Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Potentially the most 80s sounding album on this list (yet). Got all the Korg M1 and Yamaha DX7 bells and whistles, and shamelessly unprocessed drum machine sounds. Reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson’s music, except his stuff are actually good. Overall I found this extremely boring. The 80s sound is way too cliché to me, so it has to be stellar if that’s going to fly, and this certainly wasn’t.
I like some 80s music and the vibe but man what a bland 80s record. Nothing to write home about and I'm mostly glad it's over. Weak 2.
snoozefest. ne razlikujem jednu pjesmu od druge a sve su MJ rip-off
Ovaj album ima mitski status u britanskom tisku, ja ga nikad nisam baš shvatio iskreno, a bome nisam ni sad. Zvuči mi ko prosječan 80s pop
Ja, her var det mye lyder. Noe funky MJ-greier. Føles til tider som man jakter powerups og styrer unna bananskall på Koopa Cape Circuit. Synges på både inn- og utpust. I hvilke situasjoner setter man på dette?
Tynne greier, tam vokal (krysning mellom flere 80's vokalisten, men faller litt lavt her) Litt variasjon i sjangere ila albumet (veldig synt 80's pop, til reggae) Lyden i albumet var veldig diskant-heavy med mye synths og el-trommer som ble fort slitsomt (spesielt de første sangene på albumet) A Little Knowledge synes jeg var bra (litt roligere både i tempo og instrumentasjon)
voice is rather annoying i can’t lie, songs are okay
Holy Cliche! This album feels super one note and is oozing with pop. Not bad but not something I can see myself revisiting. It's like synth Armageddon!
this sucks. soulless 80s pop. i've been a real 80s hater the last few days which is strange because i usually love 80s music but this is just. bad.
If you ever need an album that combines all the pop styles of the 1980s for you you should listen to this album I guess. From this perspective, it's of historical value. But I couldn't finish it. The singer sounds horrible I find.
Dated pop music. Standout song: Hypnotize
Yeah it's pretty annoying. 4/10
I wasn't familiar with this band or any of these songs. It's classic mid-80s British pop - pop at its most commercial. It's well produced, considering it was made 40 years ago, but the songs are all just dull and too simplistic pop music. The first one or two songs sounded more interesting (because of the reggae influence) then I lost my interest rather quickly. It is nothing offensive, just way too minimalistic 80s pop music for my taste.
Really 2.5
Not my jam, but it’s kind of fun. 2
# 435 : 13/03/2025 : I don't love it, I don't hate it. Very 1985 and sounds like all the other similar bands of the time. I think sometimes this list feels like things are included just because they were really popular at the time, but does anyone actually still listen to this album?
This was really boring :( felt very the same throughout, all very stale 80s synth sounds..
i am a new wave defender but this one makes it hard
Never had a band name piss me off this much.
Good god this is bad.
For the umpteenth time, this list is way too British.
This album’s vibe is best described as: Super Duper 80’s. Dude even doing his best Michael Jackson impression with those high pitched vocals. Somehow all these songs sound vaguely familiar, but I haven’t heard any of them before. Like these songs could have been in a random 80’s movie, but nothing iconic or memorable like Breakfast Club, we’ll go with something like Police Academy 4 during a montage sequence and nobody noticed. I guess it’s good if you love the 80’s.
meh, too 80s
I kept asking myself why is this on the list. Bad 80s pop then "Perfect Way" came on and it made sense. One hit wonder.
This is a sound I would have liked when I was 14.
I didn't hate this. I can see why people would hate it. I fact, I can't believe I don't hate it. 2.5
This was nice, but not something I had to hear before I die...
A vanishingly insubstantial and utterly disposable, plastic meringue of an album, for which one has no use whatsoever. Its saving graces are two: 1) it's not Metallica and 2) its tepid banality, which seems to approach some horizon of non-existence at several points.
Listening to 'Cupid & Psyche 85' feels like being trapped in a never-ending montage of 80s clichés.
not a 1001, neither a 4004
По мнению А: 2/5 По мнению С: 2/5 ИТОГОВАЯ ОЦЕНКА: 2/5 (16.02.2025)
What is going on here. Ever wonder what would happen if you liked Michael Jackson less? Should not be on this list. There's worse music but this doesn't do anything others haven't done better.
Extremely polished 80s, but not offensively so.
This might just be the most unapologetically '80s album I’ve ever heard. Initially, I wanted to hate it—but somehow, it grew on me. That said, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting it anytime soon. Favorite Tracks: The first three songs are genuinely fun, full of energy and catchy melodies. Unfortunately, the momentum fades as the album progresses. Least Favorite Track: Flesh and Blood is a bizarre clash of ska and ‘80s synth-pop, and the result is pretty rough. It just didn’t work for me. Album Artwork: The cover is undeniably cool—easily one of the album’s strongest points.
There is entirely too much 80s pop on this list.
