''Early'' is a 2005 compilation by Scritti Politti which collects singles and EPs recorded in the first years of the band's existence, during its early incarnation as a DIY

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

act characterized by an experimental musical approach and

Leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

political concerns.AllMusic (review)
/ref> Following these recordings, leader Green Gartside would abandon the group's

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

leanings and attempt a more commercial musical direction.

Music

The group's sound on these early recordings has been described by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

as "scrappy, taut, and forthrightly experimental in style, utilizing abrupt changes, rhythmic displacements, and gritty and discordant harmonies tempered by Gartside's sweet vocalizing of impenetrably obscure lyrics, vaguely political in sense but temporal and abstract in meaning." ''

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

'' characterized these songs as "what happens when you combine

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, art school, and post-punk

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 1979: A rickety, alien pulse, as made by a band that insisted on printing the production costs of every single on the sleeve."Pitchfork
/ref>

Track listing

All tracks written by Green Gartside, Nial Jinks, Keith Morley except tracks 12–13, written by Green Gartside.

Original releases

*Tracks 1–3 from "Skank Bloc Bologna" single (1978) *Tracks 4–7 from ''Work In Progress 2nd Peel Session'' (1979) *Tracks 8–11 from ''4 A Sides'' (1979) *Tracks 12–13 from The "Sweetest Girl" single (1981)

Personnel

Scritti Politti

* Green Gartside – vocals, guitar *Nial Jinks – bass (tracks 1–11) *Tom Morley – drums (tracks 1–11)

Additional personnel

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming pa ...

– piano (track 12)

References

{{Scritti Politti 2005 compilation albums Scritti Politti albums Rough Trade Records compilation albums Post-punk compilation albums