Customer Reviews

Cupid & Psyche 85

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mainly because the bulk of this album was programmed with the Fairlight Computer and there are very few "live" instruments, some of these tracks have a slightly dated Eighties sound to them. Having said that, the songwriting overcomes that completely. Especially the lyrics. Thankfully the lyric sheet is inside the cd; it elevates these songs to a much higher level. Written off as "one hit wonders" in the US, Scritti Politti had humble beginings in Leeds, a small town in the UK, where they wrote minimalist tunes with rather bitter and cynical lyrics. A few years later, singer/leader/lyricist Green Gartside abandoned his original bandmates and took Scritti Politti to a much more pop/soul place musically, as well as taking on a more soulful approach to his singing, while managing to maintain much of the bite of his lyrics. A few of the songs that ended up on Cupid and Psyche 85 were released as singles and were big hits in the UK. They ended up on this album, along with a few remixes that were on the cassette. Hypnotize barely dented the US singles charts, but it was Perfect Way that was a hit, on radio and MTV. One of the very few albums I have purchased in all three formats ( LP, Cassette, and now on CD ) this I think is Scritti Politti's best album. The cover is absolutely stunning. (I still have my vinyl copy, embossed raised gold lettering and all.) The rear photo of the piece of raw meat wrapped in gauze with a butterfly sitting on top is a telling metaphor for the music and lyrics inside. The music ranges from reggae to dance to pop to soul. There is one beautiful ballad, A Little Knowledge, which is a duet between Green and the amazing BJ Nelson. Robert Quine, of all people, turns up on one track with a crazy guitar solo which, on the surface, would seem totally out of place. But it works. Just like the perfect balance of computerized sounds against the live drumming and gorgeous vocals. One of the best pop albums in my collection and just shy of absolute perfection. Highly recommended.

Perfect Way, with it's killer piano break, broke Scritti politti in the US. However long before that the band was releasing a series of brilliant singles, which end up collected in a nice neat package that is Cupid and Psyche.
-Wood Beez- catchy, funky, as good as anything Alexander O'Neil was doing, if not better.
- The Word Girl - reggae lite in a time where reggae was considered DOA.
- Hypnotize - the lesser of the singles, but still a great little song.
-Absolute - better than Hyponotize, smooth.

The great thing is that you also get some nifty remixes, including some like The Word Girl that are almost different songs, but still obviously from the same group of folks.

Green and company explore mid 80s US Black music with a keen ear and even sharper sense of style and wit. Essential 80s album.

Even though my tastes in music vary widely - and "widely" is an understatement - I'm generally not a big fan of the dance-pop genre. However, "Cupid & Psyche '85" instantly became one of my all-time favorite albums the first time I played it about ten years ago.

I had found the cassette in a cutout bin - hardly a dignified place for such a fine collection of tunes. I'll admit that I bought it mainly for the familiar radio tracks "Perfect Way" and "Wood Beez," but almost every track on the album could have been solid a Top 40 hit. (The CD contains all of the tracks found on the cassette, but their order has been rearranged slightly, placing the remixes and alternate versions at the end of the disc.) I have the cassette with four bonus tracks that couldn't fit on the LP version, and of those bonus tracks, only "Flesh And Blood" - which features a female guest singer named Ranking Ann in place of Green - is a track I can personally do without. [I'm just not into deep reggae.] Aside from that, even my least favorite tracks - "The Word Girl" and "A Little Knowledge" - are still good.

Undeniably, Green Gartside does have an unusual voice - a silky near-falsetto more than vaguely reminiscent of Michael Jackson - but it fits perfectly with his keyboard work and the precise accompaniment of band mates David Gamson [drums] and Fred Mahur [guitar and backing vocals]. I can't imagine these songs being sung by anyone else.

I can't understand why radio overlooked "Lover To Fall," which I consider one of the best tracks on the entire album - if this one doesn't get your feet tapping, you'd better see a neurologist. Ditto that for "Small Talk" and "Don't Work That Hard." Make sure you crank up the subwoofers for the remix of "Absolute" - it has a deep, tight bass line that will knock your socks off.

I just received my shiny new CD copy a few weeks ago, and if you like infectious, FUN music, you should order it too. "Cupid and Psyche 85" is, without a doubt, one of the most thoroughly well-crafted albums of the 80's. I would also recommend the 1988 follow-up album "Provision", which is not quite as captivating as "Cupid and Psyche 85" but certainly does have its moments.