This is definitely a pop album from the 80s it's not great it's not terrible it's very middle of the road lol there were a couple of good songs but it wasn't too bad
I’m not too familiar with Scritti Politti, but based on what I’ve heard—including this album—I can’t say I find their music particularly enjoyable. It’s tolerable at best. What’s interesting is that they’ve explored styles I usually like, yet somehow, their take on those genres just doesn’t click with me.
хз, чет скучно и однообразно, но расслабляет, мне все равно не нравки
многие сравнивают с wham или depeche mode, но по мне это майкл джексон на диком угаре ))
How is this, in any way, an essential album? I can't find anything beyond super generic 80s pop.
Rubbish
Some interesting bits but a bit meh. Can’t see myself whacking it on again
Felt like the naff kind of cheese rather than the good kind of cheese, I'm not sure why this made the list
Not a fan of this I'm afraid. Usually like this kind of music but this doesn't do much for me. Couple of decent tracks but not something I'd revisit
The sound effects and production sure have aged like unrefrigerated milk, but in a way that sort of gives this album a weird charm. Nobody makes 'em like this anymore - and even if that's just because nobody *wants* to make records sound like this anymore, it doesn't take away from the fact that this is a unique sounding record. Sophisticated and smooth one moment, cheesy and saccharine the next, but most of all, listening to this album is an act of musical archaeology.
All a bit meh, really. Couple of nice shiny 80s pop songs, but ultimately forgettable.
Sucky 1
artificial and soulless. very appreciative that this was a short album because i hated every minute of this.
Straight 80’s and not very memorable, other than be straight 80’s.
2.5 out of 5. A track here and there be ok but a whole album is tiring
Instrumentation generally good, although dated. Singer’s voice is annoying as hell. Would not recommend.
Didn't finish it. Way too 80's.
This sounded like if Boy George was a regular white boy
Meh
This album makes me tired. I don’t want this. I don’t feel any part of this. Not the beats. Not the vocals. Feels disjointed to me. Not a phan. 2/5
Like if you gave AI a prompt for forgettable, generic 80s pop rock
This was a weird experience. Because I really like the vocals. Dreamy and ethereal. But almost across the board I didn’t like the music/instrumentation that they put underneath. 2/5
Better forgotten 80s
Sounds like they were feeding off Janet Jackson scraps. (No idea who came first - I’ve done no research)
Perfect Way is incredible. The rest is meh.
Scritti ma nittis
It feels like a cross between Wham! and Thomas Dolby. But a lot more dated. NEXT. Top tracks: "The Word Girl," "Small Talk"
just your average 80's band making average music
Sounds like a Michael Jackson impersonator got cocky and tried to make their own music.
Well that's 38 minutes and 49 seconds I'm not getting back. Light and cheerful, which is generally to my taste, but utterly unremarkable and a complete let down after the madness the list has been serving me lately.
Dès les premières secondes on est plongé dans la pop 80’s dans tout ce qu’elle a de plus daté, inoffensive, énervante, laide, oubliable. Tous les clichés de cette époque sont là, et rien ne nous est épargné en matière de synthés daté, de basses ringardes et de solos de saxo. Ca n’a pas grand chose à faire là et aurait du être oublié avec le passage aux années 90, même si le syndrôme de Stockholm peut fonctionner sur certains titres (le rythme de “The World Girl”, c’est à dire le preset “Reggae” d’un synthé bontempi, “Small Talk” coche toutes les cases). Disons que cet album est la forme finale et chimiquement pure de ce style de musique. J’en prends note, 2 pour l’effort mais pourvu que je ne croise jamais plus sa route.
Well I was confused as Luke had previously said he likes Scritti Politti and this sounded a lot like Michael Jackson ballads. Apparently they were more experimental at another time. I didn't love this. Dragged on. mopey 80s
Was not what I expected and I was not a fan.
The term ‘meticulously constructed’ gets thrown around a lot these days, but I think that a great example of how something should be ‘meticulously constructed’ comes from a mid-Eighties Single, which reached No.6 on the UK singles charts by a British act who were initially associated with the Punk movement but who had moved towards a more New Wave sound. I am, of course, talking about Tom Robinson’s War Baby, which is an absolutely perfect song in terms of how it’s written, performed, produced, everything. One the aspects I think is particularly interesting about it is how deceptively simple War Baby’s construction is, the song itself is a simple Pop song structure, verse chorus bridge etc, and rather simple instrumentation, a simple bass and drum groove, a keyboard marking the chord changes, occasional guitar chords used for emphasis, and then a sax providing lead runs and melody. And yet, the way the production works to make this simplicity work, the little touches like the guitar echoing Robinson’s voice in the chorus. And that’s not even mentioning my usual favourite topic; needless to say the lyrics are fantastic, evocative and melancholy, profound and elusive. The whole song sounds like it was crafted by artists at the very top of their game, doing their best to elevate each idea to the top of it’s potential. On the side of the spectrum, we have ‘meticulously constructed’ to mean, ‘well there sure are a lot of instrumental parts on this, and they’ve sure got a lot to do.’ Cupid & Psyche 85 sounds so busy all the time, it’s maximalist in the very worst way in all aspects but one. I’ve literally just finished to the album as I write this, and my genuine reaction was ‘Is that it?’ It just fades out, on a song that sounds exactly like every other song on the album. There’s no attempt to create a big album closer, it’s just a regular song, that just fades and then nothing. I don’t even like this album and I feel cheated. I’m not sure if I dislike it enough to give it a one, there was nothing egregiously wrong with it, but it gives me the same feeling of self importance that most Prog Rock does, a sense of the grandness of the construction of the music without the understanding of what makes good music interesting
solid 80s pop. kinda boring tho
Perfect Way is the only song that works. Otherwise this album is garbage.
