Squeeze: Classic Or Dud

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Pub-pop classic or drab dud? Over to you...

Tom, Saturday, 27 January 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I hardly know any of their music. I do like "Up The Junction", though.

Robin Carmody, Monday, 29 January 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

People don't even seem interested enough to chime in on this one, so it's looks like a sub-dud. I liked almost all the songs on the singles comp a lot, but I haven't listened to it in probably five years.

Mark Richardson, Wednesday, 31 January 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Yeah, it seems Squeeze are a forgotten band. Which is interesting in itself. Anyway I think the singles compilation is muscular and fine.

Tom, Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

This is one of those times when I'm not sure how good something is (in this case, the band) but do know that the singles comp is one of those albums you put on and get taken away to a special place. So: Classic for nostolgia.

JM, Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

two weeks pass...
Classic!

the pinefox, Tuesday, 20 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

two years pass...
singles 45s and under was one of those perennial favorites of late-eighties american college kids (along with bob marley's legend or bat out of hell). so i wonder if one of the reasons why there is a dearth of posts is because those of us in my age group just got exhausted with them.

anyway, they were classic in their first incarnation -- after east side story, the quality drops off even faster than post-dance gary numan. what made squeeze pretty interesting is how they were at their best when they had one foot in the pub and the other in the studio, as opposed to being strictly one or the other. which may be why i like the first two (but esp. cool for cats) best -- they sound exactly like a bar-band that's been let loose in a fancy studio, only it works ("slap and tickle," "take me i'm yours," "goodbye girl.")

Little Big Macher (llamasfur), Tuesday, 21 October 2003 06:11 (twenty years ago) link

Unleashed J Holland on the world, whatever yr take on implications of that

dave q, Tuesday, 21 October 2003 06:16 (twenty years ago) link

j holland got away with saying the f word on national TV one decade before slash and two decades before bono!

Little Big Macher (llamasfur), Tuesday, 21 October 2003 06:20 (twenty years ago) link

after east side story, the quality drops off even faster than post-dance gary numan

Only briefly. Their mid 80s output hardly consisted of masterpieces, but their, mostly overlooked, 90s output was mostly just as brilliant as the "Cool For Cats"/"Argybargy"/"East Side Story" trilogy

Of course, "hipsters" would accuse them of sounding dated, which is bullshit because they were kind of retro oriented already during the late 70s.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 21 October 2003 13:33 (twenty years ago) link

Oh please, people, Squeeze are undeniably classic.

Mike Ouderkirk (Mike Ouderkirk), Tuesday, 21 October 2003 17:08 (twenty years ago) link

Squeeze, during their Cool For Cats/Argybargy/East Side Story peak, are among the best pop/rock bands of all time. CLASSIC!

Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 21 October 2003 18:43 (twenty years ago) link

A band that is quite good is The Squeeze.

10 Roddington Place, Tuesday, 21 October 2003 19:45 (twenty years ago) link

"Of course, "hipsters" would accuse them of sounding dated"
i find that hard to believe. i was listening to the singles 45s and under LP just last week and my friends and i were surprised at how well the sound had held up. i suppose you can't put an expiration date on a kickass hook though (unless you're eiffel 65).

Felcher (Felcher), Tuesday, 21 October 2003 19:49 (twenty years ago) link

Almost ever worse than background music... and then yes, you gotcher "Cool for Cats" type cuts that just make your ass shake in that arched-eyebrow drunken low-class WASP kinda way... CLASSIC

Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Tuesday, 21 October 2003 21:02 (twenty years ago) link

I'd take fucking "If It's Love" over half the shit ILM talks about.

Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Wednesday, 22 October 2003 01:52 (twenty years ago) link

ten months pass...
Quite good.

the squeezefox, Sunday, 22 August 2004 23:32 (nineteen years ago) link

total genius classic I was listening to Singles 45 and under yesterday it is amazing and one of my favorite albums (so is Bat Out Of Hell, coincidentally)

Daniel DiMAGGIO (Daniel DiMAGGIO), Sunday, 22 August 2004 23:56 (nineteen years ago) link

One of those bands that I never got around to purchasing. I always enjoyed what I did hear and the Difford-Tillbrook "Tempted By The Fruit Of Aother" is absolutely grebt.

Question:

Are U.K. Squeeze and Squeeze the same?

jim wentworth (wench), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:17 (nineteen years ago) link

Yep.

Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 23 August 2004 05:33 (nineteen years ago) link

Elvis Costello thanked them in his Rock n Roll Hall of Fame speech, talking about the greatest British songwriters- Lennon/McCartney, (I forget who 2nd), and Difford Tillbrook.
They wrote great songs that don't sound dated (but some have been killed by radio play, particularly tempted, black coffee, and pulling mussels).
And, Ott is OTM- my fave song by them was always "If It's Love"!
Classic.

mclaugh (mclaugh), Monday, 23 August 2004 12:04 (nineteen years ago) link

It's really nice of Elvis that he said that.

the bellefox, Thursday, 26 August 2004 09:43 (nineteen years ago) link

god that's weird.
i woke up in the *middle of the night* last night wondering suddenly
'hey how come i don't have any squeeze at all?'
i settled on thinking i'd get 'SINGLES 45...' and have done with it.

are the first couple of albums worth getting?
which one *specifically*?

piscesboy, Thursday, 26 August 2004 10:22 (nineteen years ago) link

one year passes...
did they ever do anything else like "take me, i'm yours"

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 28 May 2006 22:29 (seventeen years ago) link

"Cool for Cats" has that kind of farty synth sound.

Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Sunday, 28 May 2006 22:55 (seventeen years ago) link

take me im yours is always in my head

chaki (chaki), Sunday, 28 May 2006 23:43 (seventeen years ago) link

I've never met anyone who owned an album by them other than "Singles 45" (or maybe the later CD-era comp). Why is that?

pleased to mitya (mitya), Monday, 29 May 2006 00:53 (seventeen years ago) link

"Slap and Tickle" is the same kind of synth pop sound.

And the band is CLASSIC of course.

zeus (zeus), Monday, 29 May 2006 12:32 (seventeen years ago) link

"I've never met anyone who owned an album by them other than "Singles 45" (or maybe the later CD-era comp). Why is that?"

Because we've never met. I have each Squeeze albums until 'Babylon And On', plus 'Ridiculous'. It's a fact, though, that after 'East Side Story' their songwriting quality gets worse.

zeus (zeus), Monday, 29 May 2006 12:34 (seventeen years ago) link

classic, and it's criminal how much of their catalog is out-of-print in the states

bernard snow (sixteen sergeants), Monday, 29 May 2006 12:42 (seventeen years ago) link

How's the Difford-Tillbrook solo album?

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Monday, 29 May 2006 12:49 (seventeen years ago) link

Very classic. And their 90s work is terribly underrated.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 29 May 2006 12:49 (seventeen years ago) link

i have ARGY BARGY which i guess id worth some money. its a good album!

chaki (chaki), Monday, 29 May 2006 19:54 (seventeen years ago) link

Hourglass. Classic.

neustile (neustile), Monday, 29 May 2006 20:21 (seventeen years ago) link

i've got argybargy and east side story.

Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 29 May 2006 20:42 (seventeen years ago) link

The solo album is excellent though very much a product of it's time. Stylistically not too dissimilar to 'Babylon and on' but much, much better songs. Don't think it's available on cd though.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Monday, 29 May 2006 20:51 (seventeen years ago) link

ten months pass...
don't they do that song about milk?

s1ocki, Monday, 16 April 2007 13:14 (seventeen years ago) link

nine months pass...

I hardly know any of their music. I do like "Up The Junction", though.
-- Robin Carmody, Monday, 29 January 2001 01:00 (6 years ago) Bookmark Link

^^^this dude was drinking some Incorrect Juice when he made this post.

"Pulling Mussels From A Shell" is a banger, though.

Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 15:36 (sixteen years ago) link

Classic, of course.

Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 17:38 (sixteen years ago) link

one year passes...

just heard up the junction
ca-lassic

Meteor Crater (jdchurchill), Thursday, 10 December 2009 23:44 (fourteen years ago) link

up the junction does really interesting things with the idea of time-lapse in narrative within the context of the 3-minute pop-song, no joke

102. LJ: British. 5. (acoleuthic), Thursday, 10 December 2009 23:44 (fourteen years ago) link

also yeah it is k-classic although goodbye girl might be even better

102. LJ: British. 5. (acoleuthic), Thursday, 10 December 2009 23:45 (fourteen years ago) link

i started screaming tempted in staples a while back. many heads turned

FACK, Thursday, 10 December 2009 23:51 (fourteen years ago) link

Hmmm, just listening to their BBC Sessions...surprised to find myself really liking the opening handful of tracks, which keep reminding me (in a general way) of a mishmash of Vapors, Vibrators, and maybe early Adam Ant. Less aggressive, for sure, but definitely in that vein.

dlp9001, Friday, 11 December 2009 03:31 (fourteen years ago) link

I absolutely love Squeeze. Up the Junction is amazing - yes. Also love Annie Get Yr Gun, Goodbye Girl, Another Nail in my Heart all of the big singles really.

