"Suddenly It's Tuesday" - Part 3 (191-200)

 

Post 2 inspired a bit more heated debate than its predecessor, although the majority of it was about the scheduling of the blog rather than the music itself. The fact that post #2 emerged only two days after #1 perturbed a few people, who were concerned about being able to keep up. Now, those of you who followed the original Fall In Fives blog will know that when the circumstances were right I quite often cranked out the posts at a brisk pace (less so with You Must Get Them All, of course, as that required a lot more research). However, the Fi5 project was basically a set of personal responses to five tracks; these, on the other hand, contain ten, and include links to original versions, alternate takes, etc. Therefore it's fair enough, I think, to give people a bit of breathing space between each one to reflect and listen to the various links. As such, I'll be updating this blog once a week on a Tuesday. (This means that - if I stay on schedule - you'll get the top ten on the 13 February.)

Of course, not all of the comments focused on the frequency of the posts. A few readers noted how many Watusi tracks had already appeared in the nether regions of the list, and a couple mounted a stout defence of the album. I can only reassure Watusi fans that there are some tracks from the album in the higher reaches; they'll be pleased to learn that there aren't any in this selection. Saturnalia makes its first appearance though...

200 Twenty Jackies

(How The West Was Won, 2008)

Gedge's lyrics are one of the joys of the Wedding Present. Often, they capture heartbreak, regret, disappointment, excited anticipation and a million other emotions with unerring accuracy and warm, heartfelt directness. If I have one criticism, however, it is that he is occasionally a little rhyme-obsessed. 'Twenty Jackies' is a prime example. Here, the narrator challenges his girlfriend's tendency to talk about her old boyfriends by listing his previous partners in retaliation. A neat enough idea, and it's a passable tune. The list, however, is made of up of a series of painfully awkward rhymes: 'Claire with the perfect hair', 'Shirley who was so girly', 'Kay who was quite risqué' and 'Sue who drove a Subaru'. Perhaps the low point is 'Laura who had this aura'. 

199 Real Thing

(Saturnalia, 1996)

The cascading, overlapping structure is quite interesting, but overall the songs feels like an unresolved idea. Often Gedge is at his best when capturing the giddy thrill of a new relationship, but he doesn't really hit the spot here; 'you’re smart whereas I’m just dumb / you smile and then I succumb / I love watching you when you come' is frankly icky.

198 Don't Cry No Tears

(B-side of Go-Go Dancer, 1992)

I wouldn't describe myself as a huge Neil Young fan, but I do own a substantial number of his albums. His enormous back catalogue is the very definition of patchy, ranging from the dire (Landing On Water, Everybody's Rockin') to the sublime (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Ragged Glory). 1975's Zuma, from which 'Don't Cry No Tears' comes, happens to be one of my favourites. The Wedding Present's take is sturdy enough, but like a few other of their covers, it loses a bit of the original's nuances. In particular, Neil Young's original has a fragile, ragged plaintiveness that's a bit lost here. The squalls of guitar distortion towards the end are quite pleasing though.

197 Red Shoes By The Drugstore

(Step Right Up (The Songs Of Tom Waits), 1995)

I definitely am a Tom Waits fan, although my tastes tend more to the Swordfishtrombones-onwards years rather than the Asylum era from which 'Red Shoes' comes. It's a similar story to 'Don't Cry' - the TWP version is adequate, but falls well short of capturing the smoky, twisted creepiness of the original.

196 Cattle and Cane

(B-side of Blue Eyes, 1992)

Another solid enough if rather uninspiring cover. It's a more successful attempt than the two above, but still doesn't capture the bleak ghostliness of the Go-Betweens' original.

195 Unthinking

(Club 8 Single, 2012)

'Club 8' was a promotional scheme in advance of 2012's Valentina that caused a little controversy on the Scopitones forum at the time. One of the benefits was an exclusive two-track 7" single that featured this song. If you coughed up the £100 membership you might have felt a little short-changed by this gentle, rather aimless ramble. (The studio recording isn't online, as far as I can see - the video below is a rare live outing for the song.)

194 She's My Best Friend

(B-side of Dalliance, 1991)

Yet another OK-but-nothing-to-write-home-about cover. It might be a bit obvious to say, but surely a Wedding Present rendition of 'What Goes On' (the ancestor of songs like Take Me!) would have been more of an exciting prospect that a so-so outtake from a patchy compilation album. 

The VU original is not exactly inspiring, but it at least there's a bit of swing about its gentle chug. TWP's version is oddly polite and fragile; however much you turn up the volume, you still feel like you're straining to hear it.

193 Undercurrent

(Ablaze! Magazine flexi-disc, 1993)

A proper obscurity. 'Undercurrent' appeared on a single-sided 33⅓ rpm 7" flexi-disc, accompanied by 'Miss Sky' by A.C. Temple. It was a cover of a 1963 track by Richie Allen & the Pacific Surfers. It's a pretty faithful and slightly underwhelming cover, although it adds a nice dose of crunchy distortion. 

192 Rocket

(B-side of Flying Saucer, 1992)

A fairly straight rendition of Mud's 1974 single (the one after the one after 'Tiger Feet'). Not exactly subtle, but full of enthusiasm.

191 Journey Into Space

(4 Songs EP, 2012)

Somewhere around 1991, there was a shift in Gedge's lyrics. The songs on George Best and Bizarro tended to be in the past tense and dealt with bittersweet tales of longing and regret about failed relationships. From Seamonsters onwards, there were far more present-tense narratives that dealt with impending or recent unfaithfulness. 'Journey Into Space' is a prime example: 'half of you says “I shouldn’t” - half of you says “I should”; half of you says “I wouldn’t” - half of you says “I would”.' (That sentence was damn difficult to punctuate.)

It's a decent enough track, but perhaps one that revisits a rather over-trodden theme and doesn't have quite the melodic uniqueness to stand out from the wide array of Gedge's 'should we?/shouldn't we?' songs. It's one of those that's perfectly enjoyable to listen to, but five minutes later you've forgotten what it sounded like. (Once again, there seems only to be a live version online.)

Thanks for reading - see you next Tuesday!

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