Label : Manifesto
Release Date : 1999
Catalogue Number : MFO 40305
 
Product Information :
 
Since pre-'Watusi' Wedding Present LPs were hardly studies in breadth, the mostly minimalist, but always proud, energetic, and sensitive Wedding Present are better represented by this double CD, a feast for fans, completists, or the curious. CD one is the first five singles the group coughed up after leaving their own label, Reception Records, for RCA following the success of 'George Best', plus all 13 of those singles' B-sides. CD two then throws together the myriad non-LP compilation tracks, six in all, plus two previously issued concert tracks and seven newly unearthed live versions. While that sounds like an aural avalanche, the results are superior to the two LPs the group threshed out back then ['Bizarro' and 'Seamonsters'], before taking the bizarre, amusing, but silly detour into 1992's 'Hit Parade' new-single-a-month series. Momentarily freed from the daunting expectations of being post-Smiths British indie rock standard-bearers, David Gedge and co. loosened up on their generous B-sides. The surprising shimmer of 'One Day This Will All Be Yours' contrasts neatly with the sinister smack of 'Fleshworld' and the heavy controlled pounding found in their cover of Pavement's 'Box Elder'. Since the primo LP singles such as 'Bizarro''s artistic breakthrough single, 'Kennedy' [a one-song distillation of four years of rushed releases], and 'Seamonsters'' underrated 'Corduroy' also appear, 'Singles 1989-1991' further retains the band's more usual adrenaline guitar strumming and harried rhythm section, while spotlighting the more developed melodies. It also boasts eight pre-'Hit Parade' covers, ranging from an ineffective 'It's Not Unusual' [Tom Jones' number ten 1965 hit was better done later by Belly and D.O.A.] to the big score [and superb taste!] of Penetration's punk anthem 'Don't Dictate'. The others are by the disparate likes of Cockney Rebel, Lou Reed, Jean-Paul Sartre Experience, Pell Mell, and '50s skiffle star Lonnie Donegan. This back-catalog look-see reminds why Gedge remains so cult-loved for his uncompromising, intense obsessions.
 
 
Track-listing :
 
Kennedy / One Day This Will All Be Yours / Unfaithful / It’s Not Unusual / Brassneck / Don’t Talk, Just Kiss / Gone / Box Elder /Make Me Smile [Come Up And See Me] / Crawl / Corduroy /Dalliance / She's My Best Friend / Niagara / Lovenest [Edit] / Mothers / Dan Dare /  Fleshworld /  I'm Not Always So Stupid / Don’t Dictate / Crushed / Cumberland Gap / Blue Eyes [Radio Remix] / Signal / Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft [Live] / Don't Talk, Just Kiss [Live] /  I'm Not Always So Stupid [Live] / Bewitched [Live] / Granadaland [Live] / Give My Love To Kevin [Live] / Brassneck [Live] / What Have I Said Now? [Live] /Take Me! [Live]