★彡☆ ★彡 (ENBB), Friday, 11 December 2009 03:34 (fourteen years ago) link

true story: my dad and my uncle gigged with squeeze and lent them their stuff

102. LJ: British. 5. (acoleuthic), Friday, 11 December 2009 03:36 (fourteen years ago) link

Slap & Tickle is my jam, Cool For Cats is my album. Love it but never warmed to the others beyond the singles.

sleeve, Friday, 11 December 2009 03:45 (fourteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Some people turn their nose up at them simply due to the Jools Holland connection, which is a shame. Far less consistent than the likes of XTC, yet their finest material - most of which is non-singles, believe it or not - more than compensates for the intermittent failed pop experiments and stylistic wrong-turns.

PaulTMA, Monday, 28 December 2009 15:31 (fourteen years ago) link

Heard Up the Junction in the car today and god damn that is one of the best songs ever, no question. <3 <3 <3

★彡☆ ★彡 (ENBB), Thursday, 31 December 2009 02:59 (fourteen years ago) link

Classic for the "Hourglass" video alone

Mr. Snrub, Thursday, 31 December 2009 03:22 (fourteen years ago) link

Itunes tells me i've listened to This Summer 22 times (and never skipped it) in the last two years, which feels like a fairly healthy amount. Such. A. Tune.

what kind of present your naked body (Upt0eleven), Thursday, 31 December 2009 03:32 (fourteen years ago) link

I'm the only guy in the world who likes Sweets From a Stranger; Difford & Tilbrook don't even like it last I heard. Still some great stuff there, reminds me of high school road trips.

mojitos (a cocktail) (Cave17Matt), Thursday, 31 December 2009 03:39 (fourteen years ago) link

The non-Squeeze Squeeze album Difford & Tilbrook and Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti are really the low point of their career. Sweets From a Stranger is plenty alright.

Johnny Fever, Thursday, 31 December 2009 04:39 (fourteen years ago) link

Just wrote some thoughts on their debut album here:

Rolling Past Expiry Hard Rock 2010

xhuxk, Monday, 4 January 2010 15:31 (fourteen years ago) link

Sweets From A Stranger has I've Returned, His House Her Home, The Elephant Ride and Points Of View in it's favour, with some dodgy moments like Stranger Than The Stranger On The Shore and The Very First Dance which are unpleasantly weird enough to derail the album's credibility.

I've always liked Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, massively flawed as it is. 'Domino' is the real dregs and a sad end to their career.

PaulTMA, Monday, 4 January 2010 16:12 (fourteen years ago) link

Chris Difford & Glenn Tilbrook badmouth Sweets from a Stranger:

GT: I was particularly headstrong on this record and it resulted in some of it sounding awful.

Out of Touch
CD: [The unreleased version recorded with Paul Carrack] stands head and shoulders above this one. This is really naff. There's no personality to it whatsoever and to follow East Side Story with this was shooting ourselves in the foot. It's a ridiculous sounding song.... Those synthetic drums sound horrendous. Listening to it now I just wince.
GT: ...it sounds very much of its time and not in a good way.

I Can't Hold On
CD: ...it's not a great moment for me lyrically because it doesn't say anything. I was beginning to lose the plot here.

Points of View
GT: This is a great band performance marred by a slightly poncey vocal performance by me.
(To be fair, CD has nothing but praise for GT's vocal on this one.)

Stranger than the Stranger on the Shore
CD: I have to apologize to Glenn for not punching him when he played the ocarina on this... I said "OK, if you think this is good I'm getting out of here because this is crap."

Onto the Dance Floor
CD: This does nothing for me at all.

Black Coffee in Bed
GT: It's far too ponderous. It could never be a fast song, but it certainly had the opportunity to be slightly perkier. My vocal is mannered and not very good at all, and I can't stand to listen to it now.

His House Her Home
CD: This is my Peter & Gordon number... This is me trying to be sophisticated, but just sounding camp.

The Very First Dance
CD: This is atrocious. ...there's no passion in it.
GT: I sounds a little ponderous to me.

Quotes from the book "Squeeze: Song by Song." Contrary to the quotes above, they do have some good things to say about certain songs and performances, but on the whole CD and GT both consider it one of their worst albums.

Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 04:36 (fourteen years ago) link

Heard Up the Junction in the car today and god damn that is one of the best songs ever, no question. <3 <3 <3

it really is. someone tells a story in another thread about the song being on the radio while he was driving his mom around, and she started to cry when it was finished she thought it so sad.

Cunga, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 04:55 (fourteen years ago) link

What were their favorite creations, H.L.?

