Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

I think of this album as a "winter album" and the disc has been recently spending some time in my truck's CD player, so I figured I'd go ahead and blog about it. I think it's a really good synthpop album (if you think "good synthpop album" is an oxymoron, you're at the wrong blog). I've never known much about the group, most likely because I bought the cassette, not the LP. For me, liner notes in cassettes weren't read because the music was played in the car, not at the house. I'm also guessing the group didn't get much written about them in Rolling Stone magazine, my go-to music publication at the time. The singer/group leader Green Gartside has a thin voice, but it doesn't really detract from the otherwise strong, bubbly material and production. I guess I like the tunes so much that I'm able to overlook the dated Fairlight CMI synths and drum programming.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone: "Stylishly wrought, at times delightfully eccentric"
• Spin: "No disco was ever this sublime."
• Billboard: "playful yet melodically strong originals"
• Smash Hits (6½ out of 10): "smooth and sickly sweet, but quite enjoyable in small amounts."
• CashBox: "clearest distilled versions of white hip-hop in recent memory"
• Stereo Review: "diddling nose-candy synth pop"

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #50

Tracks: They're all so different and I like 'em all, bonus tracks included. For an in-depth retro recap, I defer to Thomas Inskeep at the now defunct Stylus Magazine.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Purchased on the strength of the single, Perfect Way, I remember this cassette getting heavy play in the Markmobile during Christmas break my freshman year of college when I was working at the local plumbing supply house. Aren't the 5 week winter breaks in higher education wonderful?

Also memorable is the fun Miles Davis cover of Perfect Way from his 1986 Tutu album.