On their second album, Scritti Politti essentially was Green Gartside, who directed drummer Fred Maher, keyboardist David Gamson, and a multitude of studio musicians through a state-of-the-art, immaculately constructed set of catchy synth pop on Cupid & Psyche 85. The results are as impressive as Songs to Remember and produced the hit singles 'Perfect Way' and 'Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin).'
Cupid & Psyche 85TypeArtistStudio
Minot Sound, The Power Station, Atlantic in New York; Eden, Wessex Sound, Sarm West, Sarm East in London
RecordedGenre
LabelLengthProducerPrevious titleNext titleCupid & Psyche 85 is the second album by British/American pop group Scritti Politti, released in the UK on Virgin Records on 10 June 1985.[1] The release continued frontman Green Gartside's embrace of commercial pop music stylings and state-of-the-art studio production, while its lyrics reflect his preoccupation with issues of language and politics.[2]
It remains the band's most successful album, reaching number five in the UK, and was certified gold by the BPI for 100,000 copies sold. The album contained five singles, three of which were top 20 hits in the UK. The single 'Perfect Way' became a surprise hit in the US, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in a 25-week run on the chart.
BackgroundEdit
Scritti Politti's debut album Songs to Remember had been released in September 1982, but even before the album's release frontman Green had expressed in interviews his frustration at the limitations of being signed to an independent label like Rough Trade Records. After Songs to Remember he began to talk to major record labels, a move reluctantly supported by Rough Trade who wanted to keep him but realised they could not support him financially with the budget for the type of record that Green wanted to make.[3] At the same time Green had been distancing himself from the Marxist collective that Scritti Politti had originated from, and by the time of the album's release Scritti Politti was effectively his solo vehicle, the other original members having left during the album's recording or shortly afterwards.
During the recording of Songs to Remember Rough Trade had introduced Green to New Yorker David Gamson. Gamson was a keyboard player/programmer and an assistant engineer for the label who had used some studio downtime to record a demo version of the Archies' 1969 hit song 'Sugar, Sugar'. Green and Gamson hit it off and decided that they would work together in future as they had similar ideas about the type of music they wanted to make.
RecordingEdit
In 1983 the duo of Gartside and Gamson travelled to Gamson's home city of New York and met up with another New Yorker, drummer Fred Maher, to put together a new version of Scritti Politti. Maher remembered, 'I'll never forget the first time I saw Green. It was in the studio in New York and he came up to me and said 'hello, I'm Green, I'm terrible'. He'd been out the night before with Marc Almond and he looked a bit the worse for wear.'[4] The trio recorded two songs, 'Small Talk' and 'L Is for Lover', both produced by Nile Rodgers, which they hoped to put out as a new Scritti Politti single. However, due to the legal battle involving Green's release from his contract with Rough Trade, the single was never released. 'Small Talk' would eventually appear as a track on Cupid & Psyche 85, while 'L Is for Lover' was recorded by US jazz singer Al Jarreau and released as the title track of his 1986 album.