Cunga, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 04:57 (fourteen years ago) link

What were their favorite creations, H.L.?

I'll skim the book and post some things tomorrow.

They've both said at one time or another that the song "Some Fantastic Place" is the best thing they've ever done.

Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 05:08 (fourteen years ago) link

cool. I would really enjoy more excerpts if you have time tomorrow!

Cunga, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 05:59 (fourteen years ago) link

If it's in there, I'd love to know what they think about "Letting Go."

Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 06:29 (fourteen years ago) link

Interesting read, that. I love it when artists badmouth their own songs. How could anybody hate "Black Coffee in Bed"?? "Ponderous"? Fucking "ponderous"?

Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 15:55 (fourteen years ago) link

Actually, "Black Coffee" does sometimes wear out its welcome after 6 minutes. They usually up the tempo a bit on stage.

Well, skimming the book turned into rereading the whole thing, so give me another day or two. I just checked, and they both say that "Letting Go" is one of the best things they ever did.

Hideous Lump, Thursday, 7 January 2010 05:02 (fourteen years ago) link

Can you tell me what's essentially said about "Vanity Fair" or "Up the Junction"?

Cunga, Thursday, 7 January 2010 08:50 (fourteen years ago) link

Up the Junction
CD: When I wrote this it was Dylanesque and was much longer, with about 16 verses... [ Who Killed Davey Moore ] inspired me to write in a seamless way, like I was narrating a story, with no chorus.
GT: I was thinking of something like Dylan's Positively 4th Street as a template when I wrote the music.

Surprisingly, A&M Records recognized the potential for the song early on, when the band was originally playing it in a slower, folkier arrangement, and asked them to make it poppier.

Difford also suggests a future ILM thread: "Incidentally, there aren't many songs that end with the title as the last line. Two spring to mind: Up the Junction and Virginia Plain."

Vanity Fair
GT: I wrote a piano part for this but when it came to playing with the orchestra I bottled out, to my eternal shame.
CD: This has an absolutely stunning melody and beautiful arrangement. It's one we never really did live which was, in retrospect, a lost opportunity.

In the back of the book, they print the lyrics of a number of songs which are evidently their picks for the best:

Strong in Reason
Take Me I'm Yours
Slap and Tickle
Up the Junction
Slightly Drunk
Goodbye Girl
Cool for Cats
Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)
Another Nail in My Heart
I Think I'm Go Go
Separate Beds
If I Didn't Love You
Vicky Verky
Tempted
Piccadilly
Someone Else's Bell
Woman's World
Is That Love?
Labelled With Love
When the Hangover Strikes
Black Coffee in Bed
King George Street
Last Time Forever
No Place Like Home
Tough Love
The Prisoner
Striking Matches
The Waiting Game
Peyton Place
Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken
She Doesn't Have to Shave
Love Circles
Melody Motel
Letting Go
The Truth
Walk a Straight Line
Wicked and Cruel
There Is a Voice
Some Fantastic Place
Third Rail
It's Over
Loving You Tonight
Cold Shoulder
Electric Trains
Walk Away
I Want You
Daphne
The Great Escape
To Be a Dad
Without You Here

They don't do a song-by-song analysis of the "Difford & Tilbrook" album, but do make note of Love's Crashing Waves, On My Mind Tonight and The Apple Tree.

On some of the songs listed above their opinions are split--yes, Tilbrook really does call Black Coffee in Bed "ponderous," adding "My vocal is mannered and not very good at all, and I can't stand to listen to it now."

One thing that crops up a lot in the book, particularly from Tilbrook, is statements like this:
GT: [ Rose I Said ] falls into the same category as If It's Love in that I like the song and the performance of it, which is very spirited, but it doesn't distinguish itself in any way.

Tilbrook also seems to distrust the simpler pop songs; Grouch of the Day is "a fun song without any importance attached to it." Vicky Verky is "lyrically slightly twee in the way that Up the Junction isn't, which makes it less interesting to me. Musically, I don't think it's very good either." Trust Me to Open My Mouth is "quite an ordinary song really, although I liked it more at the time." Is it that he finds these songs too easy, or that they don't do anything new?

Difford does it too: Farfisa Beat is "crap... It's an album filler at best... It was probably just stuck on the album because it was uptempo."

Hideous Lump, Monday, 11 January 2010 03:44 (fourteen years ago) link

thank you!

