Here Comes the Groom

John Wesley Harding | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 5, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002LK8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,900 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

JOHN WESLEY HARDING Here Comes The Groom (Deleted 1990 US AUTOGRAPHED 15-track CD album picture sleeve. The front of the sleeve been dedicated and signed Kathy - John Wesley Harding in black marker pen)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Never mind the naff cover..., March 27, 2000

By 

Rob Moore (Stanthorpe, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here Comes the Groom (Audio CD)

Anyone familiar with Wes will know that covers (especially anything pre-"JWH's New Deal") are certainly not his strongest suit. However, the old judge not the book cliche certainly applies here.

"Here Comes the Groom" finds Wes in both fine voice and sharp wit. Tracks like "The red rose and the briar" will inevitably evoke Dylanesque comparisons as the ballad languidly unfurls around your ears. "Things snowball" is a lesson in life for any listener, while "Scared of guns" picks up the tempo in a great counterpoint to the more folky sound of the main.

If you're into Dylan, Elvis Costello or more recently, Elliott Smith, then John Wesley Harding will certainly not disappoint!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as a "best off", this CD is actually better!, May 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Here Comes the Groom (Audio CD)

This CD rocks! With "The Good Liars" behind him (Bruce and Pete Thomas are just two members), this is JWH's first album and perhaps his best. Loaded with metaphor, the lyrics reflect creative and intelligent song writing, whether sung to a rocking or more mellow tune. A great horn section accompanies on a few tracks so the music never becomes dull--you can listen to it straight through time and time again. Whether you are into folk, just getting into it or not even interested, you'll love this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing Album, January 28, 2002

By 

Timothy P. Young (Rawlins, WY, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Here Comes the Groom (Audio CD)

Brit folkie John Wesley Harding (born Wesley Harding Stace) unleashed his first studio album in 1990 to widespread comparisons to Elvis Costello (he released an acoustic live session previous to Here Comes the Groom entitled It Happened One Night). It doesn't help that two members of the Good Liars happen to be Bruce Thomas and Pete Thomas, Elvis Costello's rhythm section. Oh well.

Point of order: it doesn't really sound like EC at all, at all. It's true that the lyrics are cynical and witty,... and JWH often displays a fondness for a tempo-changing bridge (like EC and Ray Davies).

What this is is a stunning combination of traditional English folk, combined with liberal touches gleaned from pop and new wave, with a catchiness hard to find outside of American power pop (think DB's or Marshall Crenshaw). Call it Power Folk.

HE'S NOT EC, Point 2: JWH's vocals are consistently clear and sunny, giving even the most cynical observation an air of amused good cheer ("He was unfaithful before he went outdoors/And now he's in the graveyard" from the title track). If EC sang this, it would be an accusatory, you-got-what-you-deserved line, in JWH's hands, it becomes a sly comeuppance for the philandering groom, and a lot more fun. (This is not meant to put down Costello, just to point out that JWH has his own identity. To rephrase: JWH's vocals usually point to the light, EC's to the shadows.)...

Consistent and clever throughout, owing as much to traditional folk as it does to modern pop and new wave, this is simply a fantastic album by a true, unrecognized talent. If I had the wherewithal, this would get 6 stars out of 5. One of the best studio debuts EVER.