Hit Parade 1

by

The Wedding Present

Edit

The issue here is not the source of the songs -- it's immaterial whether these are from "one single a month" or whether they were conceived whole-cloth. Critics tend to get bogged down in the backstory of albums.

Just put the CD in your player, press play, and listen. THEN judge. Simple!

You'll find songs that race along a little faster than Seamonsters, by turns sunnier or scrubbier (as befits a singles collection) than that pleasing dirge of an album. And there's a bunch of intriguing/oddball covers (Julee Cruise? Neil Young??), a few of which might even slip by casual listeners unnoticed.

This one is an ideal Wedding Present album for summer drives or late mornings, ably demonstrating the band's ability to have fun.

When I see this given 5 stars I'm really taken aback: don't get me wrong I utterly loved the Wedding Present in the late 80's and early 90's, so much so that I bought the disc under review, Hit Parade 2, Watusi, and then...( fade to grey). I still think Bizarro and Seamonsters are utterly fantastic, and George Best is sort of fun every once in a while, but Hit Parade was for me one of the Wedding Present's lamest moments. Born of a "should have been left in the pub where it was conceived" idea, (12 singles, one per month, with two songs per release if I recall correctly), and reflecting the depth of the idea in the final product: utterly facile. The sad part was hearing Gedge et al trying to sound cool about the whole project yet leaking real pride about getting more top ten singles in a year than (name your favourite artist... Elvis? The Beatles?).

One listen wonders like "falling", forgettable A-sides, and a distinct loss of momentum: I swear that on some songs you can almost hear the calls of "it's due tomorrow, just do something..." in the background. All right, I don't swear that!

My advice? Steer well clear, or at least have a good listen before parting with your currency of choice.