Cuts You Up
"Cuts You Up" is a song by English musician Peter Murphy, released in 1990 as the second single from his third solo studio album, Deep (1989). The song became Murphy's most successful release, topping the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Album Rock Tracks charts.
| "Cuts You Up" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Peter Murphy | ||||
| from the album Deep | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Beggars Banquet | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Simon Rogers | |||
| Peter Murphy singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Cuts You Up" on YouTube | ||||
The live versions of the song appear on the B-side of "You're So Close" (1992) single and Alive Just for Love live album, released in 2001.[1]
Background and recording
"Cuts You Up" features a melodic violin line over a bed of acoustic guitars, keyboards, percussion, and bass guitar.[2] Peter Murphy described the song as "having a very driving, acoustic quality to it and lots of sort of hooky, melodic overtones to it with a not-so-straight lyric." Producer Simon Rogers stated that "Murphy brought the song to the sessions in more-or-less its final form," describing it as "pretty much exactly like the demo."[1]
Murphy also visualized the violin part that runs through the performance and used a sample. Rogers recruited a viola player to play the line. Nevertheless, he was not satisfied with the live recording of the strings, stating that "it didn't have the atmosphere and was too moody." The sample was eventually retained for the finished release.[1]
Reception
Commercial
"Cuts You Up" was the second single from the record. It became a modern rock hit in United States in 1990, spending seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[3] It also charted on Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number 55 and number 10 respectively.[4][5] The single sold over 250,000 copies in three weeks in the US.[1] Following its success, Deep reached number 44 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[6] "Cuts You Up" also charted in Canada, peaking at number 41 on the RPM Top Singles chart,[7] and in Australia, where it reached number 96 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[8]
Acclaim
Ned Raggett of AllMusic described the song as "a love song with solid energy and an inspired vocal" and "a perfect calling card for the album as a whole."[9] Allmusic staff editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine also labeled the song as "Bowie-esque."[6]
Annie Zaleski of Billboard.com described the song as "striking and mysterious" and "Lyrically, the song is poetic and elliptical, with vague references to something profoundly transformative that provokes soul-searching."[10]
The track was listed as number nine on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs chart.[11][12]
The track was also featured as number 40 on PopMatters' "The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the ‘80s" list.[13]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cuts You Up" (Edit) | 4:13 |
| 2. | "Roll Call (Reprise)" | 8:20 |
| 3. | "Cuts You Up" | 5:24 |
| 4. | "A Strange Kind of Love" (Version II) | 5:20 |
Personnel
- Peter Murphy – vocals, lyrics, mixing, design, samples
The Hundred Men
- Terl Bryant – drums, percussion
- Eddie Branch – bass
- Paul Statham – guitar, keyboards
- Peter Bonas – guitar
Technical personnel
- Simon Rogers – production, acoustic guitar; mixing (2-4)
- Ian Grimble – engineering
- Steve Rooke – mastering
- Alastair Johnson – recording
- Roland Herrington – recording
- Nick Rogers – mixing (1)
Charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[8] | 96 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] | 41 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[4] | 55 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[3] | 1 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[5] | 10 |
References
- Thompson, Dave. "Peter Murphy – Cuts You Up". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- "Peter Murphy – Deep". CD Review. 6 (7–12): 180. 1990.
- "Peter Murphy Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
- "Peter Murphy Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- "Peter Murphy Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Peter Murphy". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9138." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 196.
- Raggett, Ned. "Peter Murphy – Deep". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- Annie Zaleski (12 October 2018). "Why Peter Murphy's 'Cuts You Up' Was One of the Biggest Alternative Hits of the Pre-'Nevermind' '90s". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- "Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- Annie Zaleski (12 October 2018). "Why Peter Murphy's 'Cuts You Up' Was One of the Biggest Alternative Hits of the Pre-'Nevermind' '90s". Billboard. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
When flashing back to the idea of '90s alternative, one song that might not come immediately to mind is Peter Murphy's "Cuts You Up." However, the second single from the ex-Bauhaus frontman's 1989 album Deep was a massive hit. "Cuts You Up" spent seven weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart (then called Modern Rock Tracks) starting in February 1990 -- back when the chart was still in its very early days -- and ended up ranked No. 9 on Billboard's all-time Alternative Songs chart.
- Gerard, Chris (1 October 2015). "The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s". PopMatters. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
