Around the time of Cupid & Psyche 85's release, Scritti Politti mastermind Green Gartside was fond of citing deconstructionist theory as an influence on his subversion of boy-meets-girl lyrics. He might just as well have named Elvis Costello, given the trenchant nature of bubbly-on-the-surface pop tunes such as the single "Perfect Way" ("You want a margin of error for two") and "The Word Girl" ("The girl was never real / She stands for your abuse"). With veteran Aretha/Dusty/Bee Gees cohort Arif Mardin on board for several cuts, and contributions by pop subversives such as Fred Maher and Robert Quine, Cupid remains a classic of hyperintelligent post-new-wave pop funk. --Rickey Wright
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
On their second album, Scritti Politti essentially was Green Gartside, who directed drummer Fred Maher, keyboardist David Gamson, and a multitude of studio musicians through a state-of-the-art, immaculately constructed set of catchy synth pop on Cupid & Psyche 85. The results are as impressive as Songs to Remember and produced the hit singles "Perfect Way" and "Wood Beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin)."
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