Reviews (page 4 of 7)
the disneyfication of wham was definitely unnecessary.
Come on man
Had always heard about Scritti Pollotti - though they were going to be more Pixies…and they aren’t
Now what was that? I’m not sure I needed to hear this before I died. An extra star for the bassline on “Wood Beez” and the strangely infectious production of “A Little Knowledge.” Note after reading about the group: this is not what I expect Marxist music to sound like. It sort of gives me a begrudging respect for the band.
Očekivala sam nešto još gore. Ne razumijem kako je ovo na listi a Milli Vanilli nije, tu su negdje kvalitetom ali Milli Vanilli barem zvuči prijatno. Više ljudi ima Milli Vanilli kao guilty pleasure nego Scritti Politti garantujem. Rimuju se i jedni i drugi zato su mi naumpali. Loše je ovo bilo ali ne pregrozno sve u svemu.
80s pop which was not really my groove.
So this band was originally a marxist collective?? Alright man. Sure. Why not. And it's opening with reggae?? Yeah man. Oh hey so I actually don't like this. Ok so this is painfully 85. Cupid and Psyche is one of my favourite Greek myths. What tf is this. I really don't like it. The guys voice is annoying and it's like they're trying to do a stripped down 80s disco but what really makes disco imo is the magnitude and cohesiveness of sounds so this just sounds disjointed. It almost sounds like they have a soundboard and are just playing sounds in a big empty room. That's what this sounds like to me. I don't like it it doesn't all work together. And his voice is like a bad Michael Jackson impersonator. Fml. I'm glad this revolutionized music but I don't care bro. Like actually. Kinda feels like a caricature of 80s music. It's funky man. I can enjoy it I suppose. Favourite: Absolute Least favourite: The Word Girl/Lover To Fall
Wimpy, cheesy and generally a waste of vinyl. I do remember my childhood best friend purchasing a 12-inch dance mix of Perfect Way when that was charting, and it was a catchy tune, as I recall. There were multiple 80s sounds on this one but nothing memorable.
Not cool man
Meh zzz
Really wanted to 5 this one man. I just don’t like synth keyboard and I don’t like this falsetto voice that just feels like a worse Prince. There were like two songs that were solid (and one that fit the mold I described above but just seemed to “work” for me). Just not great but I gave Lou Reed a 2 and I enjoyed this considerably more than that.
Just barely ...
This was a bad 80's flashback for me. From the "baby man" precious vocals to the drum machines to the vapid songs, I didn't find much of anything I liked about this. Supposedly political and left leaning but I didn't hear that, I was just annoyed by the whole package. Even the so-called hit, "Perfect Way," didn't ring a bell for me, it's long forgotten and buried in my memory like this album was as soon as it finished.
I don't think this is bad per say, but after listening to my fourth new wave / Brit pop album, it's starting to get stale; the instrumentals and production become predictable after a while. Maybe it's not fair to compare but it doesn't have that interesting variety and creative manipulation of sounds I look for in other pop genres (especially modern alt-pop).
80s slop
Rhymes with shitty.
Very eighties sounding, spaced out production.
I'm not usually a synth pop fan, but the instrumentals were actually pretty nice. Couldn't stand the vocals, though.
The Word Girl
tällaista regge, soul, michael jackson hybridiä
Ei mullekaan nyt ihan kaikki kasari lähde. Hyvä yritys 1001
Mitähän tästä nyt sanois.. Parin biisin musat oli kuin suoraan 90-luvun pc-flipperipelien taustoista. Ei kyllä tarttunut tämä
Kunnon kasarimeininkiä, mutta laulu jää todella heikoksi. Siitä ei oikeen ees ota selvää onko mies vai nainen, ehkä jotain siltä väliltä?
Saatiin ainakin täysin uutta tavaraa itelle. En tiiä onko näillä jollain muulla levyllä suurempaa hittiä. Vähän yllätti, että ovat brittejä. Ihan semmosta tarkkaan mietittyä tavaraa varmaan ja hauskaa tuotantoo, mut ei tällä kyllä kuuhun mennä.
That's not my album. It's vibes are too soft.
I see why everyone clowns on this album. It's like white British Michael Jackson. I have to respect that this is only 38 minutes - if this was released today it would be 3.8 hours long!!!
Me es difícil este estilo de música. Encima medio que todas iguales. Es buen pop, pero todo edulcorado, muy digerido y empaquetado para pegar. 3/10
Nice
4/10
This album is like Prince without the instrumental swagger or the sex, and for that reason it makes me very angry.
Absolutely forgettable 80s chessy pop. Sounds like a watered down Michael Jackson.
one of the most boring album I’ve ever heard
Shows the lows of commercial pop in the 80’s.
Each song sounds like it was created to be on a soundtrack of a terrible 80’s film
A fine example of mid 80s pop with its synths and Fairlights but Green's voice is a little underwhelming.
80-tallets svar på KI-musikk.
Yeah, no.
Did not enjoy. 80s plus baby voice is not a combo I would ever willingly choose.
Yeesh, idk why but this gave me like major weenie hut Jr vibes, not even sure what that means. But it kinda fits.. Sounded like that overly joyous person who enters your vicinity when youre pissed off. They did nothing wrong, but their joy just kinda grinds your gears. This album was that.
4.0./10 Not digging this...