I had been a huge fan of Scritti Politi's ever since they made their way onto the U.S pop music scene back in 1985. I first bought this album on cassette when it was released. I later bought it on vinyl. I've yet to own it on CD (which I plan to purchase soon).

For anyone that has not listened to this album, you are in for a treat. Green Gartside is truly a musical/lyrical genius. His usage of big words and his references to philosophy and psychology will leave you deciphering many of the lyrics, but in my opinion, he's written some of the best love songs ever made. Whether slow, or a danceable tune, this songs are the stuff love songs are made of.

You have to appreciate the quality of this album. The group used the best and most sought-after session musicians of the time. As mentioned by another reviewer, the backup singers are top-notch and were the highest-paid and most-used New York session singers of that era. B.J. Nelson and Tawatha Agee who are found on this album (and Provision) can also be found on the best Albums of Duran Duran and Bryan Ferry during the 80's (B.J. Nelson and Tawatha Agee were the two backup singers on Duran Duran's Arena tour. Drummer Steve Ferrone also became the new drummer for Duran Duran some time after Roger Taylor left the band).

Green's voice, his lyrics (and his beautiful blue eyes) make you fall in love with him and his songs. His songs make you reflect on the pain of love lost, they make you want to fall in love, they make you want to hold on to the love you've got, they make you want to make love. ;-) When you listen these songs, you can feel the emotion behind the words.

I love the whole album, but my favorite songs are:

Perfect Way (A great song about compromising for the one you love even when they don't deserve it.)

Hypnotize

Absolute (Sounds to me like he was drinking away his love pains. Although it's a great dance tune, it's also a touching love song and the 12" remix of this song is great.)

Lover to Fall

Wood Beez

Just get the CD and give it a listen. It's well worth the money spent. I just wished the group received more credit than it did. They were truly one of the best.

I've listened to this album over and over again and never get tired of each tune. Not only are the songs catchy and infectiously tappable, but Green Gartside pays ode to Aretha Franklin (Wood Beez),and has a selection of jazz and funk musicians to back him up (Paul Jackson, David Frank, Marcus Miller). Some of the songs, (Perfect Way, Wood Beez, and Hynotize) borrow funk rhythms from another 80's group called The System (which David Frank is the keyboard wizard from that group). However this does not take away from the well crafted writing, production and engineering of this album. Green Gartsides lyrics (although complex) are as deep as the music heard here. Almost every song on this album is moveable if not danceable. The songs, The Word Girl and its alternative (Flesh & Blood) still gives me chills, especially when it goes into the flesh and blood chorus. The bass line and guitar riffs in that song are too catchy to pass up because it screams reggae. My favorite of course is Wood Beez. But then its hard to say what's a favorite on the album because the songs on the album are all gems. With Scritti Polliti maybe it was hard to repeat that pattern for the big shots in the music business. But this album needs a good listen to or just re-released.

I relived the 80s college years when I recently picked this one up. Green's memorable voice, the fantastic lyrics, and the spritely lively melodies are engaging, a bit wacky, and resoundingly memorable.

Perfect Way was the big hit, and I still crank it up each time. But Wood Beez is the one that lives on for all my friends.

'Each night I go to bed...
I...pray like Aretha Franklin...'

love it...

