El Rey

The Wedding Present

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 20, 2008)
• Original Release Date: May 20, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Manifesto Records
• ASIN: B00175G71I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #127,913 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
El Rey -- the first new album in over three years from The Wedding Present -- was recorded in Chicago by Steve Albini. The band returned from an eight-year hiatus in 2004 with the release of Take Fountain, and this long-awaited album brought them back into the spotlight, with all of the style and sophistication associated with this legendary group. That intensity has been turned up even further for the new album. El Rey is The Wedding Present's first collaboration with Albini since the beloved Seamonsters in 1991. Written while David Gedge was living in Los Angeles, El Rey burns with West Coast sunlight; Hollywood seen through the eyes of a gritty Northerner.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stuck in Neutral, November 7, 2008

By	Ikasumi (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

I've been a fan of TWP going all the way back to George Best. Seamonsters was a high point, so this one being recorded by Steve Albini perhaps gave me inflated hopes. But there is no new ground tread here, and little to inspire in the way the old ground is covered.

Gedge's lyrics used to be endearing, as he always seemed on the wrong end of a relationship gone bad and we could feel for him even in his bitterness. Then with Cinerama he became something of the happy womanizer and frankly hard to like (his two main themes seemed to be, "She cheated on me and it feels awful" and, "I cheated on her and it feels great," with no apparent sense of contradiction). Finally I thought perhaps he'd grown up when he gave us these lines in the lovely closer to Cinerama's last album: "I was jealous and mean, you were fragrant and flirty / It's strange just how innocent it all looks today / We tried to imagine being together at thirty / but that always seemed such a long way away." This sounded like an adult. But now he's regressed to, "And that's when I pretend that I don't have a girlfriend." Where are we now, high school? There are other embarrassing clunker lines like this, and I agree with the comment about, "No soup for you." Sheesh.

I still like them, and there are some good musical moments here, but it's very far from their best.

5.0 out of 5 stars classic wedding present anyone?, September 27, 2008

By	david (johannesburg, south africa) - See all my reviews

the other reviewers talk about the dry albini sound as if it's a loss??? this album rocks, and for me that dry detached and damped albini sound is what the wedding present have been about when they hit their mark. these songs are not just about attitude - that wonderful dischordant out-of-tune pop guitaring is back at last! thank you david for this killer album - a collection of classic tracks. buy this now. you will love it.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad showing..., June 27, 2008

By	bfolger - See all my reviews

This review is from: El Rey (MP3 Download)

I have really liked the Wedding Present for about 15+ years now. Honestly, I haven't bought much of their recent stuff but wanted to check this out based on early buzz and Albini getting back into the picture. Its pretty decent for their "LA album". The themes of the songs get a little boring after awhile. Okay, I get it - Gedge is having women problems. My biggest problem is the song "Soup". I hate it. The "No Soup For You" chorus from Seinfeld totally trivializes the whole CD and starts making you analyze how bad some of the other song lyrics are. I guess in the UK the reference may go unnoticed but in the US it makes the song cheap and cartoonish. Enough with the negative, take out that song and this is totally a solid release and worth checking out. I mean, if you like The Wedding Present than you know what to expect.
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