Interesting falsetto sound, just not mine
Funky. Kam aber nicht so gut rein. Die Stimme gefällt mir gar nicht!
01) The Word Girl - 6,5 02) Small Talk - 6,0 03) Absolute - 6,0 04) A Little Knowledge - 5,5 05) Don't Work That Hard - 5,5 06) Perfect Way - 6,5 07) Lover to Fall - 6,0 08) Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) - 6,5 09) Hypnotize - 5,5 TOTAL: 6,00 (60/100) Current ranking: 690/881
I really love reading the history of this band, the punk influence, the Gramsci inspired name, should be awesome and then you get this very soft sad music.
Yet more brit pop. At least this is more synth electronica. Still not amazing but slightly better. Didn't outstay its length, but could have been more engaging. I really was not a big fan of the vocals. Also the only way I can describe the emotion of this is by Fukayama's end of history. this is a record of joy untainted by everything bad since, a record from a perceived, but not actually, better time.
Its like a george michael song but missing the wonderful gay flamboyance
Not my style
Me ha parecido una mala copia del sonido de los 80, es como un meme de la música, los intrumentos (falsos) y la forma de cantar de esa época. Lo malo es que es de esa época. Un dos por lo corto que es.
Didn’t care for this.
Wow that was super boring and annoying. His voice is uber gross and did not like. No need to listen to this before you die.
WHY is this taking up space on this list?? why? it is fluffy, mind numbingly boring, synth/tech 80's brit pop.
Fav song: none Every song sounds the same
Coming off another Brit pop album, So by Peter Gabriel, this album just feels worse in every way, lyrical, production, and general vocal content.
Quite samey not my thing
I have to say that I was very surprised to see an album by Scritti Politti come up. I was about 14 when they came onto the scene and I remember the 2 hit songs, the word girl and wood beez. I was good to hear those 2 again as it bought back some memories but the rest of the album didn’t really have anything of note. This brings me back to my first sentence - I was surprised to see this on the list.
Pretty bland. 2/5
wtf is this super white washed reggae and R&B schlock? Is this here to inform you of the "light rock" this album would influence in the coming years or something? A far better offering for that would be Roxy Music's Avalon (not in this list) Alternative classic from 1985: Dead Can Dance - Spleen & Ideal
Idk it's fine I guess. Bro sounds like Michael Jackson.
this album asks the question, what if we took culture club and made it completely toothless?
Ok 2/5
A very weird mix of Tears For Fears, Wham! / George Michael and Michael Jackson. This trio looked at those artists and copied all the things that made them great, but somehow, the result was just mid and mediocre at best. It's fine if you want to listen to this kind of music, but I'd just rather listen to the originals. 5 / 10
There are worse albums on this list but I’m not sure there’s a more mediocre one.
The source of nearly every iPhone/smartphone notification alert sounds all on one album. You got me, 1001. You got me. Who knew Sritti Politti were such innovators.
Nej, detta var inget för mig. Denna del av 80-tals musiken gillar jag icke. Tråkigt album som inte hade några låtar jag egentligen gillade. Om jag tvingas välja så kanske Absolute. För mesigt och tillrättalagt för min smak.
Careful with this one, you will be trying to wash the smell of the 80s off of you for a week.
Overall: 3/10 So much cheese that I can't poop. Fav Song: Small Talk
Y'know, there *are* a few moments here I dig alright, including some of the guitar work in "Small Talk". But overall, this brand/era of synthpop is about as unappealing to me as can be. 1.5/5
half the album is walmart brand Prince but for boring british people, and the other half is the most inoffensive pop and mid-80s stylings i've heard since the LAST most inoffensive pop and mid 80s-stylings we've heard yawn/5
Feels like something angelica’s mum would listen to
Thank God that ended
felt like one looong commercial jingle
Didn’t like the lead singer but the music underneath was alright
Wish I could hear the vocals more. The mix is almost unlistenable.
3/10
Just not my thing. Dying for a bit of edge or impact and I don't like the vocals
Production feels very Michael Jackson inspired , but none of his charisma or songwriting. No thanks
doodle...doodle... Does me no harm but so meaningless to me. Sounds like George Michael for the poor ;) So many question signs what qualifies this album for the list! 1,5
during the first half i was thinking of giving this a 3 and that maybe everyone was being a bit too harsh... nah this gets really boring by the second half, was annoying me by the end. just the same song over and over.
I really disliked this. New wave synth slop. This is only on here because its British. Yet again. But I can appreciate its decently made.
So 80s .....
2,5
This is super low-energy for an 80s pop album.
80s pop. Idk. Didnt hear anything special that i recognized or would want to hear again
Very 80s
Idk what to say about this except for "meh." I generally like this kind of music, but I kept forgetting this was playing. It's fine, maybe inoffensive, but not something I'd seek out again.
Sounds like pretty standard 80's pop to these ears. They're like a low-energy Michael Jackson, but not objectively awful. 2.1
Prince like Absolute Wood beez
This almost sounds like a British Michael Jackson who didn't care about selling records.
A bit samey, doesn't leave a major impression either way
This is pop turned up to like 11. Never heard of this group before, so I guess I wasn't exactly expecting this. It's almost uncomfortably poppy, if that somehow makes sense. Everything kind of sounded the same as a result too.
