The Top 50 "Sophisti-pop" albums according to RYM

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Simply filtering down their all-time list to include only "sophisti-pop" with its child genres. And that makes a pretty fine list IMO :)

http://rateyourmusic.com/customchart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=album&year=alltime&genre_include=1&genres=sophisti-pop&include_child_genres=t&include=both&origin_countries=&limit=none&countries=

Poll Results

Option	Votes
ABC: The Lexicon Of Love	10
Scritti Politti: Cupid & Psyche '85	8
The Blue Nile: A Walk Across The Rooftops	4
Aztec Camera: High Land, Hard Rain	3
Sade: Diamond Life	2
The Style Council: Our Favourite Shop	2
Tears For Fears: Songs From The Big Chair	2
Prefab Sprout: Jordan: The Comeback	2
The Blue Nile: Hats	2
Edwyn Collins: Gorgeous George	1
Sade: Stronger Than Pride	1
The Style Council: Café Bleu	1
Scritti Politti: White Bread Black Beer	1
Prefab Sprout: Swoon	1
The Pale Fountains: Pacific Street	1
Prefab Sprout: Steve McQueen	1
Orange Juice: The Orange Juice	1
Aztec Camera: Love	0
Simply Red: Stars	0
Black: Wonderful Life	0
Working Week: Working Nights	0
Orange Juice: Texas Fever	0
Swing Out Sister: Get In Touch With Yourself	0
The Kane Gang: Miracle	0
Claudia Brücken: Love: And a Million Other Things	0
Hipsway: Hipsway	0
The Style Council: Confessions Of a Pop Group	0
ABC: Alphabet City	0
Basia: Time And Tide	0
Aztec Camera: Stray	0
Hue & Cry: Remote	0
Presuntos Implicantos: Ser de Agua	0
Matt Bianco: Whose Side Are You On	0
China Crisis: What Price Paradice	0
Everything But The Girl: Eden	0
Furniture: The Wrong People	0
Swing Out Sister: Kaleidoscope World	0
China Crisis: Flaunt The Imperfection	0
Sade: Promise	0
Love And Money: Strange Kind Of Love	0
Swing¨Out Sister: It's Better To Travel	0
The Blue Nile: Peace At Last	0
Scritti Politti: Provision	0
Prefab Sprout: Protest Songs	0
Simply Red: Picture Book	0
Haircut 100: Pelican West	0
The Pale Fountains: From Across The Kitchen Table	0
Prefab Sprout: Andromeda Heights	0
Danny Wilson: Be Bop Mop Top	0
Danny Wilson: Meet Danny Wilson	0

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 4 October 2009 12:03 (sixteen years ago)

Prefab Sprout

― Alex in NYC, Sunday, 4 October 2009 14:05 (sixteen years ago)

blue nile, hats

― akm, Sunday, 4 October 2009 14:33 (sixteen years ago)

Went for "High Land Hard Rain" myself, but lots of strong albums up there. Particularly Scritti Politti and Prefab Sprout have some strong contenders, but the two 80s Blue Nile ones are also nice.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 4 October 2009 14:42 (sixteen years ago)

And "Lexicion Of Love" too of course is great.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 4 October 2009 14:42 (sixteen years ago)

Some good albums on this list, but it's hard to compete with Cupid & Psyche 85 or Provision (went with the former, barely).

― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Sunday, 4 October 2009 16:03 (sixteen years ago)

rong Pale Fountains album

― meisenfek, Monday, 5 October 2009 21:55 (sixteen years ago)

What is this? Like, mid-80s Brit wash?

― Giorgio Marauder (I eat cannibals), Monday, 5 October 2009 22:32 (sixteen years ago)

Well, it may seem MOR/AOR/Adult Contemporary at first glance, but most of these albums are considerably more musically complex than what they may see on the surface. But sure, they are made by technically competent musicians, and those who find that clever=boring will not enjoy much here.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 10:45 (sixteen years ago)

lots of records here i like

today, probably walk across the rooftops

wrong PF album? they're both up there..

this list reminds me that the black album is total crap save for the title track and 'everythings coming up roses'

― lorax & order (electricsound), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 10:48 (sixteen years ago)

those who find that clever=boring will not enjoy much here.

More boring=boring tbh.
Voted Blue Nile.

― zing me to sleep (onimo), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:12 (sixteen years ago)

Well, I can agree that some of these albums fall on the wrong side of MOR (Simply Red, for instance), but most of them are really sophisticated stuff that people with a bit of musical schooling will find a lot of interesting details in.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:29 (sixteen years ago)

Scritti "Songs to remember" should be up there.

― Mark G, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:33 (sixteen years ago)

Apparently not considered sophisti-pop by RYM voters. And, well, maybe not. I guess sophisti-pop requires a bit more keyboard dominated sound than that album has. Probably the same reasons why the two most famous Orange Juice albums aren't considered sophisti-pop either.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:35 (sixteen years ago)

No Joe Jackson then?

― Mark G, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:37 (sixteen years ago)

Plus "High land hard rain" isn't dominated by keyboards by any long chalk. (non a pop at you geir, just..)

― Mark G, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:38 (sixteen years ago)

Furniture: The Wrong People

I think I'd like to hear this record one day. This is the one with 'Brilliant Mind' on it, I'm guessing?

― Gunther von Hagen Daas (NickB), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:40 (sixteen years ago)

Jim Irvin and Sally Still have maintained their own partnership. After the demise of Furniture, both joined Melody Maker as journalists writing under pseudonyms - "Jim Arundel" and "Sally Margaret Joy" respectively.

Was just googling and, duh, I had no idea about this.

― Gunther von Hagen Daas (NickB), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:43 (sixteen years ago)

Only one Basia album? And way too far down the list. Pity.

― I HEART CREEPY MENS (Deric W. Haircare), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:43 (sixteen years ago)

i keep reading this thread title as Scottish-Pop and wonder why Geir is doing it.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:48 (sixteen years ago)

Claudia Brücken: Love: And a Million Other Things

good luck tracking that one down.

― mark e, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:50 (sixteen years ago)

Scotland are pretty well represented there tbf.

x-post

― Gunther von Hagen Daas (NickB), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:51 (sixteen years ago)

Scotland had a very good scene for this kind of pop in the 80s. Started with the Perfect Pop label and developed from there.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 12:59 (sixteen years ago)

No Avalon, no credibility

― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 13:36 (sixteen years ago)

Scritti Politti: Cupid & Psyche '85

― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 14:26 (sixteen years ago)

I have never heard of "Sophisti-pop" before.

― Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 14:37 (sixteen years ago)

That Furniture album has a track on it called "I Love Your Shoes" which showed up on a cassette someone made for me 20 years ago. What a great, great song. There are a couple of other tunes on the you tube which I like but I've never seen either of the band's LPs. Are they half as good as that track?

― ellaguru, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 14:58 (sixteen years ago)

There are some albums I am missing here, who would have fit in with the rest. "Avalon" is already mentioned, I would also say that Japan and pre-1988 Talk Talk should have been in here. (Maybe even 1988 Talk Talk although they were probably closer to art pop and even ambient/experimental at that time)

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 21:06 (sixteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― System, Wednesday, 14 October 2009 23:01 (sixteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― System, Thursday, 15 October 2009 23:01 (sixteen years ago)

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