*** The Wedding Present

SINGLES 1989-1991

(Mani-festo)

Don't know how this one got past the boss: take five singles from a two-year period, then toss in a heap of B-sides and live cuts to flesh out a 33-track, double-disc set of the Wedding Present's unabashed odes to love bashing? Whatever. Notwith-standing the randomness (business-motivated, it turns out; Manifesto owns the rights to the BMG albums whence a dozen of these tracks came), Singles 1989-1991 showcases the mushmouthed Brit David Gedge's peculiar talent for putting relationships under the microscope and twisting the focus knob until the lens grinds against the slide.

The only downside is the sequencing. On the first disc, the five frenetic singles lead to a further barrage of the Wedding Present's familiar slash-and-burn punk, which doesn't abate until the achingly beautiful "Dalliance" turns up 12 notches in. After the band's apropos cover of the Velvets' "She's My Best Friend," it's back to the relentless rush of piercing guitars and breakneck rhythms. Disc two is the keeper. A quickie run through the bluegrass standard "Cumberland Gap" is a reminder of grumpy Gedge's playful side, there's a nicely succinct radio mix of the jaunty "Blue Eyes," and the Present pep up Pell Mell's "Signal." Then comes the payoff: nine cleanly recorded live tracks of varying tempo, from the steadily mid-paced "Give My Love to Kevin" to the ultrasonic "Brassneck."

-- Richard Martin