Cunga, Monday, 11 January 2010 04:16 (fourteen years ago) link

one month passes...

weird discovery: although I've heard it >50 times as a boy, 'If I Didn't Love You' is fucking amazing, like seriously a candidate for best Squeeze and one of the better pop songs of its era

stoke for the shawcross (acoleuthic), Sunday, 28 February 2010 19:47 (fourteen years ago) link

seriously it's so great when you rediscover a piece of music you once knew off by heart but it still blows your mind

stoke for the shawcross (acoleuthic), Sunday, 28 February 2010 19:48 (fourteen years ago) link

"If I didn't love you, I'd hate you."

Mr. Snrub, Sunday, 28 February 2010 21:48 (fourteen years ago) link

Tilbrook: If I Didn't Love You was "musically inspired by Talking Heads. The line 'The record jumps on a scratch' was such a gift that I had to use it, so we sang 'If I, If I, If I, If I.'"

Difford: "I love Glenn's slide guitar solo. When he first did it I thought 'This guy's out of his tree. What's he doing?,' but it's brilliant."

"'Singles remind me of kisses / Albums remind me of plans.' They are my favorite lines on the whole album. When I used to have girls back to my flat I'd go through my record collection and find the album which had the longest side... I knew that by a certain point on the record if I didn't have my hand down her pants then it wasn't going to happen because I'd have to get up and change the record over... The best album for this purpose was Something/Anything by Todd Rundgren, because it had one side that was 30 minutes long. I'd put it on and get down to business and knew that I had a couple of minutes at the end of the album to lie on my back and then I'd have the excuse to get up and change the record."

Hideous Lump, Monday, 1 March 2010 00:55 (fourteen years ago) link

two months pass...

Now, some 35 years later, Squeeze have re-recorded 14 of their classic tracks for Spot the Difference, an album of all their classic hits re-recorded in a way so painstakingly faithful to the originals that they challenge you to spot the difference.

scott seward, Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:18 (thirteen years ago) link

dumbest...idea...ever.

scott seward, Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:18 (thirteen years ago) link

in general, i kinda hate (and avoid) re-recordings of old stuff, but this goes beyond that. this is demented. in the metal world people will re-record albums cuz when they were young they only had five dollars to spend on making an album and now they have ten dollars. i kinda understand that. even if i never want to listen to the results.

scott seward, Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:21 (thirteen years ago) link

I wouldn't mind hearing their first album re-recorded. Peel sessions are much better sounding. Other than that, no interest in this, I don't think...

dlp9001, Friday, 21 May 2010 01:33 (thirteen years ago) link

Hmmmmmm. I really really love Squeeze but that just sounds like a pointless effort.

Aqua Backrat (ENBB), Friday, 21 May 2010 01:42 (thirteen years ago) link

I was just wondering today if there were any remasters of squeeze's stuff. their 80s recordings sound a little thin and wouldn't it be nice to give them a little attack. but this is not what I had in mind.

Face Book (dyao), Friday, 21 May 2010 01:55 (thirteen years ago) link

In the past year or so they've redone Argybargy, Sweets from a Stranger, Frank and Ridiculous, but they're only available as imports in the U.S. Three of them have the appropriate b-sides plus unreleased stuff from each album, except Ridiculous, which for some reason has none of the b-sides that it should. Argy is a double with a concert on the 2nd disc.

This is the perfect opportunity to get all those b-sides in the right place, not doled out piecemeal on 17 redundant Greatest Hits records. Don't piss me off, guys, or I'll... get all sullen and bitch about it on the internet.

Tilbrook has also released 3 of a planned 5 volumes of demos from the Squeeze years.

Hideous Lump, Friday, 21 May 2010 03:41 (thirteen years ago) link

DeepDiscount has the deluxe Argy for $23.38, and it was well worth it. Nice remaster, bonus tracks and great sounding live recording. I hope they do East Side Story next.

Fastnbulbous, Friday, 21 May 2010 03:54 (thirteen years ago) link

"New recordings - improved sound quality"

Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Friday, 21 May 2010 08:09 (thirteen years ago) link

i wouldn't mind hearing it if it means improved sound quality (not that classic squeeze sounded *bad* per se -- it isn't as if they started off as some no-budget crusty-punk band). but if their idea of "improved sound quality" is the "compressed-to-an-inch-of-its-life" junk that too often passes for remastering then i can live w/t it.

keine Macht für dich mehr! (Eisbaer), Sunday, 23 May 2010 14:16 (thirteen years ago) link

four months pass...

If you're a Squeeze fan and you *haven't* heard the 1992 BBC Session of Take Me I'm Yours, please do yourself a favour...

http://open.spotify.com/track/3YDGxXzhoTJdtF5mPn5jBq

piscesx, Friday, 15 October 2010 03:53 (thirteen years ago) link

And when you're done with that, here's a song from Tilbrook's last solo album Pandemonium Ensues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WZXIfAYAV4

Hideous Lump, Friday, 15 October 2010 04:31 (thirteen years ago) link

eight months pass...