Poor album. Not one outstanding song among the mediocrity but borderline enjoyable.
i loved this as a youngin. now it bores me. this is too much of a prince rip-off, and i was probably less bothered by that decades ago. "perfect way" is still pretty good, though. "flesh and blood" is some pretty good brit ska
I hope it is culturally significant because it is typical of the 80s sound. Like, there is a reason stereotypes exist.
This was good for what it is, but absolutely none of my business really. Absolutely 80s, but nothing really amazing about it. Cronky drum machine and effeminate vocals. Perfect Way surprised me as I was familiar with Miles’ version, but I was left underwhelmed.
I was looking forward to this album because I remember the ‘world girl’ track I used to love back in the day. Unfortunately, I think I was experiencing nostalgic deafness because I couldn’t even begin to understand how I could have liked such an awful song. Lyrics and music alike just awful. The rest of the album was just as bad and perhaps a little worse. It was like listening to sugar.
Struggled through this album - the only thing that got me through is I missread the band name as 'Scrotti' and had a little giggle about it A bit like Temu Michael Jackson
Damn, why I thought this was some anarchist punk band? Wonder where that confusion came from.
Hey I recognized one of these songs, "Wood Beez," an innocuous dance track that I used to hear on the radio that obviously didn't really get my attention since I wouldn't have been able to tell you what band it was at the time. This stuff isn't terrible, just uninteresting to me, maybe a bland version of Michael Jackson. Meh, 2 stars
This was a very generic 80s album--nothing really stood out for me and honestly, seems like this music hasn't stood the test of time because the monthly listeners on Spotify is pretty low. With so much great, worthy 80s music in this project I wonder what led to this album's inclusion.
Ochentoso pero bastante pete bro, no hay algo que destaque. No le pongo un uno porque si está de fondo no molesta.
This is not the worst thing I have ever listened to but it most certainly is not anywhere near the best. Fine for the era/what it is. This is also giving me Casio keyboard preset vibes, haha.
unmistakeable 80’s band
Painful to revisit this hallmark sound of the 80s.
Solidly produced pop music. But I have to admit. This doesnt do much for me. I would not change the channel on the radio, but I would also prolly seek out this album actively.
kinda weird but good looking men on the album cover...
Als mensen zeggen dat ze niet van de jaren 80 houden denk ik dat ze dit horen. De synth stabs zijn zo luid, de hele tijd, en niet voor het effect, want dit zijn de meest cookie cutter 80's pop liedjes die ik in tijden heb gehoord. 3/10
61/1089 2.4439* The epitome of 80s music when you think of neon, 80s comedy movies that include light sexual assault (sixteen candles, revenge of the nerds and the like) or 80s movies with a running motif of a skateboarding gang, surfing gang or roller skating gang. They did their thing and created music but I didn't feel any emotion. Synths and bass are the backbone of this album Hits...perfect way
Meeeh
Not for me. It's too pristine and sparkly to my taste.
J'ai pas trop aimé, l'album n'est pas mauvais mais j'ai trouvé la New Wave très ringarde, qui a fait son temps et qui maintenant n'est juste pas très agréable à écouter. Pas pour moi.
46/100. The instrumentation itself is honestly fine. Polished and very much of its time. ut there’s just something about this record that I really can’t stand. I think it mostly comes down to the vocals. They have this whispery, overly delicate quality that reminds me of a Michael Jackson impression turned down to half volume.
"Perfect Way" definitely gave immediate Super Mario vibes, and then searching shows yeah that's a thing.
When someone asks you to play them something good that is quintessential 80s, this not it. Yes it checks all the cheese boxes from that era, but it was a painful listen then…and pretty much remains that today. It’s repetitive and not at all memorable. Except for Perfect Way, which actually came on the radio just the other day. To which I quickly turned the dial.
Very 80s. But was missing that thing that makes great 80s songs great. I don’t know what it was but this just sounded very thin and trite. 1.75
Didn’t absolutely hate it, but pretty dull and repetitive. 2.25/5
One or two ok tracks, but mostly bland
Klarer ikke like deeet! Pappa har prøvd før
Absolutely Sssssssssmooooooooooooooooooooooth. I had forgotten about this bunch until I heard the singles. I brought back the 1980's in a 'Golden Flamingo Milton Keynes Nightclub' sort of way.
I don’t like this it sounds like I should be doing one of those 80s workout classes
C'est de la soupe je ne suis pas allé au bout de l'album ! Next!
not many streams
Album is not very good, but Perfect Way has a melody that sounds like it's out of a Mario game.
13/01/2026 This was very weak, there was nothing to it. It was lucky to get 2 stars. Spotify listeners: 104.3k
Deserves less, but still didn't bore me do death as some (Arcade Fire, looking at you). It was pretty awful though, saved by some funky basslines or synth work. 1.5 should be more appropriate.
Synth-pop unbearable to me. Nothing here, sorry.
