Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)
| "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Scritti Politti | |
| from the album Cupid & Psyche 85 | |
| Released | February 1984 |
| Format | Vinyl, cassette tape, Compact disc |
| Recorded | December 1983 |
| Genre | Synthpop |
| Length |
3:34 (7") 4:48 (album) 5:54 (Version) |
| Label |
Virgin Records (UK) Warner Bros. (US) |
| Writer(s) | Green Gartside |
| Producer(s) | Arif Mardin |
"Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" is the first hit single for British group Scritti Politti. It peaked at #10 in the UK singles charts, becoming the group's first Top 10 entry there.[1] It appears on the group's album Cupid & Psyche 85 and was produced by Arif Mardin. The song's subtitle is a reference to "I Say a Little Prayer", Aretha Franklin's biggest UK hit, which was also produced by Mardin.[2]
Style
Writing in a 2011 interview with Green Gartside, Robin Turner said:
In April '84, "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" crackled over airwaves from Anglesey to Arizona like an alien radio transmission beamed out to an unsuspecting planet. A gleaming, chromium nugget molded by ultra-modernist studioheads, it heralded in three and a half minutes the dramatic, bravura transformation of a band called Scritti Politti. Formerly a DIY squat punk band, they were now a group doused in glinting pop sheen. ... The resultant LP, Cupid and Psyche 85, yielded a string of radio-slaying singles ("Wood Beez...", "Absolute", "The Word Girl" and "Perfect Way") that segued fluently between ultra-slick robotised funk and meticulously constructed swoonsome lovers rock. Huge sales followed.[3]
Other versions and uses
The extended version which is subtitled "Version" appeared on the CD version of the album and on the 2005 compilation 12"/80s which prompted AllMusic to call its inclusion "smart"[4] and Pitchfork Media too praised its inclusion, noting the extended version's "ultra-brite (p)op-art stabs and gimmicky samples are a mini-essay in mid-80s remixing-- as well as on what the 80s did to punk."[5]
The song appears in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City's fictional radio station Vice City FM.
Track listing
- 7"
A: "Wood Beez" – 3:34
B: "Wood Beez" (Version) – 4:43 (an edit of the "Version" which appears on the 12")
- 12"
A: "Wood Beez" – 4:50
B: "Wood Beez" (Version) – 5:54
- 2.5" CD (released 1988)
- "Wood Beez" – 4:50
- "Small Talk" – 3:36
- "Wood Beez" (Version) – 6:00
References
- ↑ Reynolds, Simon (2009-04-02). Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Faber & Faber. pp. 394–395. ISBN 9780571252275. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ↑ Wilson, Greg (2005). "Credit To The Edit Volume One: Track by Track". Electrofunkroots. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ↑
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/12-80s-mw0000342210
- ↑ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2072-1280s/