Boring pop.
It's not offensive to my ears like some of the albums on this list but damn it feels derivative. Maybe it felt more inspired when it came out but now it sounds like the ghost of 80s music.
This album reminds me of Cliffhanger, a Sylvester Stallone / John Lithgow classic. The movie is so bad that it’s awesome. This album? Not awesome, but the extremely bad, textbook example of 80s music emits a certain nostalgic feeling. These guys leaned in HEAVY to all the latest synthesizer noises. And the drum machine. So bad, I almost found enjoyment.
Wow that was so '80s
British new wave, where everything sounds the same (bad). Stand-out: Wood Beez
Not for me. Will Lee on bass is always great though.
A bit too fey for my tastes.
Bubblegum pop - not really new wave.
About as "unremarkable, horribly aged 80s music" as you could possibly get before imploding into a black hole. If Breakfast Club had become an entire franchise, one of these songs would have played in the Direct-To-DVD sequel "Breakfast Club 6: Vernon's Revenge". So overproduced it makes your ears go numb. It's almost like a parody.
Had its moments, but not enough.
I wasn't really feeling this. It may have felt novel when it came out, but came off as a bit generic to my ears on this listen.
I like British Pop, but this was a bit too Brit-Poppy for me. Favorite Song: "Small Talk"
Definitely not for me
like almost any other 80s Record. Still liked a few songs more or less but overall doesn't add light to my room...
They had one hit off this album, and I haven’t thought about them in 30 years. Not great.
This sounds like the songs of a made up boy band on a tv show from the 80s.
I think I may be lactose intolerant, because the amount of cheese in this album gave me the shits.
Why?
Boring.
блюз 3/10
If this isn’t the most sugarcoated, made for the charts, junk food music crap I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is. They wanted so badly to be Michael Jackson. I hate to break it to them - no one is. Was there substance here? Maybe. But I was so turned off from the music that I didn’t really listen to the lyrics. It just felt like they took what was on the American charts and decided to copy it. And that the author of this list (a Brit) heard that in his younger days, loved it, is nostalgic for it, and threw it on this list. It didn’t need to be here. I didn’t need to hear this. Please god let there not be any more of them on this list. Two stars. Standout Track: Perfect Way
Pfff, melow in a bad way, and I hate that Seinfeldbass
Vá hvað öll lögin á þessari plötu eru alveg eins. Þau renna öll saman í eitt og það var bara einu sinni þar sem ég heyrði að það væri komið annað lag að byrja sem fljótt varð svo aftur eins og hin. Pínu leiðinleg lög líka því miður
Mehh
It’s okay
Most of the songs sounded the same to me. I could see why Perfect Way was a hit but nothing else on the album really stood out.
När jag skriver det här dagen efter, så inser jag att jag inte minns något av albumet mer än att det var beskedlig bakgrundsmusik
This is way too saccharin and sweet for my tastes. Fave: Small Talk
Oof, my new wave rehabilitation hasn't stretched this far - this is way too poppy for my taste - I get that it's kinda pastiching pop music of the time, but still. 😒 Fave tracks - "Flesh & Blood" if that's allowed, as it's straight up reggae. "The Word Girl" as a a runner up, due to the dubby flavor - would have enjoyed this album a lot more if they went dub on every track...
So 80s. So below average. I did not enjoy this.
It was alright, singer had an interesting voice and it was a pleasant listen. Don't feel much need to return to it, the word girl might make a playlist but I don't know which one
It's... fine. I can't really imagine listening to this again in the future. 2.5 / 5
kinda like prince but worse
Very quirky album. Is it reggae? Is it indie rock? I can't really pin this one down. I don't think it's as bad as this website would have you believe, but it's a little too all over the map to make a real impression on me. Favorite tracks: The Word Girl, Don't Work That Hard. Album art: Extremely boring, just the band name stamped a couple of times. Moving on. 2.5/5
Not really for me though I did enjoy the weird vocal effect near the end of Absolute. Honestly feels like an entire album of Michael Jackson uncanny valley.