Boy, did this not appeal to me.
cut rate MJ
I had no intention of disliking this. But it made it damn hard. I trying clinging to the melody’s and if it had one ounce of something resembling bite I would have perhaps warmed to it. I don’t think the songs are bad but the sound… After having a bit of an attitude change personally to 80s pop, from historically distaste to actually, mainly by being on here, a new found appreciation. But This album is everything that I originally disliked. It is every 80s pop troupe, every production line of the time, but with the emotion and feeling dialled down to less than zero. It’s like this Gartside person is some emotional music vampire sucking the essence out of everyone’s music idea he collects to make his own lifeless pure 80s “sound”. He obviously listened to what was happening and distilled them into this weak, feeble, puny sound. And by it seems enlisting all the top US session musicians to come up with this, WTF. Yeah it should be on the list, then you can say I have heard the nadire, the lowest of how a generations pop music can sound. The reggae beats are barely on life support, the US soul inspired sound is devoid of any form of even basic personality. The vocals are as wimpy as is humanly possible. The keyboards as bleep beep as possible. Resulting in an overall sound that is teeth rotting saccharine. God this is such a limp record, it makes others of the time sound positively hardcore. Its pure limp sugar pop. That there is supposed (wiki says) legitimate lyrical content, if you can stomach the syrup to tell, your of a stronger constitution than me. Again if this is 5 Star to you, good, that’s fine - but I just found the sound on it truly awful, the poster child of the essence of what was bad about 80s pop, this is that album 1.5 Star, and rounded up because I do think there are songs here, it’s just that production, that sound.
No clue why this is on the list. Boring synth pop from the 80’s.
I thought the idea of this project was to experience the 1001 under appreciated albums that are a must-listen to?? If that is too tough of an assignment, maybe we should just listen to the top 101 albums and leave out the 900 that suck. If Richard Marx had started a boy band in 1985 it would be called Scritti Politti. This is awful music. A breathy, soft-spoken guy singing about a love he’ll never find, nine separate times over 38 minutes. The only thing that could possibly make this album/band better would be Will Ferrell on stage with a cow bell.
Not as bad as I feared, there were actually a couple songs I almost enjoyed.
Not for me.
Uh boom boom nap, a tappy tap tap. I didn’t like this.
I reeeeeeaaaaaalllllllyyyy didn’t like it.
Never heard, never will again.
Another boring 80s jangly gay-sounding pop garbage.
Meh
4/10 Best: Wood Beez Worst: All these songs sounded the same to me This album is embodies how I imagine 80s music exactly. Loads of synth, gated drums, men singing in high pitched whispery voices I would never listen to this on my own initiative but I’m glad I did, it gave me loads of nostalgia of listening to the 80s Top of the Pops reruns on MTV with my dad when I was little. However in saying this, It’s not really my thing and I probably won’t listen to it again.
This one just sounded like a generic 80s pop album to me. Clean production, synths everywhere, and nothing that really stood out or grabbed my attention. It wasn’t bad, just forgettable. By the time it ended, I couldn’t tell you a single moment that stuck with me.
For people who wish the QI theme song were longer.
Prince without the prrrrrr Though this confirmed I really do like a Britpop reggae-style track!
😖
ok i guess...
I didn’t enjoy this one bit
Of all the 80's slop on here, this has to be the worst. Uninteresting tracks and using the same synths as everyone else in this decade makes it hard to stand out. At least it was over quick. It has some surprising earworms though, Wood Beez got stuck in my head really fast.
Mind was empty the entire time I listened throughout this album. A veritable mediocre smorgasbord of pop.
So when this thing came out it supposedly was at the height of what could be achieved with production and samples. Sadly that also dates it and doesn't mean it will continue to stand out when a decade later a bunch of other artists make similar sounding stuff. Oftentimes better. The lyrics don't help in that regard, they only describe romances in flowery languague. Ultimately forgettable but inoffensive.
Very meh
Point off for being British
Ridiculous, cringey and embarrassing
The most bland 80’s British pop album to every bland 80’s British pop
Mid band from the 80’s
Fucking lame, boneless Peter Gabriel Highlights: Absolute
Pleasant pop album but very ordinary.
Unmemorable Fave track: forgor already
Boring and forgetful
Fairly boring 1980s Synth-Pop.
Doof
This album feels like floating on a cloud eating candy floss surrounded by pink. The lead singer trying his best MJ impression throughout. Some of the most basic lyrics, but it kind of works. Easy to listen to, inoffensive, a short 38 minutes. Cheesy 80s synth-pop gets a 2.5/5 from me.
as many reviews noted, this is generic 80s music. like if you ask someone to make a 80s album but with only filler tracks.
It's mostly stuff I like in music, but something went wrong
This sounds like someone tried to make a Michael Jackson album but cheap and plastic. Even the lead singer’s voice sounds thin. I could see myself enjoying some of these songs if they were produced differently. They sound like solid pop songs. But the cheesy, pristine sheen on every track is off-putting.
Day 103 Not terrible by any means but not sure there’s anything on here that I’d find myself really wanting to revisit in future 5/10 Highlights The Word Girl Hypnotise
Monotonous wimpy 80’s sounds, while not unpleasant it is not compelling or interesting listening. Maybe there’s some good Marxist or anarchism messages hidden beneath the milquetoast vocals.
Sometimes I have to wonder why an album made it on this list.
This music is very dated. The music is a little busy and it seems to overpower his kind of whispery singing. And that falsetto!
VERY 80s, and a bit bland. Nice enough pop songs but nothing remarkable.
Bit naff. Bit cringe. Not particularly sonically interesting. Tracks were well produced, very polished and smooth. Some songs were alright but I suppose this just isn't the genre for me. Ive not read any other reviews but im 99% sure they will make reference to a Michael Jackson tribute act. Just sort of bang average 80s dance pop. No one favourite track. 5/10
It stinks!
