The Wedding Present! Fans and prospective listeners take heed!

[~Swcite~]

Directed towards Consumer Monkey and prospective Wedding Present fans.

George Best is easily The Wedding Present's weakest album of the six they have released. The list runs as follows

1. Seamonsters
2. Bizarro
3. Watusi
4. Saturnalia
5. Mini
6. George Best

As for the compilations, I would rate them as follows

1. Ukrainski Vistupi V Johna Peel
2. Peel Sessions 86-90
3. Hit Parade 1
4. Evening Sessions
5. Peel Sessions 92-96
6. Tommy
7. Hit Parade 2

Of the 29 singles they have released, I would rate them as follows

1. Kennedy
2. Brassneck
3. Sucker
4. 3 Songs EP
5. Dalliance
6. Nobodys Twisting Your Arm
7. Go Out And Get 'Em Boy
8. Come Play With Me
9. Silver Shorts
10.Flying Saucer
11.My Favourite Dress
12.This Boy Can Wait
13.Blue Eyes
14.Lovenest
15.Anyone Can Make A Mistake
16.Go Go Dancer
17.Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
18.Sticky
19.Montreal
20.The Queen Of Outer Space
21.Three
22.Once More
23.Loveslave
24.Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now?
25.Boing!
26.2,3,Go
27.California
28.Its A Gas
29.No Christmas

Collecting The Wedding Present's material is not as daunting as it seems. Practically all the albums are available on the dreaded CD format now, but finding the vinyl albums should not be too difficult apart from "Evening Sessions" and the 2nd "Peel Sessions" album which were released on CD only. As for the singles, the early 12"s are quite sought after and the "Tommy" compilation covers the 1st few. I know that there have been a number of US compilation CDs that have been released in recent months that cover the 1989 onwards period.
The 12 7" singles they released in 1992 , later compiled on the 2 "Hit Parade" compilations frequently turn up in second hand shops for affordable prices but the chances of getting the complete set (in the presentation box) are remote.

The 3 items I would recommend that you burst a gut looking for are:
1. Nobody's Twisting Your Arm 12" (4 classic tracks). (Reception 2/88)
2. Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now 12" (has the sublime acoustic version of "Give My Love To Kevin") (Reception 10/88)
3. Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah CD single (Part 2 with Peel Session tracks. Comes in a card sleeve, released on Island Records)

They are worth it. "Smiths fans second favourite band"...well, I'm not sure if that is true nowadays but back in the mid-1980s when I first heard the Weddoes it certainly rang a chord.

Happy listening

A Wedding Present fan.

 

[Iain]

The Wedding present are indeed marvelous. The early stuff in retrospect is a bit tinny , but Seamonsters is a work of absolute genius. i'd recommend it to anyone. Forget about Suede and their crap glam bollocks, get back to Dave Gedge

 

[Consumer Monkey]