Every song sounds like the last. Not bad per se, but doesn't really belong on this list.
Not my thing at the time, only slightly more bearable now.
Kinda boring. Doesnt fit on the list
Not horrible, but did not need to be on this list.
Absolute was a nice trip down memory lane, but other than that, this was not enjoyable at all. Eighties pop at its worst.
Most basic of 80s albums
The eightiest album on this list
Never heard the album before. I think The Word Girl and Absolute were hits here. I remember some other parts. Maybe they were used as background music somewhere. I can't stand the singing. Makes it almost unlistenable. I'd swear I heard autotune on this record, but it hadn't been invented yet for another 10 years or so. Favorite song: Don't work that hard.
Wtf!
Eh, not my speed.
Sickeningly saccharine. No idea why this deserves a spot on the list. It's not horrible, compared to some other albums on here, but it just doesn't stand out or appeal in any meaningful way.
This album was not very enjoyable. I was thinking that I would be more excited for a Brit-pop album but I found this to be pretty lackluster. Wouldn’t have this in my rotation.
A bit boring, not really my style, but not terrible.
This album doesn’t transcend the decade like some of the albums on the list. I thought it was solid, but being so jarringly 80s would keep me from putting any songs on a playlist or anything. It is cohesive, but maybe too cohesive in that it’s too niche, for me at least.
Between the heavy synth drums and the lead singer’s voice, this one didn’t cut it for me. It wasn’t the worst, but it definitely wasn’t that memorable. From what I read, there are samples throughout the album and that’s why it’s influential, but the only thing that sounded familiar was a potential Mario sample.
Sounds like reggae? weird. I didn't love it, but I see why some do.
Crystal Light National Aerobic Championship anyone? Just like that video, this is disturbingly mesmerizing.
I feel like this is an album that had potential for one or two songs to make it big because they are classic sounding however the rest was just so boring and I really don’t see how they’re influential. I’m not disgusted or anything I was just bored.
Not my cup of tea!
Forgettable
Yeah Cupid & Psyche 85 is terribly 80s :D and not in a good way, it's a very dated sound, doesn't do any of the genre's better things, just sits there and doesn't achieve anything. Not annoyingly bad, not even average, it's a low 2.
This one did nothing for me
Tosi Michael Jackson tyylistä poppia. Ei mitenkään ihmeellistä.
Meh. 2/5
Liked Wood Beez back in the day and there are a couple of decent tunes here but nothing that matches up with the big hit.
Meh
Mid 80’s chart pop - exactly the kind of stuff I hated back in the day.
Ik denk dat team Scritti Politti stiekem tijdreizigers zijn, want dit album klinkt alsof ze A.I. hebben gebruikt om muziek te genereren met Michael Jackson als zanger. Track 1 is UB40-muziek met Micheal-zang, track 2 is Prince-muziek met Michael-zang, enzovoort. Een vleugje George Michael zit er ook wel in. Waar ik Prince al gedateerd vind klinken is het op dit album helemaal hommeles met een bak hele goedkope synth- en drumcomputergeluiden. Zo'n track als 'Don't Work That Hard' is bijna een persiflage. Vooruit, het is geen tyfusherrie of kattengejank en daardoor is het wel te luisteren, maar dit hoort niet in een lijst als deze. Ik heb in een lade tegenover me een Telekids cd liggen die een plek in deze lijst meer zou verdienen. Qua makkelijk wegluisteren zou ik een 3 kunnen geven maar ik moet in de geest van deze queeste toch een vol punt in mindering brengen omdat je dit absoluut niet hoeft te horen voor je je ogen voor de laatste keer sluit.
Didn't find it that bad but I cannot justify 3/5 compared to other ratings I gave. Not sure if it should be on the list.
Hyper overproduction. It was just sounds they liked looped over whisper singing. Campy 80s
80s sucks ass
This was in 1 star territory for the first 10 seconds but to its credit opened up into something much harder to hate.
Pretty bottom of the bucket 80s pop. Made for TV movie quality, not Hughes film quality
Nope. I have no need for music like this. It's a great example of an album that I need not hear every full song. This was so against my music DNA that it hurt. I don't doubt that it warrants inclusion, it's just simply grating to me.
Never heard of it, and I now wish that was still the case. I'm not supposed to have that much sugar without a shot in the gut. I'm sure the 14 year old girls in 1985 were squeeing with delight.
Nice laid back easy listening pop-rock up front. A quite dated 80’s sound though, getting boring over the whole album
סביר מינוס 2
Nahh
An ok album
Aight this is ass. Don't get how this one made the list
I do understand this, I really do. I even respect it. But it’s not for me. Especially after having just done Princes’ 1999 a couple days ago. Nothing in this album stands out from its 80’s pastiche
1.5/5
Not my favorite 80s album.