I happen to disagree with a previous reviewer - you do not have to have been around in '85 when this album debuted, to really appreciate it. Take me - born two years after this album was released, but I just bought it last spring. And I love it to pieces.
Like most others, the first taste of Scritti that I had was through hearing "Perfect Way" and "Hypnotize". After researching a bit, I decided I should hear more. So I got this album, and fell in love with it just after hearing the opening tune, "the Word Girl". It has been one of my favourite songs ever since. And the rest of the album, hits aside ("Absolute", "Wood Beez") is fantabulous as well.
I can see where mid-80s Madonna and Janet Jackson took some pointers, just from the "sound" of the album. Interesting, considering that Green even said he took some stylistic credit inspired by Michael Jackson for his voice. (Though personally, I'm not a huge fan of Janet or Madonna...)
I'll try my best to sum up each of the songs, though the tunes themselves would do a better job. "the Word Girl" is just a little reggae-lite song, with lyrics really about the usage of the word "girl" in pop songs. But the sway and melody make it sound romantic - which seems to be the case in a number of Green's songs. "Small Talk" is hard to describe, but it has a "typically 80s" feel, but not to the extent to make it sound cheesy. "Absolute" is another favorite, which is definitely a love song, but has a chorus that's fun to sing "oooh, love you..." (not much, but hey.) "A Little Knowledge" - oh, this is where the sap in me makes an appearance. The lyrics focus on a relationship gone awry, but it points out that "lovers never lose each other". It's just a pretty song, as a duet between Green and one of the back-up singers. "Don't Work that Hard" is nondescript, but it's fun, with a killer guitar solo, courtesy of the late Robert Quine.
"Perfect Way", I'm sure most of you are familiar with. I've even gotten my dad into them through this song. Mainly because he found out that jazz great Miles Davis (later to be on Scritti's "Oh Patti") had covered it. Seriously, how many other pop stars can you name that use the words "proposition", "deduction", or "justification" in a song? "Lover to Fall" is pretty again, just having Green declare that he's the one to fall for a certain girl. "Wood Beez" is brilliant, simply in terms of the lyrics. "There's nothing I wouldn't be, oh that's the gift of schizo" - what a line. "Hypnotize", another one we should already be familiar with. But it never gets old. Simplistic, pretty much repeating the same lines over and over, but it's got a groove and sound you cannot get out of your head.
The remixes on the CD version aren't bad either. "Flesh & Blood" is with DJ Ranking Ann rapping basically over the backing of "the Word Girl", sort of giving advice to young women in dealing with relationships. The remixes of "Absolute", "Wood Beez" and "Hypnotize" are great, I find. Even if you aren't particularly nostalgic for the '80s, this album never gets old.

When I'm at work, I have to keep the radio tuned to this generic, general format music station. Most of the time it's crap. Every day they have the "all 80's lunch hour". It's somewhat loud at work, but I overheard just a tiny bit of Perfect Way and stood beneath one of the speakers in the ceiling and listened. The tune was never said on air, so I checked out the station's play list, found out who it was, then that day ordered this disc from Amazon. What a great find! I have since ordered Provision, and it is also a fantastic disc. I've had this disc for about 2 months and honestly listen to it on a daily basis. Highly recommended

All the nine songs on this album are entertaining, not to mention the four bonuses included. Starting with the first song, "The Word Girl", we wonder why Scritti Politti was not as commercial during the new British invasion. Wood Beez (Praying to Aretha Franklin) deserves praise just for name, not to mention how cool to song is under the flawless production of R&B professional Arif Mardin. Of the whole album, the most noticable song you might remember is "Perfect Way". This is extremely enjoyable. Yet, the most enjoyable song is "Absolute", with it being so flashy, there is no surprise Arif Mardin produced this song. There is a strong possibility this will be out of print, since this was not very commercial in the US. So if your thinking about buying this, do so now. The tone of every song brings you back to the 1980's. Thanks for reading.

I'm a child of the 80s and thus the Asschowder set list is loaded with classic 80s nuggets. One that we love to play when Burns is feeling it on the keyboards is Perfect Way, which may be the perfect song. Scritti Politti may be the perfect band. I remember getting Cupid and Psyche in 1985. I was 13 at the time and rolling like a full fledged champion. I was dating the hottest girl in 8th grade, I could throw a football 32 yards and my hair was parted on the left side, life was quite delish, then came this album. Yes, album. I bought it on vinyl and now own 2 copies of the CD in case I lose one.

I dig several tracks off this thing like Absolute and Wood Beez, but I think you've got to go with the gold standard as the greatest track of the 80s in perfect way. I got in a huge argument with my friend last week on whether C'est La Vie by Robbie Nevil or Perfect Way was a better track. I ended up getting suspended from work after beating him for even bringing up the idea that there was a better track than Perfect Way. It's Way perfect!!! That right there was awesome. The keyboard solo in that song is the finest ever. It's as if the Bible should have a book after Revelation called Scritti Politti. It would sound like this (Read this in a voice where you try to sound like god):

And there will be a great album, greater than anything ears have ever heard, it shall be called Cupid and Psyche '85. There will be a song on that album called Perfect Way, it shall be as such, perfect in every way. There shall be a keyboard solo in the last third of that song so perfect it shall be as if it were played by angels crossed with Burns.

And so it is done. Amen.