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Provision is the third album by the British group Scritti Politti, released in June 1988.

The album was the band's second top ten hit in the UK, reaching #8, and was certified Gold by the BPI for 100,000 copies shipped.^[4]

Background

The track "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry for Loverboy)" features Miles Davis on trumpet; Davis's 1986 album Tutu had included a cover of Scritti Politti's "Perfect Way" from Cupid & Psyche 85. The tracks "Boom! There She Was" and "Sugar and Spice" feature Roger Troutman on talk box vocals.^[5] The track "Best Thing Ever" was previously released on the soundtrack of the 1987 film Who's That Girl. In an interview with David Gamson, he stated that "Provision took an incredibly long time to make. The initial drum tracks were all recorded with the Synclavier and at that point the Synclav's sequencer was extremely primitive. Lots of inputing kick and snare hits via SMPTE numbers rather than beats and bars. Ultimately, I think we kinda lost the forest for the trees on that album."

The single "Boom! There She Was" peaked at #12 on the US Billboard Dance Songs chart, and #53 on the Hot 100 chart.

Reception

Provision received average to poor reviews upon release. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave it two out of five stars, saying "To be certain, it's a pleasant listen, and several tracks are pretty entertaining, but the music is so lightweight and Green Gartside's voice is so thin that the album virtually disappears into thin air, leaving behind no impression. That is, of course, with the exception of the unresolved question of why on earth Miles Davis contributed a trumpet solo to "Oh Patti." According to Keyboard magazine, “much of the album bears Gamson’s stamp. In fact, his handiwork shows up in virtually every aspect of the record, from programming to sequencing. His crisp, jabbing patches have a poke-in-the-ribs feel that hustles Scritti songs along, and his intricate sequences have established him as one of the most inventive architects on the current dance-pop scene”. Gamson himself was pleased with Provision at the time of its release, saying it “worked much better because Green and I developed our collaboration...I think things are much better placed on the new album...first off, it isn’t so busy”. In later years he acknowledged the negative experience of making the album: “It was the most digital sounding analogue record ever made. The most anal sounding record...which is what a lot of people don’t like about it... It was one long very exhausting grind... I got physically ill at the end of that record because I was so exhausted”. Commenting on the relationships within the band at that time, he said “by that point we hated each other’s guts and didn't talk to each other for ten years”.

Promotion

Three music videos were made to support the album's three singles, "Boom! There She Was," "First Boy in This Town (Lovesick,") and "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry for Loverboy".) Gartside performed most of the promotion for Provision on his own: Gamson and Maher appeared in the video for the first single, “Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy)”, but were absent from subsequent videos. "Boom! There She Was" featured Gartside playing the song live with a band in a large concert venue, while "First Boy in This Town (Lovesick)" features Gartside singing while imagery and videos inspired by the 1950s and 1960s are shown in the background.

Usage in popular culture

The Chilean television network TVN used "Boom! There she was" as opening for the weather report, TV Tiempo, from 1990 to 2009.^[6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Green Gartside and David Gamson; except where indicated

1. "Boom! There She Was" – 5:00
2. "Overnite" – 4:44
3. "First Boy in This Town (Lovesick)" – 4:23
4. "All That We Are" – 3:31
5. "Best Thing Ever" (Gartside, Gamson, John Potoker) – 3:51
6. "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry for Loverboy)" – 4:21
7. "Bam Salute" – 4:33
8. "Sugar and Spice" – 4:11
9. "Philosophy Now" – 4:53
10. "Oh Patti (Extended)" – 6:32 (CD & cassette only)
11. "Boom! There She Was (Dub)" – 7:15 (CD & cassette only)

Personnel

Scritti Politti

• Green Gartside – vocals, guitar (3), vocal arrangements (3)
• David Gamson – Yamaha DX7, Yamaha TX816, Yamaha QX1 sequencer, Oberheim Matrix 12, Sequential Circuits Prophet VS, Roland MKS-80, Roland MKS-50, Synclavier, arrangements
• Fred Maher – drums, Oberheim DMX, LinnDrum, timbales (5)

Additional personnel

• Dann Huff – guitar (1, 4, 7, 8, 9)
• Nick Moroch – guitar (5)
• Marcus Miller – bass guitar (1, 7, 8, 9)
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion (5, 7, 8, 9), timbales (7, 9), congas (9)
• Roger Troutman – talk box (1, 8)
• John Mahoney – Synclavier programming
• Raymond Niznik – Synclavier programming
• Jason Miles – additional keyboard programming (5)
• Joe Mennonna – saxophones (5)
• Mitch Corn – horns (5)
• Miles Davis – trumpet (6)
• Chris Botti – trumpet (9)
• Michael Davis – trombone (9)
• Kent Smith – trumpet (9)
• Andy Snitzer – saxophones (9)
• B.J. Nelson – backing vocals (1-5, 7, 8, 9)
• Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals (1-4, 7, 8)
• Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 7, 8)
• Rory Dodd – backing vocals (3, 4, 6, 9)
• Eric Troyer – backing vocals (3, 4, 6, 9), vocal arrangements (3, 6)
• Mark Stevens – backing vocals (5)
• Diva Gray – backing vocals (5)
• Yogi Lee – backing vocals (5)

Production

• Producers – David Gamson and Green Gartside
• Co-Producer on Track 5 – John Potoker
• Production Coordinator – Susie McKinley
• Engineers – Ray Bardani (Tracks 1-4 & 6-9); John Potoker (Track 5).
• Drum Samples recorded by John Potoker
• Miles Davis Recording on Track 6 by Michael O'Reilly.
• Assistant Engineers – Claude Achille, Stuart Breed, Graham Meek, Hugo Nicholson and Arabella Rodriguez.
• Mixing – Ray Bardani (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 & 8); Mike Shipley (Tracks 4 & 6); Jullian Mendelsohn (Track 9).
• Additional Tape Editing – Bunt Stafford-Clark and Howard Gray.
• Mastered by Tony Cousins at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
• Sleeve Design – Keith Breeden, Green Gartside and Juergen Teller.
• Group Photography – Andy Catlin and Lawrence Lawry
• Objects Photography – Juergen Teller
• Management – Robert Warr at Partisan Management Ltd.

Charts

References