In the midst of my mp3 player's shuffle mode while driving home recently (mainly a whole load of recent Polish Balearica from Jazxing/ Glok and Andy Bell/ Holmes and Unloved/ Rheinzand et al) a blast of 80s pop came on and it sounded like the clouds parting and skies opening, a genuinely uplifting and breath taking moment.
At some point early in 1980 Green Gartside had a complete collapse before a gig where Scritti Politti were supporting The Gang Of Four (thought wrongly to be a heart attack it turned out to be a panic attack). He retreated to his parent's house in South Wales to recover and rethink everything. He'd lost interest in the independent and punk scenes, and listening to funk and soul, Chic, Aretha Franklin, early 60s pop, he realised pop music was what he wanted to make- real pop music made by humans with passion. For Green, this wasn't selling out, cashing in or dumbing down.
It took a while to get the rest of Scritti around to his way of thinking but it happened. His sister's record collection, exposure to U.S. radio stations while in Florida with his parents and then hearing the new hip hop sounds coming out of New York shifted things further. Songs To Remember came out in 1982 on Rough Trade and then after moving to Virgin, in 1985 they released Cupid And Psyche 85. Which is where this song comes in...
Absolute is a huge sounding, glossy, multi- coloured piece of 80s pop, a love song about a 'girl to make a dream come true' who can 'kiss away the meaning of the working day'. The synths swirl around, never quite feeling on solid ground while the cavernous mid- 80s drum sound booms and cracks. Green's vocal is sublime, Green singing as sweetly as he can, the lines not quite being exactly where you think they might be- they swim around a little, lighter than air, like that first flush of love maybe. Gorgeous stuff.
7 comments:
I'm off to see Scritti next week with the Mekons in support. Presumably Green didn't to risk another Gang of Four related panic attack so went for a different Leeds post-punk outfit.
Interesting that Green wanted to move to a more 'soulful' and 'real pop music', as i found 'Songs to Remember' infinitely more soulful and real than 'Cupid and Psyche' or 'Provision'. While technically clever 'Cupid and Psyche' seemed to represent the plasticity and contrivance of 80's pop. Perhaps that was the point? What would Jacques Derrida say?
-SRC
This is one of those timeless songs.
Ernie- I haven't seen Scritti, quite envious of that gig. And yes, best for Green to avoid GOF, Mekons much safer.
SRC- I know exactly what you mean about Songs To Remember. And I nearly threw Jacques Derrida into the post but decided against it
Webbie- isn't it. No one would use those drums if they were re-recording Absolute now but they're so part of the original record I'd miss them if they weren't there.
Brilliant- Ravi
Scritti Politti, in September 2021, was my first post-COVID restrictions gig after 19 months. It was, pardon the pun, the perfect way to get back into things. Highly recommended if the band come close to Manchester in the coming months........
I agree with all of the above comments about the song and album, adding that I think Absolute also has one of the greatest 12" mixes, an exemplar of the 1980s approach to extending tracks.
Sad that I missed Scritti last year and can't make it to either of the two Scritti/Mekons '77 gigs but hopefully it'll happen one day...!
Post a Comment