Green remained in New York with his new musical partners, and with the help of his new manager Bob Last he finally resolved his problems with Rough Trade and signed major label deals with Virgin Records in the UK and with Warner Bros. Records in North America. He also used the time to set up meetings with musicians and producers that he wanted to work with, later recalling, 'I seemed to get put in touch with anybody I wanted to meet and they were all very enthusiastic'.[5] Following the signing of the new record deals, the band remained in New York and recorded three songs with producer Arif Mardin: 'Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)', 'Absolute' and 'Hypnotize', all of which would later become singles from the new album. Green told NME, 'He was the producer I most wanted to work with. We sent him some demos and he liked them very much and wanted to do it. It was his work with people like Chaka Khan over the past few years that made me want to work with Arif. Her version of 'We Can Work It Out' â incredible!'[5] Synthesizer player David Gamson brought the influence of black American radio acts such as Parliament-Funkadelic, while Gartside took inspiration from nascent hip hop music.[6] According to Dave Lewis of AllMusic, 'no prior pop album had integrated the techniques of sampling and sequencing to such a great degree'.[7]
Composition and releaseEdit
The first single to be released from the album was 'Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)' in February 1984, its subtitle alluding to the Aretha Franklin song 'I Say a Little Prayer' which producer Arif Mardin had also worked on. Asked about the change in musical direction Green admitted, 'if you'd played me 'Wood Beez' six years ago I think I'd have spat at it or something. But I like change.'[8] He described the song as 'very complicated, it's the whole question of what pop is; its relationship to language, power and politics. It's also a question of music's transgression and abuse of some of the rules of language. Aretha was singing what are arguably inane pop songs and had left her gospel roots. But she sang them with a fervour, a passion, though I hate to use that word because it's been hideously tarred in recent usage. To a committed materialist whose interest had come round to language again â perhaps because of a bankruptcy in Marxism to deal with ideology or any artistic community â hearing her was as near to a hymn or a prayer as I could get. Obviously I couldn't make that point in a three minute pop song.'[9]
After releasing 'Absolute' and 'Hypnotize' as the follow-up singles, there was a gap of six months before 'The Word Girl' was released as the fourth single, just ahead of the album. 'The Word Girl' was the biggest hit single from the album in the UK and harked back to Scritti Politti's 1981 single 'The 'Sweetest Girl' in its reggae-based rhythm and its attempt to deconstruct the use of the word 'girl' in everyday language and in pop songs. Green told Sounds, 'I was taking stock of all the lyrics of the songs for the new album and, lo and behold, in every song there was â this girl, or that girl. It seemed a good idea to show awareness of the device being used, to take it out of neutral and show it didn't connote or denote certain things. It was important to admit a consciousness of the materiality of referring to 'girls' in songs.'[10]
The single's B-side 'Flesh and Blood' (which also appeared as one of the four bonus tracks on the cassette and CD versions of Cupid & Psyche 85) was the same musical backing of 'The Word Girl' but with a new lyric written and sung by militant south London reggaeMC Ranking Ann (real name Ann Swinton). Green explained that the idea was to present the alternative female view of the male construct of 'girl': 'Having heard Ann's two albums, I thought she'd like the sentiments of the song rather than approve of the rhythmics. I knew she was stroppy, but it's positive. She saw she'd be giving her counsel to a completely different audience â teenagers. Which I think is great. It complements what we've done on the other side.'[10] The single's sleeve reinforced the point being made in the lyrics: fragments of the label of Aretha Franklin's 'Chain of Fools' single and a section of Ãcrits by French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan with the word 'chain' prominent in both, superimposed on a picture of Shirley MacLaine from the film My Geisha dressed as a bride and wearing an expression of resignation on her face.
Although Scritti Politti had embraced the musical mainstream, Green's lyrics were often still preoccupied with the contradiction of becoming more distant from the reality of a person the more one became in love with the idealised version of that person, summed up on the album track 'A Little Knowledge' by the line 'Now I know to love you is not to know you'.[11] This contradiction was reflected in the album's title, referring to the myth of the two ancient Greek gods who were destined to never be able to truly love each other. Green explained in interviews that 'there is a fable, the myth of Cupid and Psyche, and the deal was that they would stay in love as long as they never tried too hard to find out too much about each other â they should just enjoy each other's company and not make demands. But that's what they made the mistake of doing, so Cupid fled, for some reason, and Psyche was sent around the world for eternity to find him. Although, at the very end of the legend, they do get reconciled.. But in our society, Cupid has now come to stand for 'romance' and Psyche for 'hidden lurking depths', so of course it would've been preposterous to call the album Cupid and Psyche. But putting '85 after it makes it.. perfectly cool. It makes it awfully sensible.'[10]