Your comments about George Best have left me numb. I really cant begin to deal with this. I had assumed that it was a universal truism that George Best was the most radical, consciousness transforming, necessary record along side "TheQueen is Dead" and "Hatful of Hollow" - it never occured to me that someone could possibly come to the conclusion that 'actually it's rather weak' or 'a bit tinny'. Now, I'm sure you have your reasons for thinking this, and you obviously know your stuff - but please reconsider what you're saying; how is it possible that I could be so wrong. I have listened to that record perhaps 10,000 times. It is something that exists as a living thing in my consciousness. It competes with Queen is Dead for the most stunning beggining to any record. When I bought this record I had a mysical experience - I had never even heard of "The Wedding Present" at the time, I bought it because it 'looked' good and the instant I played it my life was transformed. What you've said is like telling a Christian that Jesus is a second rate prophet, or a child that Santa doesn't exist.
I'm going to have to have a little lie down.¿ Directed towards Consumer Monkey and prospective Wedding Present¿ fans.¿ George Best is easily The Wedding Present's weakest album of the¿ six they have released. The list runs as follows¿ 1. Seamonsters¿ 2. Bizarro¿ 3. Watusi¿ 4. Saturnalia¿ 5. Mini¿ 6. George Best¿ As for the compilations, I would rate them as follows¿ 1. Ukrainski Vistupi V Johna Peel¿ 2. Peel Sessions 86-90¿ 3. Hit Parade 1¿ 4. Evening Sessions¿ 5. Peel Sessions 92-96¿ 6. Tommy¿ 7. Hit Parade 2¿ Of the 29 singles they have released, I would rate them as¿ follows¿ 1. Kennedy¿ 2. Brassneck¿ 3. Sucker¿ 4. 3 Songs EP¿ 5. Dalliance¿ 6. Nobodys Twisting Your Arm¿ 7. Go Out And Get 'Em Boy¿ 8. Come Play With Me¿ 9. Silver Shorts¿ 10.Flying Saucer¿ 11.My Favourite Dress¿ 12.This Boy Can Wait¿ 13.Blue Eyes¿ 14.Lovenest¿ 15.Anyone Can Make A Mistake¿ 16.Go Go Dancer¿ 17.Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah¿ 18.Sticky¿ 19.Montreal¿ 20.The Queen Of Outer Space¿ 21.Three¿ 22.Once More¿ 23.Loveslave¿ 24.Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now?¿ 25.Boing!¿ 26.2,3,Go¿ 27.California¿ 28.Its A Gas¿ 29.No Christmas¿ Collecting The Wedding Present's material is not as daunting as¿ it seems. Practically all the albums are available on the¿ dreaded CD format now, but finding the vinyl albums should not¿ be too difficult apart from "Evening Sessions" and the¿ 2nd "Peel Sessions" album which were released on CD¿ only. As for the singles, the early 12"s are quite sought¿ after and the "Tommy" compilation covers the 1st few.¿ I know that there have been a number of US compilation CDs that¿ have been released in recent months that cover the 1989 onwards¿ period.¿ The 12 7" singles they released in 1992 , later compiled on¿ the 2 "Hit Parade" compilations frequently turn up in¿ second hand shops for affordable prices but the chances of¿ getting the complete set (in the presentation box) are remote.¿ The 3 items I would recommend that you burst a gut looking for¿ are:¿ 1. Nobody's Twisting Your Arm 12" (4 classic tracks).¿ (Reception 2/88)¿ 2. Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now 12" (has the sublime¿ acoustic version of "Give My Love To Kevin")¿ (Reception 10/88)¿ 3. Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah CD single (Part 2 with Peel Session¿ tracks. Comes in a card sleeve, released on Island Records)¿ They are worth it. "Smiths fans second favourite¿ band"...well, I'm not sure if that is true nowadays but¿ back in the mid-1980s when I first heard the Weddoes it¿ certainly rang a chord.¿ Happy listening¿ A Wedding Present fan.

 

[~Swcite~]

I certainly seem to have dealt you a body blow, Consumer Monkey. I apologise for causing such a shock. I also think that "Meat Is Murder" is a lot better than "The Queen Is Dead". However.....

When I first bought "George Best" back in the cold autumn of 1987, it was indeed a marvellous record, full of emotion, attention to detail and so life-affirming. It was indeed one of the best albums I had ever heard. However the "fuller sound" which arrived when the band signed to RCA in 1989 blew me away. "George Best" did sound 'tinny' and weak against it. In fact, in some respects it was like listening to a different band. I think the band developed and consolidated their strengths with "Bizarro" and "Seamonsters" and it is the powerful surge that runs through the tracks on these records that I think is the WP at their best.

"George Best" is a vital and lovely snapshot of a different era. Of innocence and growing-up during those formative teenage years. However I had to move on and I did. And it is the maelstrom of "Seamonsters" which soundtracked my university days that is most memorable.

Last year somebody handed me a tape and asked me to record my favourite Wedding Present songs on 1 side (45 mins). An uneviable task but this is what I picked:

Come Play With Me
Kennedy
Dalliance
Love Machine
Crawl
Gazebo
Kansas
Dare
Sucker
Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft
Brassneck
Heather

One final consolation is that my favourite Wedding Present song is still "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft". The shining jewel in the crown from "George Best".

Some sounds are louder than others it seems.

