Provision (album)

Provision
Studio album by Scritti Politti
Released	June 1988
Recorded	1987–1988 at Minot Sound, Atlantic, Hit Factory, Right Track, Sorcerer Sound in New York; Britannia Row, AIR, Townhouse, Sarm West, Swan Yard in London
Length	39:33 (LP) 53:14 (CD)
Label	Virgin (UK) / Warner Bros. (US)
Producer	Green Gartside and David Gamson (except "Best Thing Ever" was co-produced with John Potoker)
Scritti Politti chronology
Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985) Provision (1988) Anomie & Bonhomie (1999)
Singles from Provision
"Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry for Loverboy)" Released: 1988 "First Boy in This Town (Lovesick)" Released: 1988 "Boom! There She Was" Released: 1988

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C+[2]

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.^[3]

The track "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry for Loverboy)" features Miles Davis on trumpet, whose 1986 album Tutu included a cover of Scritti Politti's "Perfect Way" from Cupid & Psyche 85. The track "Boom! There She Was" features Roger Troutman on talk box vocals. 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, "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."

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
• David Gamson – Yamaha DX7, Yamaha TX816, Yamaha QX1, Oberheim Matrix 12, Sequential Circuits Prophet VS, Roland MKS-80, Roland MKS 50, Synclavier
• Fred Maher – drums, Oberheim DMX, LinnDrum

Additional personnel

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion
• Chris Botti – trumpet
• Dann Huff – guitar
• John Mahoney – Synclavier
• Joe Mennonna – saxophones
• Jason Miles – keyboard programming
• Marcus Miller – bass
• Nick Moroch – guitar
• Raymond Niznik – Synclavier
• Kent Smith – horn
• Andy Snitzer – saxophones
• Roger Troutman – talk box
• Mitch Corn – horn
• Mark Stevens, B.J. Nelson, Fonzi Thornton, Tawatha Agee, Rory Dodd, Diva Gray, Yogi Lee, Eric Troyer – background vocals

Charts

Album

Chart	Position
UK Albums Chart[4]	8
U.S. Billboard 200[5]	113

Singles

Single	Chart	Position
"Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry for Loverboy)"	UK Singles Chart[4]	13
"First Boy in This Town (Lovesick)"	UK Singles Chart[4]	63
"Boom! There She Was"	UK Singles Chart[4]	55

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Christgau, Robert (March 14, 1989). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved April 29, 2013.
3. "British album certifications – Scritti Politti – Provision". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Provision in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Search
4. "Chart Stats - Scritti Politti". chartstats.com. 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
5. "Provision - Scritti Politti | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved May 23, 2011.