Sounded like the same song on repeat
Sounds like the synch-related 80's
This is forgettable 80's pop.
Pritti shitti.
Not a great inclusion. Rounds the week off appropriately though, what a rough run of albums.
Cut price Michael Jackson sings the soundtrack to a generic 1980s fish-out-of-water comedy.
Clearly out of time, standard rhythm of the 80s. It all sounds like Janet Jackson and similar artists of the time.
It's got that deep 80's sound. It's kind of a hard listen, it just doesn't break through the walls with me. There are a million albums from the 80's that sound just like this. It's generic, canned synth-pop cringy love songs.
Very boring, pretty bad. What is this album doing on this list? It's much worse than usual 80s stuff, just a waste of time really.
listened 1x. 1.7/5. not really interested in this, but not bad.
This album is so quintessentially 80s...I don't mean that as a compliment. I feel like I'm trapped in a bad screening of the breakfast club while listening to this. There's some interesting instrumentation with the synth and the bass but it doesn't do it for me. It's a very pedestrian album for the decade.
я бы послушал синглы а это слишком приторно алкоальбом: суперслкадкие конфеты с коньяком
Шо-то как-то пресно. Как будто все поп-клише, ухудшить, и выпустить.
80s Brit Pop. Nothing outstanding, so no album for the 1001 List
Sorry maybe needed to spend more time with this, but just got middle of the road 80’s music from first listen, almost a poor man’s MJ that I can’t be bothered coming back to this.
"Perfect Way" is a decent song in a mix of '80s pop. And I generally love me some 80s pop. But listening to this whole album was a bit of a sugary overload in some way, and I found myself somewhat annoyed by the cutesy-sounding vocals. Maybe just because I was sick and grumpy when listening.
Pop con sintetizadores. No me ha gustado. Un 2.
A slog to get through, outdated 80s pop songs that all sound the same, doesn’t that sound amazing? Shocker, it really wasn’t.
many of the songs sound like what you hear when the credits roll for any popular PG movie made between 1985-1991. I know it is a sound they innovated but I think in its pure form it was a dead end, but as used by some pop musicians it was influentual.
I remember SP from the 80s. Wasn't a fan then. Not a fan now.
Ah. It’s a collection of 80s disco light-hearted synth-based half-arsed love songs. Most certainly not my thing. There’s nothing I’m actually repulsed by, and there’s even some stand-out synthy sections. But overall, it’s really nothing more than what I outlined in the first paragraph.
Competent but boring. No interesting ideas. I suppose the synths were maybe newer for the time, but this is still a snooze fest.
File under 'hasn't aged well'. Hard to listen to, stock early synth sounds ("Orchestral Hit" preset), tons of reverb, and I just didn't enjoy the vocal styling.
What is this. Shitty 80s androgynous music. Nothing worth remembering. 1.5 stars, it did not make me actively hate it, but it came close.
Relentlessly dance-y.
Sounds like they were setting out to make an album with only radio friendly song. The result is an album where no song stands out.
I didn't really like Scritti Politti when this album was released, and I still find the excessively smooth production, lightweight pop stylings and Green Gartside's vocals a bit too much. But maybe over the years my dislike of this album has moderated. I can see why this is considered an album one ought to listen to, though I really can't give it a strong rating.
This was inoffensive but nothing really stood out
This is what 80's music sound like to people who don't like 80's music
I thought I would like this but it feels like I'm trapped in a department store. Every song virtually sounds the same. Not worth being on this list, or really being an album.
Meh. Perfect way is okay but everything on this album sounds the same.
There is a British bias on this list when something as unremarkable as this 80s pop is on the list
Thin and forgettable.
There is definitely a lack of bass on this album. A classic 80’s sounding album. On the other hand, there isn’t anything really catchy with the songs. It really seems like they were greatly fortunate in getting a hit with Perfect Way. Oddly enough, that song was the only song that broke them from the same monotonous sound. Choice Cut: Perfect Way
Sounds like eightes pop, quite dated
Uninteresting 80's british pop. Not worth another listen.
Too much too much too eighties. And it all sounds the same. Nothing worse than a critic playing snob! ⭐⭐ because 80's have good things!
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die...If You're British?
1985 hätte ich das sicherlich abgelehnt, jetzt fand ich es gar nicht so schlimm. Aber ich glaube, in dem Stil gibt es aus der Zeit Stücke, die mir besser gefallen.
The 80’s called, and Tears For Fears still reigns supreme 2/5
Netter Pop, Leadstimme klingt weiblich. 2S.
Weak production and perfunctory lyrics. Skip it.
Best Song: Perfect Way. If you squint, you can almost imagine that Michael Jackson is performing a better version of this song. Also, you can't tell me that the piano at around 3:00 isn't straight out of Yoshi's Island. Worst Song: Absolute. The buzzing effect is extremely weird. It sounds like I'm being courted by hallucinogenic bees. Overall: Music that seems to have scrubbed itself completely free of any discernible soul. This is the epitome of that heartless, bubblegum aesthetic of the 80s that I can't stand. Music for cosmetic surgeons.
