Molten

Nobody else to blame for today's effort. The Wedding Present were at Leicester's O2 Academy playing their 'Hit Parade' album to a somewhat diminished crowd (actually they'd been relegated to 'Academy 2' round the back, a parqueted refectory hall that reminded me strongly of gigs at Leeds Uni in the late 80's, and even that wasn't full.) It was touted rather disingenously as the 21st Anniversary, even though 1992 was the year Gedge and co. actually decided to take on the charts (the full compilation of 12 monthly singles, without the mostly piss-poor b-sides, didn't come out until '93, I guess, so technically...) Maybe I wasn't the only person who gave up on them for a while mid way through that year thinking that Dave had finally lost the plot (and missing, I only later discovered, some really great albums, but such is the opinionated folly of youth.) Anyway, the 'Hit Parade' songs were, of course, brilliant (they do still tail off a bit towards the end but 'Silver Shorts' * (April) is by now possibly my favourite Wedding Present song of all, certainly outside of the 'Seamonsters' album, and they're all pretty good, particularly when attacked with ths right kind of live vigour), though the extras were a bit of a odd mix (and the re-instated cover of 'She's My Best Friend', in tribute to the late Mr. Reed, was pub-band terrible.) Still, they're always worth the trip...

(*Again, there are some good recent versions about but you've got to love this scary, low-budget, Snub TV promo...)