Critical receptionEdit
Reviews for Cupid & Psyche 85 were generally positive. Melody Maker said, 'It may not be the sweetest sound in all the world.. but it's close. In pursuit of the silkier sensations to be cut from the sow's ear of pop, Scritti's Green has finally let the slide rule slip and succumbed to sensuality. His guerrilla days as the post-Marxist irritant of his peculiarly capitalist trade [..] aren't completely lost, of course. He's still aware of the irony of his role, and nagging snatches of guilt and cries of conscience continually pepper Cupid, subverting its aims.' The review concluded that 'as a free-standing product, this is pop as it should be: smart, sweet but not sickly, rich and seductive, exotic, teasing, tempting and, judging by its persistent insinuation onto my Walkman, a durable, desirable thrill'.[18] Awarding the album '4¾ stars out of 5', Sounds wrote, 'If you only indulge yourself in one smooth, non-alternative, chainstore pop album this year, make it this'.[15] However, NME dismissed Green's wordplay as insincere: 'In his pop music, he plays with the language of the medium, both verbal and musical, in a way which implicitly criticises the way the language was used originally.. Unfortunately, when this kind of post-modernist dissection is applied to affairs of the heart it can't help but come across hollow and artificial, because it's getting further removed from the business of actually moving, of authentic emotional experience.'[19]
In the US, Spin stated that 'no disco was ever this sublime' and that Green's mixture of pop music and intellectualism 'benefits us by teaching us the vocabulary of emotion. Green's gilded, fabricated palace of sentiment makes you want to know more about these matters even as his clever-dick wordplay, woozy vocals and slick manipulation of modern dance music's subtlest syncopations lead you onto some empty dance floor of the soul.'[20] Writing for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau wrote that 'the high-relief production and birdlike tunes and spry little keyb arrangements and hippety-hoppety beat and archly ethereal falsetto add up to a music of amazing lightness and wit that's saved from any hint of triviality by wordplay whose delight in its own turns is hard to resist.'[17]Rolling Stone was cooler towards the record, acknowledging that Scritti Politti's new direction worked well on 'Wood Beez' and 'Absolute', but that 'the rest of Cupid & Psyche 85 isn't deviant enough. Green has absorbed the lessons of dance masters like Arif Mardin so well that he often imitates the very formulas he seeks to undermine.. Stylishly wrought, at times delightfully eccentric, Cupid & Psyche 85 is ultimately too true to its form to be genuinely subversive.'[21] In a retrospective review, AllMusic called the album 'a state-of-the-art, immaculately constructed set of catchy synth pop.'[12]
On the episode of his radio show Elton John's Rocket Hour, broadcast on Apple Music's Beats 1 online radio station on 24 October 2015, Elton John said that he considered this album to be the best produced electronic album of the 1980s, and that he purchases a copy whenever he sees it in order to share them with other people.[citation needed]
Track listingEdit
All tracks composed by Green Gartside, except where noted.
LPEditCupid Psyche 85 Rar File
Side one
Side two
CassetteEdit
Side one
Side two
CDEdit
PersonnelEdit
Scritti Politti
Our premium version gives you many advanced features such as downloading YouTube Playlist, HD videos and much more. Youtube by click premium keygen.
Additional musicians
ProductionEdit
Chart performanceEditTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart
Singles
ReferencesEdit
Virgin Records, released 10th June 1985
Bought: Virgin Megastore Oxford Street, 13th July 1985 (on the morning of Live Aid)
10/10
We come to another of my absolute â80s favourites. Cupid is also one of those rare âclassicâ albums that, despite big sales and critical appreciation, at the time of writing is still inexplicably awaiting a re-release/remaster.
Listening again to Cupid Fallout 4 no grass mod. 30 years after its release, I wonder if it sounds very dated to modern ears. Whilst it unabashedly utilised all manner of mid-â80s technology (Fairlight, drum machines, sequencers), I donât really âhearâ those elements any more. All I hear is top-notch songwriting, intriguing and intelligent lyrics, great grooves and Greenâs unique vocals.
Cupid hit me at exactly the right age; it was the soundtrack to endless summer evenings, teenage crushes, adolescent musings.
Though Scritti leader/vocalist/co-songwriter Green Gartside left behind his post-punk roots and the âindieâ sound of his Rough Trade debut album Songs To Remember to create this major-label debut, Cupid certainly had antecedents: Green and keyboardist/co-composer David Gamson revered the highly-syncopated RânâB/electro of The System, Chaka Khan, ZAPP and Michael Jackson, but they added some classic pop songcraft and intricate harmony.
Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis gave Green his blessing and, coupled with manager Bob Last (who also managed Human League and ABC), Green pitched the Americans his fusion of pop and funk. As he told Word magazine in 2006, âThe American labels were all tickled pink by these big NME interviews we did and that loosened their wallets. Bob and I were terribly persuasive as to why they should part with vast sums so we could make a record.â
Legendary Aretha/Chaka producer Arif Mardin came on board as did a raft of quality players such as Marcus Miller, Steve Ferrone, David (The System) Frank, Robbie Buchanan, Robert Quine and Paul Jackson Jr. But Green apparently turned out to be more of a perfectionist than any of them: âIt took us a great deal of time to get our bits right and my anxiety about singing was pretty acute. I would demand to sing things over and over again and Iâm not sure I ever got it better than the first time.â
Cupid featured three classic singles â âThe Word Girlâ, âAbsoluteâ and âWood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)â, though eventually a total of five tracks were released as A-sides. The John Potoker remix of âPerfect Wayâ (far superior to the album version) even became a massive hit in the States, reaching 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and pushing worldwide sales of the album over the million mark.
While âDonât Work That Hardâ and âLover To Fallâ might be deemed âfillerâ, they easily transcend that label by dint of their sprightly grooves and sheer catchiness. The beautiful âA Little Knowledgeâ showed that Green and Gamson were on the same page as Prefabâs Paddy McAloon when it came to sumptuous, intelligent romantic ballads in the mid-â80s, and the track is a great companion piece to âWhen Love Breaks Downâ.
Post-Cupid, Green and Gamson booked and then cancelled a world tour (they were apparently visited in the studio by MTV executives who told them, âJust think, youâll never have to tour again!â), wrote songs for Al Jarreau and Chaka Khan, made friends with Miles (who covered âPerfect Wayâ on Tutu), hung out with George Michael at various London nightspots, embarked on a year of press in America to cash in on the success of âPerfect Wayâ and then reluctantly hit the studios of New York and London to record the follow-up Provision.
George and Green, London, 1986
A cursory listen to a radio station like Absolute 80s reveals the wide-reaching influence of Cupid on countless late-â80s bands: a-ha, Go West, Climie Fisher, Living In A Box, Pet Shop Boys, Bros and Aztec Camera all tried for those clinical, Swiss-watch-precision arrangements and uplifting pure pop sound, but generally lacked Gamsonâs ingenious chord changes and Greenâs gift for melody.
Happy birthday to a bona fide â80s classic.
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Released: 1985
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Cupid & Psyche 85 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 10 June 1985 | |||
Recorded | 1983â1985 | |||
Studio | Minot Sound, The Power Station, Atlantic in New York; Eden, Wessex Sound, Sarm West, Sarm East in London | |||
Genre |
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Length | 38:50 (LP) 63:11/62:40 (CD) |
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Label | Virgin(UK) Warner Bros.(US) |
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Producer | Scritti Politti and Arif Mardin | |||
Scritti Politti chronology | ||||
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Singles from Cupid & Psyche 85 | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Q | [19] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [20] |
Sounds | [21] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[22] |
The Village Voice | Aâ[23] |
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
---|---|
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] | 12 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] | 13 |
UK Albums (OCC)[29] | 5 |
US Billboard 200[30] | 50 |
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | 'Wood Beez' | New Zealand[31] | 26 |
1984 | 'Wood Beez' | UK [32] | 10 |
1984 | 'Wood Beez' | U.S. BillboardHot Dance Club Play[33] | 4 |
1985 | 'Absolute' | New Zealand[34] | 26 |
1984 | 'Absolute' | UK [32] | 17 |
1984 | 'Hypnotize' | UK | 68 |
1985 | 'The Word Girl' | New Zealand[31] | 18 |
1985 | 'The Word Girl' | UK [32] | 6 |
1985 | 'Perfect Way' | UK | 48 |
1985 | 'Perfect Way' | US Billboard Hot 100[33] | 11 |
1985 | 'Perfect Way' | U.S. BillboardHot Dance Club Play[33] | 6 |
1986 | 'Wood Beez' | US Billboard Hot 100 [33] | 91 |
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