Wait, Is It Supposed to Sound Like That?

This is one of two posts.

It's the initial recorded output of Scritti Politti.

Shut up.

You're dead fucking wrong.

No, really.

First Peel Session (1978)

For the general public Scritti Politti was a mid-80s synth-pop/dance group that had a couple of top ten hits with "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" and "Perfect Way" which are as perfect an encapsulation of terrible 80s production as you could ever find.

It's the sound of pastel colors, baggy tshirt and an ozone depleting amount of hairspray.

This is about as far from that as you can get.

This is a boot of their first Peel Session from May 12,1978.

It's a very disjointed sound. It's the sound of Art School kids living in squats. 

For me that's a big "Fuck Yeah!"

It's like they're all playing different songs at the same time.

(This is also not my rip or anything like that. A well connected friend passed it on to me. I return the favor and pay it forward as it should be.)

Skank Bloc Bologna (1978)

Their first proper seven inch. 

A lot more coherent than the Peel Session and something that I can listen to over and over again and have over many years.

 

(It's unfortunate that I don't seem to have done my own scans for these. When I ripped them a while back I didn't have a scanner. Perhaps if I feel like it in the next few months, I'll fix that.)

The cheaply printed sleeves have a very strict accounting for all the money spent in order to make the record like the good Leftists they were.

 

It's on their own St. Pancras label and a precious 2500 were all that were pressed.

I couldn't really say which song I love more. "Skank Bloc Bologna" or "Is & Ought the Western World" though the third track is less essential being some instrumental music over a bit of BBC Radio.

This is absolutely my jam.