“Hypnotize” by Scritti Politti

"Hypnotize" catches Scritti Politti at their most slippery: a Virgin single that went on to take its place on Cupid & Psyche 85, the band's second album, in 1985. Green Gartside wrote it with keyboard man David Gamson, and the pair produced it with drummer Fred Maher, while Nick Moroch plays guitar and B.J. Nelson adds backing vocals. Ray Bardani engineered and Gary Langan mixed, and Peter Care shot the video.

Billboard's Brian Chin heard it as the most oblique of Gartside's three runs at American funk, further out even than "Wood Beez". The charts weren't buying: it stalled at 68 in the UK and reached 43 on Billboard's dance chart. Years later MusicOMH praised its harder edge and the way it toys with rhythm and melody, calling it one of the most textured tracks on the band's 2011 best-of, Absolute.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.