David Gedge, the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the British group The Wedding Present, seems almost doomed to operate in the shadow of his band's debut album, George Best. This influential 1987 Britpop classic was full of energetic and uninhibited songs, with Gedge presenting himself as a charming loser with his unsteady, slightly ironic voice. A man of the people who, with his subsequent band,
… the more stylized Cinerama, still found it difficult to charm and revived The Wedding Present almost at the request of his fans. El Rey contains many elements that made George Best a classic, such as catchy, energetically played guitar songs, and with ironic titles such as The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girlfriend and The Trouble With Men, Gedge is sneering and putting himself in perspective too. not forgotten. However, he will never regain the unbridled and open-mindedness with which his songs, with barely tuned guitars, were once thrown onto a tape. Even producer Steve Albini (Pixies, The Breeders) can't change that. What remains is a fine and vital album. (MR)more