A good example of the cheesy-synth-and-vocal sound from the early to mid eighties, which holds up for a song or two but gets repetitive and boring pretty quickly as an entire album. All you need is "Perfect Way" on your eighties compilation.
Pretty meh. The was some interesting characteristics of stereo sounds on headphones but overall found it cheesy. 2 star
Unfortunately, this pop music didn't work for me.
Wow, this was EXTREMELY 80s. Like a super concentrated dose of 80s. And within that 80s bubble, there's a lot going on here...synth, funk, pop, soul, R&B. I could hear touches of a lot of the vocal and instrumental stylings of various 80s stars too, like Michael Jackson, Prince, and George Michael. I love 80s music, and in fact, I will be the last person to be put off by an 80s sound, but there was something about this album that didn't quite click with me. While absolutely nailing the 80s and succeeding at sounding a lot like other things being made in the 80s, it didn't have a lot of heart. It was missing a spark that brought the styles to life...almost like something that is a mass-manufactured imitation and is posing as a handmade, intimate object. It's hard to put into words. In any case, it was an okay listen! I wasn't unhappy with it, and I certainly wasn't bored, but I couldn't help but feel like this album could be...more.
Very 80s. Upbeat but not particularly life-changing
Pretty bland 80s pop, I think many artists did it better like wham/George Michael or Madonna. Not much to talk about imo
Cute music, but will not rememer this after today.
Vaguely remember this band from back in the day. I had forgotten them for years and if this album is any indication they are still pretty forgettable.
Too 80s (in a bad way) This is totally unremarkable and I can’t fathom why anyone would consider it a must-listen.
Instrumentals are fine but the production is flat as a fart and the vocals are baby pee weak - I'm fuming now I know this was included over any album by Wham! - but it has at least three fine pop songs
Based on their name I was expecting something a little more aggressive sounding. They should consider changing their name… and their sound.
Better than I expected, but I cannot abide that 80s production.
I'm not really sure I've ever heard of Scritti Politti before, but from the opening track (and video) I felt like this was some watered down Brit version of a generic 80s pop/R&B band (I also thought of Milli Vanilli, mainly because of the name similarity, since they clearly were hoping to have more of a Michael Jackson vibe going on, although those painful videos kind of ruined that intention). Sadly, nothing on the remainder of the album disabused me of the generic and outright boring sound; in fact, the most interesting (and perplexing) aspect of this album was reading that the lead singer Green Gartside was heavy into French literary theory and Italian Marxism, and the band in earlier incarnations was an anarchist collective, the name apparently a riff on Gramsci's "Political Writings". How far poor Scritti and Politti fell....
ugh this is not at all what I thought it would be given the name. It's singing dolphins with some synth.
First impressions: Higher pitched male lead voice leaning heavily onto the 80's soft pop/rock with experimental "electronic" components. After finishing the album I think it is just-- meh. Not terrible per say but not one particular song stood out to me. Felt like background music.
The most 80's thing I've never heard haha. If you want to get smashed in the face with new to you 80's this is it. Also best band name ever.
No
Synth new wave art pop with a singer that sound like a Temu version of Michael Jackson & music that occasionally amuses but mostly just bores. Some interesting stuff going on here but not enough to raise it above a 2/5. One of the most dated albums on the 1001 list.
Sounds like a bad Michael Jackson rip off.
ultra sophisticated, ultra smooth, state of the art sounds and grooves for 1985
Extremely 80s. Not really a fan of the "baby" voice. It all kind of blended one song into the other for me.
Not for me. 2/ 5
This may be the most 80s album I have ever heard.
2.5
2.5
1.5
*Cupid Psych 85* To the gripes I had about the Bonnie Raitt album yesterday also apply for today. One of them is the glassy keyboards, which ruled the late 80s, and I can't stand that sound. The other is wheggea... "The Word Girl" gave me nightmares (daymares?) of UB40. Quite honestly most the songs were a bit too light breezy poppy for me (I prefer my synthpop darker like DM) and the glassy keyboards didn't help. There were a couple of songs that I liked most notably "Absolute" and "Perfect Way" and I love opening bass of "A Little Knowledge", I just wish the rest of the song back that up. I'm not absolutely crazy about his voice but if I was more in tune with the music I probably would give it a slide.. I do have to remark about how 86/87 this sounds for 85 which I'll give them props for being slightly ahead of the curve. Overall I have to give it a slight thumbs down, but definitely not the garbage liner some people have claimed this was today. (5.3) ★★½
Overly 80s production, which I don't like, but mostly I am quite indifferent to this album. 2.5 stars
This guy wants to be Corey Fieldman wanting to be Michael Jackson so bad. 4/10
I heard 30 seconds of this and went straight to r/EveryoneKnowsThat to see if Scritti Politti were ever a suspicion. Indeed they were. Far too synthy pop for my liking.
Some good melodies in here, but this is mainly vapid, meaningless, syrupy, commercial pop with god-awful 80s production. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing
this was a rollercoaster. like many others i saw the negative reviews and wondered how a pop album was so negatively received. immediately upon starting the album i was in full agreement with the reviews. everything just felt like a vapid ripoff of stuff better artists were doing. then around the middle of the album there was a few songs that felt like they actually put effort into. then the last few songs they decided to go back to making soulless garbage.
