980 The Wedding Present - George Best (1987)

980 The Wedding Present - George Best (1987)


Studio Album - Indie Rock



About the Act:

The Wedding Present are a British Indie band from Leeds, who existed from 1985-1997 and then again from 2004. Their music has been described as "Jangle" which means it features an electric guitar sound that is not very overdriven, and is played in an open and "jangly" way. They have had a lot of member turnover, and David Gedge, the singer, guitarist and front-man is the only constant. The band can very much be thought of as a medium for his muse to be delivered. They have had 9 studio albums, the most successful being their first, "George Best". In their early days they were heavily championed by the veteran DJ John Peel.

About the Album:

This is the first, and best-known album by the band.

My History with this Album:

None whatsoever. I was a completely blank slate for opinion to be formed.

Review:

First the description, then the opinion. 

The description: musically this is mostly fast-paced guitar-led rock, with a jangly guitar sound at the forefront. In some ways it sounds like softened Punk, less harsh, but still quite rough at the edges. Less energetic, but still quite simple musically. In fact, I would say musically, it is nothing special. Vocally, Gedge is neither a great singer, nor has the sense of presence that some less-technical singers use to great effect, like Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler. No, instead it sounds like he's OK but just not very good. Production-wise the album also leaves quite a lot to be desired. The sounds are consistent throughout, which isn't necessarily a problem, but there is a lack of imagination. Also the vocals often kind of hide behind the guitar.  Which brings us finally to the lyrics and vocal delivery. Here is where we finally meet the USP for the band. In the most part, the lyrics are not written like most song lyrics, but are written as if you are hearing half of a dialogue, or one person talking with several others, but you just hear the one. They are full of terms like "oh yes" and "by the way" and the sort of vocal acknowledgements and punctuation we all use when conversing. It's odd, but kind of well done, in that you can imply most of the unheard parts of the conversation without it being stilted.

The opinion: Meh.  The unusual lyrics are not enough to make up for the mediocre music. It's a one-trick pony. 

6/10





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