The only reason this wasn't 1 star is because my wife recognized and liked one of the songs from her childhood.
Every song sounds the same and that one song is just not very good.
I mean it was quite of its time I think. I thought I'd accidentally put one song on to play over and over...
2 stars. doesn't do much for me.
just okay to me, probably won't return to it.
Budget Wham!
This is starting to get fatiguing with its chirpy 80s poppiness. Those synths sure are tiring. Hang on. Wood Beez. Is that The Beach Boys' "God only knows" floating around in the background? Yeah, absolutely no clue why this is regarded as a "must listen" album.
You know, I never liked Scritti Politti when they first came out. I appreciate having a chance to reassess them all these years later, but I've got to say that my opinion hasn't changed. The band is going for this sort of fizzy and soulful pop vibe, which is mostly pretty bland. Limp vocals, shallow lyrics, and an attempt at soulfulness that rings very, very hollow. The songs that were released as singles are tolerable, but there's a lot of filler here. Fave Songs: Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin), Perfect Way
Super corny 80's garbage.
Its like Kmart wham. I would say Marshall's but its still around.
I know this should be in my wheelhouse, but ooof. Just too light and flighty. Its like straight out of a bad 80's movie montage sequence.
play that funky music white boy
Kinda forgettable. Favorite song was Wood Beez
Synes egentlig det var ret catchy, men lidt benløst
Very forgettable 80s Brit Pop. Nothing really stood out or interested me
Not even 1-worthy 2
Not terrible but really repetitive brit pop. Not really for me.
Def a time and place kind of music. Kind of Prince -esk 80's in sound. Unlike Prince, every song sounds the same. Very copy/paste for tone. I appreciate they kept it to 38 minutes.
Heel veel hetzelfde deuntje. Wel aangenaam verrast door het reggaenummer plots
Demasiado simplista y ochentero. Sintetizadores para aburrir. Algo bailongo y con ritmo. Canciones un tanto parecidas. Artista totalmente desconocido.
Reggae light? Nope. Mid-80s pop, electro-dance-pop, etc. Michael Jackson wanna-be? Pretty sure by 1985, every single person in the UK had put out an album just like this. Highly recommend listening to Thomas Dolby's THE GOLDEN AGE OF WIRELESS (1982), which blows this out of the water. Overall review: this album is inoffensive shit. ⭐⭐ because of clean production. __________________________________ 🎧 # of LPs reviewed: 18 🎧 # of LPs left to review: 983 🎧 # of LPs I found great/relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 4 🎧 # of LPs I *might* include in my own list: 7 🎧 # of LPs I will certainly *not* include in mine: 4
Nah. Nope. Just run of the 80’s mill synth driven blah. He should have listened to what Matt Johnson / The The was doing with synth music at the time then gone home and reassessed his choices.
Completely forgettable. Not sure why I had to listen. Forgot to rate, and had to listen to the first song again just to remind myself what the album was.
inget vidare tyvärr. men finns sämre musik.
Decent 80s jams here but then the singing starts and ruins it. 1.54
This wasnt fun at all.
Didn't really notice that it was playing, very unmemorable.
Some fun funky instrumentals, but sometimes they get a bit too 80s cheese for me. The vocals I just dislike unfortunately. They're whispery and whiny at once somehow.
Chill ass album.
What I will give this album is its choice of instrumentation - the synths are notably distinct in timbre from other LPs of this era, and clearly influence some of the more nostalgic throwback electronica today. However, good instrumentation is worth little without solid melodies, and this album is severely lacking in anything beyond Muzak-level songwriting.
woof.
I didn't like Scritti Politti in '85 from what i heard on the radio. Revisiting their sound and album doesn't improve today. The 80's style electronic beats don't age well and the waifish vocals start irritating me quickly.
2,5
Ei kyl lähtenyt
Every song belongs in a different bad 80s movie.
Did not like this. It felt very one note and bland.
Too British
Super corny, repetitive beats, but I didn’t despise it, makes okay background music.
#57. A.I. prompt: What would it sound like if Boy George, George Michael, and Micheal Jackson were the same person, and the Boy George² Michael² Jackson abomination made the most boring album possible? Ooh, also give me some gibberishy rhyming name similar to Milli Vanilli or something. Oh man. Scritti Politti? Geez, thats worse than i could have imagined. Ok, perfect. Now send it out into the world and see if anyone notices its not real. 2/5: meh
Didn’t draw me in.
I just couldn't get into this one much
I dont think Absolute was actually about a girl ;-) Not good at all
It is generic 80s music. The dial did not move much. Nothing was recognizable and there is no desire to revisit this album, any song or this group again. There are certainly worse albums on this list, but it was tolerable. I will round up.