I think you guys missed the point of the "Spot the Difference" album. They re-recorded those tracks so they'd have the rights to them and could license those out instead of the ones controlled by their record company.

frogbs, Thursday, 23 June 2011 13:48 (twelve years ago) link

oh yeah, I bumped this because I was wondering if it's worth going past "Argybargy"

frogbs, Thursday, 23 June 2011 13:48 (twelve years ago) link

oh yeah, I bumped this because I was wondering if it's worth going past "Argybargy"

Well certainly "East Side Story." And I think "Play" is the equal of "Cool/Argy/East," although it took some time to reveal itself--it's definitely not as poppy as any of those.

Listen to my picks of better later Squeeze here:

The ILM Fan-made BEST OF/ANTHOLOGY Compilation project -- POST Tracklists, Cover Art, Liner notes, editorials, spotify links and/or otherwise LEGALLY obtained streaming album lists HERE!

Hideous Lump, Friday, 24 June 2011 04:08 (twelve years ago) link

There's something inexplicably great about the lines "I'd beg for some forgiveness / but beggings not my business" in Up The Junction.

textbook blows on the head (dowd), Friday, 24 June 2011 07:13 (twelve years ago) link

my favorite song by them right now is "Goodbye Girl", such a wonky time

frogbs, Friday, 24 June 2011 13:40 (twelve years ago) link

It's great!

the pinefox, Monday, 27 June 2011 07:34 (twelve years ago) link

Melody Motel is so weird.

Kim, Wednesday, 29 June 2011 20:36 (twelve years ago) link

seven months pass...

Tempted is among the worst songs ever written. Utter crap, and every copy on earth should be destroyed, similar to what happened with smallpox virus.

Poliopolice, Sunday, 19 February 2012 16:56 (twelve years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qums4Soo2Is

wolf kabob (ENBB), Sunday, 19 February 2012 18:14 (twelve years ago) link

How's the Difford-Tillbrook solo album?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Monday, May 29, 2006

I heard an excerpt a few months ago -- sounds like the boys decided to record a Hall & Oates album and failed.

Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 19 February 2012 18:38 (twelve years ago) link

three months pass...

The live at the Hammersmith Odeon, March 9, 1980 set on the deluxe edition of Argy Bargy is just super hot.

timellison, Monday, 21 May 2012 05:04 (eleven years ago) link

i really like squeeze, but i cant abide jools holland's superfluous boogie woogie breakdowns. 'cool for cats' is a prime example. needless.

dextor ellis bextor, Monday, 21 May 2012 05:11 (eleven years ago) link

Where? There's an instrumental break in that song and then a melodic solo at the end. Neither of them strike me as "boogie woogie."

timellison, Monday, 21 May 2012 05:22 (eleven years ago) link

the instrumental break. it just seems crowbarred in.

dextor ellis bextor, Monday, 21 May 2012 05:33 (eleven years ago) link

I think that's how people educated by message boards describe piano playing on a Squeeze album

Morrissey & Clunes: The Severed Alliance (PaulTMA), Monday, 21 May 2012 19:03 (eleven years ago) link

Just listened to that live set (I always had it, just never really bothered with it for some reason), you're right, this is really fun

I mean these guys have nothing on XTC or whoever they're usually compared to, but they are one of the most likeable bands ever, so there's that

frogbs, Friday, 25 May 2012 15:15 (eleven years ago) link

I listen to Another Nail in my Heart on repeat sometimes.

Trip Maker, Friday, 25 May 2012 15:29 (eleven years ago) link

Squeeze are a fucking class act, man. so much excellence.

some dude, Friday, 25 May 2012 15:41 (eleven years ago) link

I LOVE SQUEEZE.

I listen to Another Nail in my Heart on repeat sometimes.

― Trip Maker, Friday, May 25, 2012 11:29 AM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I do that too, sometimes.

Oh and guess what? I'm going to see them in July! :D

wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, 25 May 2012 15:42 (eleven years ago) link

I was just going to say something about Up the Junction being one of the best songs ever but thought to C&P myself first and, well:

Heard Up the Junction in the car today and god damn that is one of the best songs ever, no question. <3 <3 <3

― ★彡☆ ★彡 (ENBB), Wednesday, December 30, 2009 9:59 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, 25 May 2012 15:44 (eleven years ago) link

they're pretty killer live. i mean they did that album a couple years back where they did virtually identical re-recordings of old songs, they can play everything perfectly and Tilbrook's voice hasn't really aged any.

some dude, Friday, 25 May 2012 15:45 (eleven years ago) link

Awesome. I'm really excited. They're opening for the B-52s who will be fun to see and all but I bought the (fairly expensive) tickets pretty much for Squeeze alone.

wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, 25 May 2012 15:46 (eleven years ago) link

Up The Junction is my all-time favorite Squeeze song, no joke.

