3 mins 16 secs...if my back could cope...ah bollocks to it...yeeehaaaa.
“End Credits” and “Deer Caught in the Headlights” are both catchy pace driven songs that keep the album ticking along nicely but ”524 Fidelio” and “Stop Thief” are like Cinerama songs for me to keep me interested for too long and “Mystery Date” although it being another fan favourite isn’t my cup of tea.
The album finale...well bonus song... “Pain Perdu” is an absolute beaut...Gedge’s voice sounding better than it ever has...in a singing way I mean...not in a growly distraught heartbroken way...the guitars sound like a few bands from the early 90s...it starts off with Smashing Pumpkins and ends with a crescendo of Ride shoegaze...all encased in a Wedding Present nutshell.
This is an album that really surprised me to be honest...It caught me off guard...but in a good way...Pepe le Moko bass playing harps back to the Keith Gregory era of the band...something that they have missed for many years...one thing is for sure though...if Gedge is going to shake your emotions on this album then he’s going to do it with you smiling and dancing.
Guitarist Graham Ramsay left the band shortly before Valentina was released and was replaced by Patrick Alexander for the album tour. The line-up merry go round continued with Jennifer Schwartz replacing Pepe le Moko on bass for a short time in 2012 before settling on Katharine Wallinger. Geoffrey Maddock briefly took the guitar reigns before Samuel Beer-Pierce joined ready for tours and the production of their new album.
Going, Going...
Released: 2016
Produced by Andrew Scheps
Record Label: Scopitones
This album starts like no other...and to be honest...is like no other...it is a visual album concept...and people that I have spoken to that have been lucky enough to see them perform it have been blown away by the whole live experience. The opening 15 minutes spread over 4 songs..and to be fair...I think they probably work far better with the visuals..so as a start to an album it doesn’t work that well for me...that said...Katharine Wallinger’s delicate vocal on “Marblehead” and the musical arrangements on “Sprague” are beautiful though. It isn’t until the guitars kick on “Two Bridges” that you realise that this is a Wedding Present album...and that sound is unmistakable...fast-paced punchy guitars and a song about dumping someone via voicemail...hello Mr Gedge...welcome back!
After reading reviews from Wedding Present purists...the early front runner for highlight on the album was “Bear”...a song straight out of the Seamonsters handbook...with the addition of catchy indie harmonies with Wallinger...a great song to turn up to full whack on your headphones with its swirling guitars and dirty sounding bass.
“Birdsong”, “Secretary” and ”Kill Devil Hills” are full of moderately fast paced indie pop intent whereas “Bells” has a shifting tempo and one of the best harmonies on the album...a true highlight of Gedge at his lyrical best.
“Fifty-Six” is a sad song about feeling sorry for himself after yet another girl has left him...with the background of happy bouncy instrumentals and grungy undertones.
“Broken Bow” is the real highlight for me...I love it...It’s fast paced swirling sonic guitars leave me with a smile like a Cheshire cat...it’s a crying shame that it only lasts 2 mins 40...I could do with loads more...another for full blast treatment!!!
Granted on an album featuring 20...yes 20 tracks there are going to be some that I don’t like probably because I just don’t see the bigger picture with the album. In the end at least half of the songs I really love and have absorbed them into my usual Wedding Present closet in my musical brain...the other half will I’m afraid but stood outside faintly tapping on the door to be let in...over the next few years...they just might.
Following a brief tour of the UK...Katharine Wallinger and Sam Beer-Pierce left the band to be replaced by Danielle Wadey (Bass) and Tony Jupp (Guitar) for the start of their European tour.
I can’t for the life of me tell you how many hours I have spent over the years listening to David Lewis Gedge and the many guises of The Wedding Present...but what I can say is that not one minute has ever been wasted...I can’t say that about many other bands.
