The Wedding Present Cup: Stage 1, Group 5

   

Group 5

• Unthinking
• What Have I Said Now?
• Corduroy
• Brassneck
• 50s
• Journey Into Space
• Granadaland
• So Long, Baby
• Getting Better 
• Fordland
• Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
• Thanks
• High
• Love Machine
• Perfect Blue
• Catwoman

The Results

This group was very different to the last one. In Group 4, several of the judges found themselves having to award points to songs they didn't very much care for; here, many ended up running out of points for tracks that they would have liked to reward more highly. As Bob, in his inimitable style, put it: 'Another tough round but for different reasons. Whilst the last round had us sifting through rivers of sh*t to find an elusive nugget, this one was chock full of belters.'

For the fourth time in five rounds, there was a cover version languishing at the foot of the table with zero points. This time it was TWP's take on The Cure's 'High', recorded for a 2008 VA compilation. Gricey had never heard it before, and found it 'quite a delight to hear TWP do The Cure,' although his delight was not substantial enough to find it any points. Keg's comment was more representative of the general view: 'Right lads, we've got another cover to record for a tribute album. Yep, we'll just do the usual. Play it faster and I'll alternately drawl and shout the lyrics. That'll do. No, it won't.'

There wasn't much more love for 'Journey Into Space', from the 4 Songs EP. 'I listened to this about 10 times over the past days,' Mike commented, 'and each time I started it I couldn't remember how it went.' 'Should be sent on one, one-way,' thought Bob. '50s' was blanked by the majority of the judges, Ian finding the lyric 'cringeworthy.' 

Like several other Going Going songs, many felt, like Ian, that 'Fordland' 'sits better in the context of the album and seems a bit exposed on its own.' 'Unthinking' garnered a few mildly positive comments, but Steve M wondered whether 'they got the title from the way it was written.' Mike enjoyed the 'frantic pace' of Beatles cover 'Getting Better', and Johnny thought that it was 'much better than many TWP cover versions.' However, it still attracted 11 zeros and was a long way off the pace.

Watusi opener 'So Long, Baby' also fell quite a way short of qualification, but also finished some distance ahead of the bottom six. James liked the fact that 'it’s always felt a bit different to your ‘standard’ TWP song,' and Keg thought that the 'glam rock stomp after each chorus is particularly fun.' Johnny remained unconvinced: 'Is this one song or four ideas all thrown into the studio blender?'

The last non-qualifier (sadly, in my opinion) was the Velvet Undeground influenced 'Catwoman'. Despite Ian's regard for the 'mayhem in the middle,' Bob's praise for the 'wonderfully cacophonous ending' and Gav M's comment that 'I’d forgotten what a corking song it is; brilliant racket at the end,' it finished 12 points short of making it to the next round.

There was considerable distance between the top three and the other qualifiers. Many were especially enthusiastic about epic live performances of 'What Have I Said Now?' that they had experienced over the years, although,controversially, James gave it a zero ('doesn’t work for me'). 'Perfect Blue' also evoked a lot of fond memories, Johnny in particular waxing lyrical about memories of seeing the song performed in the company of TWP forum members. He even included some photos with his review (in the one below, Kirk is in the foreground; fellow judges Ian and Gricey are just behind him; several other forum members - possibly myself included - are doubtless in the background). 'Corduroy' got one of the highest three marks from 13/17 of the panel, several singling out the wonderfully visceral '3 Songs' version for particular praise. Once again, it was James who offered a 'sacrilegious' (his word) view, calling it 'noisy' (an odd criticism for a TWP song!) and 'squeaky' (?!?)

'Granadaland' was a little way behind the medalists, but still performed strongly, although it was held back a little by low marks from James (again!) and John, plus a surprising zero from Joanna. Again, several of the panel referenced storming live versions. Ian also praised the lyric, as did Mike: 'A heartbreaking story told in less than 5 minutes; there are writers that need hundreds of pages to tell the same.'

The casual fan/reader might be a little taken aback at 'Brassneck' only managing fifth place. However, there was a consistent message in the comments: great track (especially the Albini single version), but we've just heard it too often. The phrase 'suffers from over-familiarity' was used by three judges, possibly to best effect by Johnny, describing a scenario which many of us will recognise:

Suffers from over familiarity, and in the live setting from the knowing that I am about to be rattled by some overweight, balding booze swillers at the only gig they’ve been within 300 feet of in the last 15 years. Still, it’s vibrant and full of beans and I cannot mark it down just because of the lardy, glowing meat monsters that it attracts. The breakdown and re-build is still joyous.

'Thanks' is a song that, as Keg put it, 'might have fared a little better in different company.' The same might be said of 'Love Machine'. Several people expressed the view that it - and the rest of Mini - is rather underrated. As Keg put it: 'The swansong lineup of the TWP during their original run with Simon Cleave and Jayne Lockey in the ranks deserves more appreciation.'

The remaining qualifier was that rare thing: a well-regarded cover version. Mike, Bob and James were among those who thought that 'Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)' was TWP's best cover. Johnny went as far as to say that it 'beats the original hands down. A great song already but given more edge than the sharpening room at the lawnmower factory.' Harry reminded us that Steve Harley himself thought it was the best version of the tune. However, it did divide opinion: six of the judges gave it two or less, Ian commenting that he'd 'never understood the reverence for this cover.'

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