 

[Consumer Monkey]

I think that certain records have an impact that is out of all proportion with their content which obviously is a very individulal thing ( like John Peel's reaction to Teenage Kicks - which is a bit of a mystery to me - good, but that good? ), but it can be a shock when other people fail to share your vision in quite the same way.
Talking of John Peele - I don't know if you saw any of Peel Night the other week, but apparently his favorite Peel session was that done by 'The Slits', which I was thinking of getting - have you ever heard this? Do you know if it's worth getting?¿ I certainly seem to have dealt you a body blow, Consumer Monkey.¿ I apologise for causing such a shock. I also think that¿ "Meat Is Murder" is a lot better than "The Queen¿ Is Dead". However.....¿ When I first bought "George Best" back in the cold¿ autumn of 1987, it was indeed a marvellous record, full of¿ emotion, attention to detail and so life-affirming. It was¿ indeed one of the best albums I had ever heard. However the¿ "fuller sound" which arrived when the band signed to¿ RCA in 1989 blew me away. "George Best" did sound¿ 'tinny' and weak against it. In fact, in some respects it was¿ like listening to a different band. I think the band developed¿ and consolidated their strengths with "Bizarro" and¿ "Seamonsters" and it is the powerful surge that runs¿ through the tracks on these records that I think is the WP at¿ their best.¿ "George Best" is a vital and lovely snapshot of a¿ different era. Of innocence and growing-up during those¿ formative teenage years. However I had to move on and I did. And¿ it is the maelstrom of "Seamonsters" which¿ soundtracked my university days that is most memorable.¿ Last year somebody handed me a tape and asked me to record my¿ favourite Wedding Present songs on 1 side (45 mins). An¿ uneviable task but this is what I picked:¿ Come Play With Me¿ Kennedy¿ Dalliance¿ Love Machine¿ Crawl¿ Gazebo¿ Kansas¿ Dare¿ Sucker¿ Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft¿ Brassneck¿ Heather¿ One final consolation is that my favourite Wedding Present song¿ is still "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft". The shining¿ jewel in the crown from "George Best".¿ Some sounds are louder than others it seems.

 

[Pashernate Friend]

Oh yes indeed! The Wedding Present are definitely in my all-time Top 3. As the cursed NME once put it, they are "the Nirvana you should have liked the first time around". Personally, I do think that "George Best" is tinny, but that's part of the attraction. It's not my favourite WP LP, but it does bring back rosy memories of - yes - gentler, more innocent times (stop sniggering). I rate "Saturnalia" as one of the best albums of the last five years. I don't play "Sea Monsters" too often though. I'm not sure that I like the Albini job done on it. I'm also puzzled as to why "Kennedy" tops the fans' polls as best single. Yeah, it's good but not that good. "Flying Saucer" does it for me.

By the way, the US or Canadian version of "George Best" contains all the tracks from "Nobody's Twisting Your Arm" and "Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now?". Well worth having. Track down the singles for the b-sides too. There's rarely a duff one. "Jumper Clown" is a personal favourite.

Adieu.

 

[noam]

first i want to say, i think i`ve never heard them. and if i did, well. i was tired and not really listening. you say they sound like the smiths in a way, well do they? many allegedly smiths like bands dont sound like the smiths at all. i dont say thats bad, i really like bands however different from the smiths they sound like, so if someone can shed some light on them i`d be thankful (where are they from, who are they, and how popular did they ever get?)

 

[~Swcite~]

The Wedding Present were formed in 1985 and hail from Leeds, England, only member left from the original line up is the lead singer, David Gedge. For info on releases check my 1st post in this thread.¿ first i want to say, i think i`ve never heard them. and if i¿ did, well. i was tired and not really listening. you say they¿ sound like the smiths in a way, well do they? many allegedly¿ smiths like bands dont sound like the smiths at all. i dont say¿ thats bad, i really like bands however different from the smiths¿ they sound like, so if someone can shed some light on them i`d¿ be thankful (where are they from, who are they, and how popular¿ did they ever get?)

 

[~Swcite~]

Re: The Slits!!

The Slits had a short-lived yet brilliant career.

I first heard them on an NME compilation tape of Peel Sessions called "Mixed Peel" which was £2 mail order in late 1987.

They released just 2 albums and a handful of singles. Punk and reggae sound with a hint of dub. The Peel Session includes the wonderful aggression of "Love And Romance" and in my opinion IS one of the best Peel Session releases. Buy and savour it! It is amazing!

Check
http://www.comnet.ca/~rina/slits.html

for more info.

~Swcite~

 

[puff paint yer own mozzer]

Monday: chat with the Wedding Present

The Wedding Present will be chatting Monday, September 13 (9:00 eastern time I think, but I'm not certain) at www.insound.com