Brony! Broni! Broné! (Phil D.), Friday, 25 May 2012 15:49 (eleven years ago) link

i'm like the only person who likes Squeeze that doesn't really get the song. I appreciate the craft of it but I prefer the big shameless chorus stuff.

some dude, Friday, 25 May 2012 15:52 (eleven years ago) link

Saw them play several times in the Argybargy/E Side Story period.

Alfred, I have an autographed Difford-Tillbrook solo album if you want to make me an offer!

World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Friday, 25 May 2012 16:05 (eleven years ago) link

I haven't listened to anything past Argybargy but right now I don't think they've topped "Goodbye Girl", such a cool, wonky tune

frogbs, Friday, 25 May 2012 16:05 (eleven years ago) link

"Vicky Verky" is the classic for me

some dude, Friday, 25 May 2012 16:06 (eleven years ago) link

^Yeah, I love that one, too.

Trip Maker, Friday, 25 May 2012 16:08 (eleven years ago) link

ok this Hammersmith Odeon set is good but jesus Difford singing "Mess Around" stfu

some dude, Friday, 25 May 2012 16:25 (eleven years ago) link

Tempted is a very, very bad song.

Poliopolice, Friday, 25 May 2012 16:26 (eleven years ago) link

I really love Cool For Cats, Argybargy and East Side Story, and a few selections here and there from what came after. I remember quite liking Glenn Tilbrook's solo record Transatlantic Ping Pong, too.

The first album is quite interesting though, and some of the stories surrounding its making are quite funny. John Cale apparently was so off his face he passed out during the sessions, so Jools Holland wrote "I am a cunt" on his forehead in marker. Apparently Mr. Cale was none the wiser and came into the studio STILL wearing the same slogan on his head the next day. Once he found out what the band were laughing at, he was understandably not amused and apparently he made life hell for the band for the rest of the studio time they had.

The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Friday, 25 May 2012 16:36 (eleven years ago) link

Tempted is a very, very bad song.

It's not their greatest, but it's not terrible when Tilbrook sings it. Paul Carrack always felt like an invader in this band, and that's the reason I have issues with both East Side Story and Some Fantastic Place.

Johnny Fever, Friday, 25 May 2012 17:46 (eleven years ago) link

I'd rather Carrack had sang the whole thing, he's a far superior singer to Tilbrook. Tilbrook's strengths is in the way he puts his chord sequences together. Stuff like 'King George Street' features a maddening amount of chords.

The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Friday, 25 May 2012 17:52 (eleven years ago) link

one month passes...

Guess who I'm gonna see tonight? :D

(✿◠‿◠) (ENBB), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:09 (eleven years ago) link

i saw them open for the b-52's two weeks ago and they were both so so good

radical ferry (donna rouge), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:36 (eleven years ago) link

just gonna warn you now tho: glenn tillbrook's facial hair is really unfortunate

radical ferry (donna rouge), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:36 (eleven years ago) link

They are opening for the B-52s tonight! I'm excited about both but a little more so about Squeeze tbh. LOL re Tillbrook's facial hair. I checked out a recent clip on youtube and noticed that myself. NAGL!

(✿◠‿◠) (ENBB), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:39 (eleven years ago) link

They are playing for free in Coney Island on the 20th, with The Romantics opening.

aforementioned UFH:

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2012/07/2012_seaside_su.html

Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 20:20 (eleven years ago) link

band I was in opened for Squeeze in 1982.

schicksalsschlag (doo dah), Thursday, 12 July 2012 01:30 (eleven years ago) link

That is assume doo dah! Ok so that was awesome. They sounded great but a) donna r otm that beard is so so bad and b) middle aged white people cutting loose is sort of horrifying to watch.

(✿◠‿◠) (ENBB), Thursday, 12 July 2012 02:23 (eleven years ago) link

Like really cringe worthy and the worst part is that I AK not sure how to avoid turning into that or if it is even possible. :/

(✿◠‿◠) (ENBB), Thursday, 12 July 2012 02:25 (eleven years ago) link

I am not I AK.

(✿◠‿◠) (ENBB), Thursday, 12 July 2012 02:26 (eleven years ago) link

three months pass...