Pure trendchasing. Absolutely nothing on here that would set the standard or influence other artists. The synths are Prince-lite and barely fit the songs, and the lyrics are bland cliché after bland cliché. Virtually nothing in the hook department either, which is incredibly dissapointing for and album trying so blatantly to be a pop smash.
Thought this was gonna just be a mediocre 80s record that was over hated but it was a crappy 80s record instead. 4/10
This was fine - wasn’t particularly bad, just very bland, turned it off about halfway through as I just wasn’t vibing with it
It’s very 80’s That is the best and worst thing I can say about it
This sounds like all of those forgettable songs you hear in mediocre 80’s movies.
this album boldly asks the scandalous question, \"what if michael jackson didn't have access to good producers, writers, editors, or talent?\"
Did not vibe to this album at all, though the first track got my hopes up that it'd be a ska/reggae album haha. Not a horrible listen, just really not my thing. 2/5
This album feels extremely generic, and gets to the point where it is trying to cash in on the success of artists like Prince and just the Minneapolis sound in general. The issue is that this a British white guy, so it does rub me the wrong way ethically. Outside of that, however, the music sure is from the 80s. Artificial sounds aplenty, and reeks of cheese, but it is inoffensive. The album flies by, and I'm 100% sure one or two songs played without me even noticing. Sounds like their EP "4 A Sides" is something far more worth listening to, but we'll see if I get around to it ever.
De jaren 80 zijn bij mij altijd hit & miss... dit is één van die misperen dan.
Niks mis met jaren 80, maar dit is me toch iets te frivool
Tja, daar zit je dan met je lekker 80's liedjes, die in 2023 toch niet zo heel boeiend meer zijn. Het 'gevoel' is wel lekker retro, maar met alleen gevoel maak je niet direct muziek die de tand des tijds weet te trotseren.
it's the most 80s thing you'll ever hear!
2-
Deze mensen zijn wel heel erg blij met de aanschaf van hun synthesiser. Je hoort bijna niks anders, zelfs de mummelende zang valt weg ergens naar de zijkant, om maar vooral dat takkeritme en die flutloopjes in de schijnwerpers te zetten. De Frans Bauer-test: zou ik liever Fransie opzetten dan dit? Dat ook weer niet. Dus een 2.
Ik hoor een beetje Michael Jackson, een beetje Prince, een beetje George Michael. In hun jaren-80-extra-valse-lucht-periode. Met nadruk op een beetje. Er is onvoldoende signatuur om echt op te vallen. Of iets in het hoofd te laten hangen. En dan wordt dit toch gewoon een jaren-80 deun. Dacht dat daar al genoeg van in de lijst stond?
Ongelooflijk typische jaren 80 met vlakke drumbeatjes uit de computer, een pulserend basje die ook zo uit de computer weg is gelopen en continu synth geluidjes. Af en toe volgt er een schurende gitaar om de boel wat op te leuken. De stem houdt het midden tussen een zeikerige Britse zang en een kruising tussen Prince en Michael Jackson. Het is bizar gedateerd en doorstaat de tand des tijds absoluut niet. Toch is het nog best onderhoudend, al lijken alle nummers vrijwel identiek. Het klinkt herkenbaar (uit de jaren 80 dan wel te verstaan) zonder echt een hele grote hit te zijn geweest. "Absolute" komt me wel bekend voor, maar als het zelfs al geen top2000-materiaal is, dan vraag je je toch af wat dit in de snob1001 doet.
Never heard of this band before. Usually enjoy 80s music but there was a reason I’ve never heard of Scotty’s potty’s and it’s because it’s pretty boring. Nothing on this album stood out to me. It had the makings to have one good hit but I never heard it. 4.5/10
Discovering an artist you've never heard of before can be an exciting journey. I was thrilled to stumble upon Scritti Politti's "Cupid & Psyche 85." However, as a fan of New Wave, I have to admit that this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. The album, spanning 40 minutes, had a consistent sound throughout, which gave me the impression of listening to the same thing on repeat. While some New Wave albums offer a dynamic range of sounds and emotions, this one seemed to stick to a single formula.
I wanted to like this, I really did. Have heard good things about Scritti Politti and their place on the 80s new wave, but whereas I can go back to ABCs Lexicon of Love and really enjoy it, I just can't with this. All the vibe and production is there but the tunes aren't, from the first faux reggae beat right at the start I kind of wanted it to end. Absolute was pretty good and I increased in hope but then lost it again. There is some strangeness in WoodBeez which is vaguely interesting and there's some off kilter lyrics here and there but not enough to keep me coming back. What I find weird is for a band that Wikipedia says had several hits off this record, and me growing up in the 80s, why have I no memory of any of these songs? A curio, really.
I wasn't into this kind of music in the 80's and I'm still not.
Pure 80's cheese. For all the synthpop sensibilities of it's time, this tends to be the most unremarkable. It's be done better by more talented people.