Eh
A little too poppy and recycled
Pleasant and enjoyable, but quite dated and not all that memorable.
Not my thing. Very '80s but not in the good way.
Unoriginal lousy new wave. The 80’s were a blast and filled with guilty pleasure pop, this album fails to compare.
One decent song - Perfect Way - that sounds like it was written for Wham! but they passed. Everything else might as well be the noodling of a fifteen year old whose balls haven’t dropped yet, and just got his first Casio keyboard for Christmas. 1.5⭐️
I don’t like the sound of 80’s pop production. The album was mostly tough to get through, up until the last three songs. Fucking bangers. Though I would not listen to as a whole ever again
Baselines were great but otherwise was ready for this album to be over.
The fadeouts to end every song felt so abrupt. A lot of cool bell tones throughout. Started disliking more as it went on with how repetitive it all felt. Would have rated higher if I were roller skating
So very 80's. Not sure what sets this one apart from myriad albums from the era, other than the anemic vocals. Sounds like what I'd expect from an AI prompted album. Makes me wonder if the generation that pushed this music onto the planet had any option OTHER than to bleed the planet's future dry in a coke-induced euphoric haze.
This is too 80’s for me.
Synth pop, but not on the same level as Tears for Fears
Len Houmous was shocked to meet Scritti Politti! He’d spent his whole life thinking they were a 1950s jazz artist! Fats Domino vibes! He thought they were pulling his leg! 2.4 3/9 Absolute
Not a fan. The influence from Prince, Beach Boys, Michael Jackson is palpable. I should like this, production sounds great, it's fun but it just doesn't do it for me.
2 stars. I saw they influenced groups like CHVRCHES which I can see. It's fine. Prediction rating: 2.4
Album 911 of 1089 Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985) Rating : 2 / 5 I saw a review that suggested if Wham! is a little too hardcore for you, this album might be right down your lane. I’m paraphrasing, but it’s an apt summation in my opinion. Very low-key and gentle throughout. I didn’t feel the need to turn it off, but I also won’t be seeking it out again. Pleasant enough in its way, but not much that stuck with me.
Grandland, HDH - Göppingen, Deutschland. Langweilig.
Not as interesting as I remember. I recall that one of the things that made this album popular at the time was the clever samples throughout the record. Perhaps, time and experience have dulled the impression that this album made, because now it comes off as kind of dull and as much as I try to figure out what was appealing about this record, I can't find it. Sure, Perfect Way sounds like the Michael Jackson track you remember, with Green Garside's vocals up front and clear in the mix. But the other hit from this record, Wood Beez is just uninteresting. Perhaps it's the fact that the songs all suffer from the period sheen of slightly disco pop leaning with the ubiquitous 80s drum sound that make this anachronistic. I just can't imagine vcoming back to this record and finding joy in the listening experience. Absolute is just a slog of a song with it's robotic 80's drum sound - sterile and uninteresting, it renders an otherwise okay tune - lifeless. Nothing against Garside whose vocals are serviceable. It's just this sort of disco pop was meant to die. As I try to find positive things to say about the record, there was only one song that I thought - Hey, this has possibilities today. I think if Lover To Fall was remixed and played live - it might be a hit today. Overall, I get why this might appear on this list of records - there is nothing quite like it in terms of sound, and in that way it is creative. It just doesn't resonate any more.
This made my skin crawl from start to finish. The worst vocals. Crappy mid-80s pop in all the wrong ways. This is everything wrong with music distilled into 38 minutes of pure hell. Crappy synths, early vocoder vocals, soul free. My one bit of enjoyment was mis-hearing one of the verses in "Don't Work That Hard" where he repeated "I got to pee".
One of the many examples of boring 80s New Wave Synth Pop. Reminds me of Michael Jackson, the way powdered milk reminds me of real pasture milk.
Sounds kinda like Temu Michael Jackson. This wasn't memorable for me at all, nor did I enjoy this record too much. Favourite Track(s): The Word Girl Least Favourite Track(s): Absolute
Man I really did not like this album at all. It was hard to get through. Why is this on the list? Why is there so much 80s brit pop on the list? Why should anyone have to listen to this before they die? It sounds like they're trying to be Michael Jackson but just really not nailing it at all.
Not the vibe! I really don’t like Brit-pop. I’m tired of it. One redeeming quality was the reggae inspiration in some songs.
Exactly what I thought it would be like, I was not a fan.
This might be an 8/10 if I didn’t think his voice was so annoying
This list never ceases to amaze me with how many forgettable Brit Pop albums it's able to include. There is not one person in the world that would say this album is their favorite of all time. Maybe it's to teach a lesson about what albums you shouldn't listen to? The list also included some pointless ones so it makes the good ones look even better.
Studio production personified.
1.5 I did find a few positives in the over the top production (maybe an influence to the hyper-pop we see today). Apparently, the lyrics are a bit deeper than they initially appear. But that was a very very tough listen
Did not like this, normally 80s pop can can fun but this was a slog despite it not being very long. Didn’t care for the singing voice and didn’t find anything memorable about the songwriting.
More like Pcritti Solitti, am I right?
Very unconditional melodies, but with typical 80s instrumentation. Pop-y with a lot of moving parts. Not my thing, but really interesting.
