Scritti Politti Anomie & Bonhomie CD

After a nearly eight-year hiatus, Scritti Politti returned to release an album in 1999, an event that seemed as unlikely as seeing Kevin Rowland in hold-up stockings. However, like Rowland and David Sylvian, Green Gartside risked his credentials as an '80s icon for an additional postscript in the '90s. ANOMIE & BONHOMIE, Scritti's fourth album, suggests that the times had changed more than Gartside. But glossy pop will never be out of fashion and nobody did it with as much verve as Scritti on CUPID AND PSYCHE '85. Although not quite on par with its predecessor, ANOMIE & BONHOMIE is well worth the wait, especially when it ventures to extremes.

Reminiscent of the polished PROVISION, "Umm" bursts at the seams with ideas, and "Here Come July" is a gleeful new-wave rush. Conversely, "First Goodbye" is as unashamedly tear-soaked as "Oh Patti" 10 years before, and "Brushed With Oil, Dusted With Powder" is an opulent swoon that namechecks Highbury Fields and Hollywood. Such contrasting perspectives lie at the heart of the highlight--"Tinseltown to the Boogiedown"--where the youthful rapping talents of Mos Def, Lee Majors, and Me'Shell Ndegeocello are enlisted for a moment of irresistibly funky pop.

Fans of Scritti Politti's synth-pop-funk masterpiece Cupid & Psyche 85 may be shocked by how far afield Scritti mastermind Green Gartside has gone since then. Anomie & Bonhomie, his return to recording after a decadelong absence, ranges from guest shots by rappers and funksters such as Mos Def and Me'Shell Ndegeocello to Foo Fighters tributes. Gartside's trademark breathy vocals and spot-on melodicism do find their places here, but are often forced to make way for other influences. EMI. 2005.

Recorded at Baby Monster Studios, New York, New York and Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles, California.

Personnel: Green Gartside (vocals, various instruments, guitar, E-bow, scratches); Me'shell Ndegeocelo (vocals, bass); Mos Def, Lee Majors, Jimahl, Redcloud (vocals); Allen Cato, Wendy Melvoin (guitar); Vere Isaacs, David Dyson, David Gamson (bass); Abe Laboriel, Jr., Juju House (drums).

Rolling Stone (2/17/00, p.57) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...replaces Scritti's big synth'n'drums clatter with 21st-century samplers, guitars, strings and MCs who flip from post-grunge to hip-hop ...