Let's take a second to talk about the Enchirito. The Enchirito, for those of you who only eat people food, is Taco Bell's newest snackvertising venture: it's an enchilida, basically, but Taco Bell-style. It's filled with delicious prison grade "beef," covered with the edible polymer these people call "cheese," and comes smothered with a kind of red chili which appears to just be mild Taco Bell sauce with some chili powder mixed in. In short, it's the best thing to enter my life in the last year, and I've been eating them by the burro-load.
Now, I have some friends who become upset at the mention of the Enchirito. Here's why: the Enchirito is not actually new. It's old. It was removed from T-Bell's menu a couple years back, and some people never really recovered from the loss. When its return was announced recently, these friends of mine were pretty excited. Gleeful, really. Until they ate one. Then the griping started: "This is not an Enchirito. I remember Enchiritos, and this is not one. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm sure it's not an Enchirito. And I'm sure I don't like it."
I haven't been able to identify with any confidence the difference between the Enchirito of Yore and the new, revised Enchirito. See, I never ate the Old Enchirito. I've only ever had a New Enchirito. But as far as I can tell, the main difference is the new version's lack of a decorative olive placed on top. Anyway, my friends think I'm crazy for loving the New Enchirito. Maybe I just love it because I don't know what I'm missing, but I love it all the same.
Here's what I'm getting at: until last week, I'd never really heard the Wedding Present. My introduction to them came in the form of this singles collection which skips the first 10 years of their existence. It contains one mini-album in its entirety, and the rest of the disc is comprised exclusively of non-album tracks: stand-alone singles, b-sides, live material and compilation stuff. This disc is the New Enchirito, and I love it.
For most bands-- even good bands-- a collection like this is a recipe for disaster. A band's collected odds and ends are usually uneven at best, and it seems that later work is almost always dismissed, even by (or especially by) a band's most ardent fans. This collection, on the other hand, is impressively cohesive and consistently excellent. The former is likely due to the simple fact that David Gedge doesn't mess with his formula too much: most of these songs are pretty straightforward mid-tempo rockers with the standard mix of distortion, hookiness and Gedge's distinctive vocals. The remarkable thing is that this formula is so consistently successful.
"Jet Girl" and "Sports Car" serve as the record's standouts and are both prime examples of Gedge's lyrical sensibility: maudlin but barbed. There are acoustic and electric versions of both songs; each electric version is irresistible, and the acoustic versions do exactly what they should-- strip the songs down without sounding tossed off. The remaining 18 tracks are almost as great as these, and that vast expanse of music is, incredibly, devoid of any stinkers at all. Even the cover of the "Cheers" theme song is great. If this is a singles collection, I can't wait to see what an actual album sounds like.
Old school Wedding Present fans may yell that this is not an Enchirito. I mean, what do I know? I kinda hope that's true, actually, because it'll just mean that the earlier stuff is that much better. Until I lay hands on it, though, I will continue to enjoy the New Enchirito. Mmmm, gooey.