More British pop…
It’s like they took all the fun away from Wham! and made this. Definitely didn’t need to hear this
This album is silly, but I didn’t hate it. I know myself well enough that I can freely admit that had I been a teenager in the 80s I would have had this cassette. It’s basically the 80s version of Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Hanson, One Direction. A teenage girl’s dream. I did feel a little guilty listening to it without my hair in a side pony with teased bangs. Finished off with spandex, leg warmers and an acid washed jean jacket. Like the album deserves.
electro Pop, 1985 -> 2
I mean, it's inoffensive but... seriously? listworthy? I don't think so.
What if not good, not unique, and not influential? (You make it into a must-listen-before-you-die list, apparently.) Brother what are we doing here lol.
En kuunnellut kasarilla, en nytkään. Ei paljoa soundimaailma voi kasarimmaksi mennä
Tausta musaa, ei herätä mitään
Typical 80s instrumentation with mediocre vocals.
Ok
I think I thought they were going to be better than this, which is to say, this was pretty poor and I had allowed their quite fun name to make me think I'd be getting a sort of Temu Ah-Ha or something. It was actually offensively bland pop, of the kind that would be hugely disappointing if you'd turned on Top Of The Pops 2 on a Friday night on BBC4, hoping for either a bit of early Smiths or weird-era McCartney, or at the very least some totally insane Bad Manners. But no, you get this. Poor.
It sounded like underproduced Jesus Jones. Light, punchy bass. Lots of 80's synth. Like, I could have dropped any of these songs into an 80's teen movie and it would have felt in place. Nothing stuck, nothing hooked me. I seem to remember "Perfect Way" playing on the radio, or maybe in a movie I saw, but it was just the faintest of memory. The whole thing felt a little like "We wanna be classy jazz players, but we got into a record contract and we have to produce this pop crap." It's all very formulaic, like it's meant to be played on the radio, but //not quite good enough// to hook the kids. My Rating: 2/5. It's listenable, but I'm not coming back voluntarily.
2-3 - very 80’s
Reminds me a bit like a mix of Michael Jackson and New Edition with a New Wave touch. 2/5
EN: Imagine if Tears for Fears were 85% less interesting. This is what this album is. PT-BR: Imagine se Tears for Fears fosse 85% menos interessante. É isso que esse álbum é. 4,75/10
The opening track is a little fun. The rest is anything but
There's nothing but stereotypical 80s music, just not the good stuff. The kind of stuff that frequently pops up on generic radio stations. "Cupid & Psyche 85" is a nice-sounding record, but that doesn't save it from being derivative. Scritti Politti should be ashamed of themselves. I'll stick to more daring and better albums. 2 stars for "Cupid & Psyche 85".
it's like shiddy michael jackson Will I listen to again: 0%
Man, I did NOT enjoy this album! Vocals were an annoying, savage gardenesque falsetto, music was mostly forgettable, 80s soulless drum machine-fueled electronica that sounded like Phil Collins on ambien. Some decent lyrics harkening back to the band's punk roots are the album's only saving grace.
Sugar-coated, gleaming, peak-80s pop. There are some interesting moments and turns of melody, but a lot of the songs and performances felt like name-brand Michael Jackson or something. Not to use a cop-out adjective, but it’s all a bit cheesy. Apparently there’s a narrative on this album too, but I couldn’t hear it over the drum machine.
Kinda boring 80's synthpop. Nothing special, but it made tolerable background music.
Went by quick for me as I did work. Knew nothing about the album going in. Was super disappointed, just not my type.
This is #day329 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… another new name to me. The sheer variety of genres packed into this album is overwhelming: reggae, funk, new wave, and just about every kind of pop: synth-pop, bubblegum-pop, sophisti-pop, you name it. All wrapped in a sleek, polished production that makes for a seemingly musical record… but ultimately, not for me. Though the '80s have been my favorite decade on this journey so far, this one's overly sugary for my liking. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day330.
The just felt really soulless and bland, its very happy...maybe overly so but I bounced off this very quickly
What a surprise a British band that almost no one has heard of and has no right to be on this list and it is one of the blandest, most boring albums I've listened to. I used to think I liked British music more than American, but this list is showing me I dread anytime I see a British band that I don't already know. This guy has terribly weak voice, and they thought they could just get away with writing the same melody over and over again. High 2.
Boring, like if MJ had no energy.
Meh, not my thing... Very synth heavy pop without much im interested in...
Scarily enough, i was debating chatGPT about the merits of this record and it brought it up from a 1 to a 2... but still... it's like 1/4 cup of The 1975 in a barrel of water.
Department store ass music.
Everything wrong with 80s music all rolled in one.. perfect way was slightly better than the rest of this hot garbage
The first few songs on this album were really bland. It got better, but never something I'd actively chose to listen to.
Was excited when i saw this was funk but its like super tedious and surface deep synth pop
Paula Abdul eat your heart out. Not for me at all. Just wanted to skip to the next track all the time. Still better than anything bjork has put out though.
Kinda Michael Jacksoney. thats at least what it reminded me of
fine i guess??
Usually sceptical of 80's bands I'm not really familiar with and this is another example of why. Pretty sedate stuff.
