Required listening
M. DeCillis | New York, NY | 10/27/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have always been made fun of for my fascination with Scritti, but then I always saw them as a changing entity loosly held together by Green's changing musical moods/accomplishments, not just as the pop group of Cupid. His lyrics have always been great to read, and weird to hear-a satisfying suprise of non-conformist writing. As deconstructed as the early work is, it makes sense not only for the time in which it was written, but it also fits with the whole Scritti catalogue. Cool stuff, and fun to listen to."
Good stuff
alexander laurence | Los Angeles, CA | 03/25/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Scritti Politti was always popular in the UK. They were known as a student band from Leeds that had much to do with bands such as Wire and Gang of Four. Green Gartside went on to do more popular music in 1985 with "Perfect Way." He was lumped in with people like Duran Duran and New Order, people he had nothing to do with. Scritti Politti always seemed a bit smarter than all that. They had a song called "Jacques Derrida." It sounds are minimal and may have something more in common with bands like Au Pairs and The Slits, than some of the punk bands they were inspired by. They were living in a squat in Camden Town back when this was recorded. Camden Town was not the nice place it is now. Some songs are a bit throwaway. They used radio broadcasts on one song instead of vocals, which sounds like an early case of sampling. Other songs song like jazz noodling. Only "The Sweetest Girl" sounds like a real song, and has anything to do with their later work. This is a record for all those post punk completionists.
"
Cover
Elspeth | 06/14/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Sweetest Girl was covered by Madness -- a great tribute to this amazing band."