This album's sound transports me right back to the mid-80s when it was released. It sounds very much of that time. It wasn't really my style back then but I can appreciate it a bit more now due to the passage of years. It's very much in the pop vernacular of the mid-80s, and I don't really love it (too synth-y for me) but that's a matter of personal preference, not a reflection of the band's abilities.
Menudo rollazo ... como Prince ñoño, sin gracia.
Echt wel saaaai
Gartside's voice sits in saccharine space, an uncomfortable premise never quite achieved or rejected. Morbidly fascinated, I can't end seeing the album as anything other than fairly dried-out.
I’m sure they are giving important political messages but unfortunately I switched off to the boring samey tones
not for me, although I did like a lot of the very 80s production, the songs weren't really there to back it up
The songs on this album are unoriginal Michael Jackson-era pop at best and weirdly quiet and creepy at worst.
15th September 2023 Listened in the day, Mary Ruth and Rosie came round. Fish and chips in the evening. Classic 80s pop sound like wham and bananarama. 2.5 if I could.
couldn't finish
A budget Michael Jackson.
about as 80's as you can get. think lilt adverts, synth brass and slap bass
Definitely polished 80s pop. Good, but almost too cookie cutter? Sounds like it was made in a factory. Enjoyable, but I don't know, it didn't resonate with me.
I know it's a cliché, but I prefer their earlier stuff. I love Green's voice, but find this all too polished, and a bit mannered. Some good tunes on here but I got a bit bored after a few tracks. Sounds very much of its time.
2.5 It’s not bad just didn’t care for it.
This is the rare pop album with basically no real melodic hooks or actually catchy songs. Dozens of 80s pop albums that absolutely destroy this, from the actually good of a-ha and Tears for Fears to the mediocre-but-at-least-some-catchy-songs Wham!. Tempting to give it a 1 honestly, but I'm a sucker for cheesy 80s synth music. Plus it's definitely not quite as bad as my other 1s (some of which are getting very near to being actual crimes against humanity)... Just very much not good, no need to listen to ever again. 2 it is. Time to listen to some mediocre (but still infinitely better) 80s synth-pop to clear my mind.
Honestly pretty good Brit Pop, so in the end it’s Brit Pop, and I have to take a star off because of the over-saturation of Brit Pop on this list.
Vähän kuin olis kuunnellut MJ:tä ilman groovea. Pikku kekkulissa ei jatkoon, tuskin muutenkaan.
Nyt vierähti vähän liian pitkä tovi kuuntelun ja arvostelun välillä, et varmaks en osaa sanoo. Muistelen kuitenkin, et päällimmäisenä ajatuksena oli ”loppuispa tää levy jo”?
No thanks (80's Prince knock-off?)
A strange 80s pop/synth/electro album that isn't too bad, but doesn't really grab me at all. Thankfully it's a short album and I didn't have to endure that for very long. Best: Absolute Worst: Don't Work That Hard
Not for me
Well, I made it through it. Not terrible, but maybe not my cup of tea first thing in the morning
Didn’t get anything out of this
This sailed perilously close to being a one star stinker.
quién elige estos discos?
Was this an album of just one song?? If you like that song, great! If you don’t, gotta say it’s a little dull.
i was there in the 80s, this record is somehow emblematic of much of the style (overuse of electronic drums, tinny slap bass, wall to wall synths) and yet not very good
Pop
This was alright, but I am just not that into this kind of synth pop.
A punk band turned into the worst of the 80s. Back to the British bent of this list.
Had to work to get through this one.
1.5 really not amazing. Maybe a COUPLE okay PARTS but overall yucky
Sounds like MJ, but I like it better...?
C- The Word Girl - 3 Small Talk - 2 Absolute - 2 A Little Knowledge - 2 Don’t Work That Hard - 2 Perfect Way - 3 Lover To Fall - 2 Wood Beez - 2 Hypnotize - 2 This was okay. It was WAY too 80s. Wasn't horrible though.
4/10 gros pop electro brit pas tant plaisant
Not for me.
Very typical mid 80s new wave pop synth music. Nothing on this stood out to me as ground breaking or amazing.
Classic 80s sound but couldn't find much joy with essentially a one hit wonder.
Top 3 Songs: 1 - Wood Beez (8) 2 - Perfect Way (6) 3 - Hypnotize (9)
It’s weird to listen to an album with nine songs that all sound the same and somehow only one is good. 2.5 stars
Mmmeh
Pop con sintetizadores. No me ha gustado. Un 2.
Menudo rollazo ... como Prince ñoño, sin gracia.
Another synth-pop band from the 80's I avoided. Until now, never listened to more than a couple songs and it's so bland I don't need to hear anymore. Kind of a British poor-man's version of Michael Jackson, though Scritti Politti seems to lack Mikey's passion and emotion and it's not my kind of music.