If you’d never heard this album before you’d have no trouble guessing which decade it’s from. You’d also have no trouble spotting the money track Wood Beez. He abandoned Rough Trade Records and his political principles in search of a hit, and you can tell that’s what this is about. He threw every then fashionable production trick at the wall, absolutely all of them; this sounds like the soundtrack to a parody film about the ’80s.
p543. 1985. 2 stars. "Scritti Politti" translates roughly to "political writings" in Italian. It also translates as "dated 80s synths with flaccid vocals". This has not aged well. I cannot imagine any reality where this is essential listening. Saved from 1 star by the admittedly catchy singles.
legalzinho, só.
Not for me. Too much scritti. Not enough politti. Every ditti's dressed up like a pop committi.
This is the type of music played in a video game set in the 80s. Not in a good way, though. Only when the game studio can't afford to get the good 1980s music. The only good thing I can say is that it listenable, but it is extremely generic
Lightweight bubblegum.
Endlessly forgettable.
Sounds like the output of an unsophisticated AI trained exclusively on the Tarzan soundtrack and holiday resort Wham tribute acts
I hate this. It sounds like a soulless, painfully self-serious version of Bill Wurtz.
Not sure this needed to be on the list? Why is it on the list?
2.5/5
Not my jam
not my typa pop.
This just isn't very good. Why would I listen to this when I could just listen to Phil Collins and enjoy it farrrrrr more?
Cheesy breathy boy band hoo hah very much of its time
Had no idea what to expect. Kinda reggae, sort of a modern/Bruno Mars'ish voice on the opening track. And then it got very 80s. SO 80s, and not in an innovative way, but in a beige template way. 2* Flesh and blood had some keyboards that tickled the ear in the right way.
Generic 80s slop but unfortunately for the global rating system I was hungry
There was no bass in the 80's. The transfer from tape to digital cut out all lower frequencies and tight denim squeezed balls under the chin.
Scritti Politti, it seems to me, are always spoken about with a certain level of respect which I've never quite been able to fathom. As someone who attempts to record and produce their own music and who relies more and more on computers and electronic gadgets to do this, I feel I do have to point out that, at the very least, where I might have once dismissed this as a stereotypical 80s lightweight pop sound, I can now appreciate just how much effort and attention to detail must have gone into making a record sound like this - especially mind-boggling to think they did this with 1985 technology. Does that make it a good album though? Not necessarily. I mean, I was born in the mid-70s - I grew up through this music - so there is a certain nostalgia at play here, so I can't deny Wood Beez and The Word Girl hold a certain charm for me, even if I was not massively aware of them specifically back in the day. But there is nothing else here that makes this a special album, there must be something I'm missing. After digging deeper, to the point I even watched a Scritti Politti documentary trying to gain some insight, it would seem Green Gartside considers this particular glossy pop sound to be something he pioneered, and that a lot of other acts and producers started to copy Scritti Politti after hearing this album. It's a bold position, but it's not really one I can dispute - for better or for worse, this particular high-end production sound has come to sum up the entire era like little else, except maybe hair metal. And it would explain the admiration they seem to receive from peers and critics alike. However, and you can probably tell by now I toiled long and hard with how to score this LP, my research also inspired me to check out their first album, after which it all became much clearer. Their Rough Trade debut was a much better record in almost every department - more organic, more melodic, more interesting... While I can offer kudos to Gartside from getting tired of the indie game and seeking to pioneer are slicker sounding pop confection, and pulling it off, I can't award him extra stars for making what, in hindsight, is a really well-produced and impressively slick collection of bang average songs. I feel I'm being a bit generous with two stars, but I veer more towards the "songwriter/producer vision" aspect of what makes a great record than I do the "great voice/proficient musician/great lyrics" argument, so I can live with that!
How did an anarchist punk band from Leeds, with a name inspired by an Italian Marxist and fronted by a welsh art student singing in a falsetto voice over a cod reggae beat played on a Casio keyboard break into the top ten? Beats me too. It’s kind of catchy, and it turns out that the cheap keyboard sounds are actually played on an expensive Fairlight synthesiser (those distinctive brassy stabs are a dead giveaway and date this album precisely to 1985). The 80s truly were a weird time.
Didn't had to check the Wikipedia page to know when this was recorded.
Out of respect for the project, I’m listening to all the 2nd-tier Brit-Pop albums Dimtry included in the 1,000 list. The truth is it’s not very good and, so far, I’ve found 25 albums from 1985 that are not on his list and far better than this. If there were music police, Dimtry would be charged with a crime.
Not my thing
I like a couple songs of their earlier stuff but have never really been a fan of Scritti especially once they moved in the pop direction. This clean pop is miserable to me Rating: 1.7
Ok and not what I expected but unremarkable
I could see this being used in a movie or series, a montage of a bunch of teens being "quirky" as they go shopping. One of them is wearing a windbreaker
Fun
I did Groove a bit to the whole album so is not completely bad
Very well done synthy poppy production of you're into that sort of generic sounding 80's stuff.
It's 80s pop in a very distilled, focused way. Liked the instrumentation and the vocals, but for me it doesn't stand out from the sea of 80s pop out there.
Super cheesy, saccharine, and very much not for me. It’s synthy pop music, it’s upbeat, it’s well produced, and I do not care for this vocalist at all. I’m not really sure what else there is to say about this record. It’s not objectively bad at all, I could see a lot of people enjoying this record, even though I didn’t. It’s certainly a product of its time. I am genuinely struggling to say anymore about it. 2*. Not the worst thing I’ve heard on this list by a long shot.
montage music from a quirky fish out of water 80's movie about big city life