Poor Glen, one he had the good fortune to have John Lennon's looks and way with a pop song. Now he looks like Col Sanders on a bad beard day

Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 21:16 (eleven years ago) link

that Docu was great on the bbc over the weekend. they had some MENTAL issues though.

piscesx, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 21:21 (eleven years ago) link

The beard is gone now btw

'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Wednesday, 17 October 2012 11:26 (eleven years ago) link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pYUOJxXdrXM

Youtube link for the documentary

'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Wednesday, 17 October 2012 11:28 (eleven years ago) link

i thought chris difford looked great considering all his past indulgences.

stirmonster, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 11:30 (eleven years ago) link

Here's the legit link, higher quality and with the correct aspect ratio -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n8kmq

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 17 October 2012 12:08 (eleven years ago) link

three weeks pass...

New single 'Tommy' is streaming, now:
http://soundcloud.com/squeezeofficial-1/01-tommy

'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Friday, 9 November 2012 18:05 (eleven years ago) link

My favourite Squeeze story is still the one where Jools Holland wrote 'I am a cunt' on the forehead of a passed-out John Cale during the first album sessions. I noticed THAT story was absent from the recent documentary! Hehehehe!

The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Sunday, 11 November 2012 20:34 (eleven years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Every so often (like tonight) I'll find myself digging out Cosi Fan Tutti Fruitti in an attempt to listen to it with fresh ears and see if I manage to catch anything I've missed or possibly find something in it that I never have before, but I always end up coming to the same conclusion: 'King George Street' and 'Last Time Forever' = keepers, rest of the album = does nothing for me.

I also really am not too keen on the production on Cosi, either - which is strange because Laurie Latham (who produced Cosi) worked on The Stranglers' Aural Sculpture only the year before, and I think that album sounds absolutely fine!

The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Thursday, 29 November 2012 04:08 (eleven years ago) link

three years pass...

the solo on "Another Nail in My Heart" is some virtuoso shit. still can't figure it out after three years. amazing song

flappy bird, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 20:35 (seven years ago) link

Yeah, Tilbrook has always been quite an underrated guitarist. Always love the way he manages 2 pack so many chords in2 his songs, 2.

WHERE'S JIM!? (Turrican), Tuesday, 26 April 2016 20:51 (seven years ago) link

That one's got some real Dire Straits shit going on.

everything, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:03 (seven years ago) link

What do Squeeze fans think of their first EP, Packet of Three? Is it well known at all? It wasn't on Single 45's and Under presumably because it was on Deptford Fun City not A&M. I can imagine it being dismissed since it's got a punkier, or at least pub-rockier, sound to it, but I quite like it, Night Ride in particular.

Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:17 (seven years ago) link

It's alright, Squeeze were never entirely convincing during their brief 'punk' phase. I'd love to hear more recordings of the band prior to their debut, or what was rejected by John Cale - assuming Cool For Cats was all new stuff. There was a first draft of that album which was rejected by the label, though the (not great) song 'Blood And Guts' was released on a compilation.

PaulTMA, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:28 (seven years ago) link

A new pressing of Packet Of Three was bundled with vinyl copies of A Round And A Bout. The was a live 'Annie Get Your Gun' CD single which may be the one way to get those tracks on CD

PaulTMA, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:30 (seven years ago) link

I think it's funny that Squeeze blocked Bang Bang - which was a bigger hit chart-wise in the UK than many of their better known songs - from absolutely all future singles/hits albums, due to Tilbrook hating it. I went to see them in 2012 and they OPENED with it. I tweeted Difford to ask what made them bring it back and he said he didn't know

PaulTMA, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:32 (seven years ago) link

Eye'm pretty sure that the material on Cool For Cats was drawn from a huge backlog 'o' stuff Difford/Tilbrook had mostly built up prior 2 the first LP. The first LP was mostly written in the studio 2 please John Cale. They had a habit 'o' stockpiling songs and pulling them out years later. Eye think there's one or 2 tracks on later albums which were earlier songs dusted off.

WHERE'S JIM!? (Turrican), Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:35 (seven years ago) link

Tilbrook particularly hates 'Get Smart' on that first LP.

WHERE'S JIM!? (Turrican), Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:39 (seven years ago) link

whoah I had no idea Cale produced that first record, that's nuts.

Οὖτις, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:40 (seven years ago) link

I like Backtrack. I mean, it's a pub-rock ramalama number which really sounds like it wants to be a Nick Lowe record but which I think suits the scruffy production the best. The other two don't do much for me. This didn't seem obscure back in the day though - Deptford Fun City kept issuing it during their later success so it was a pretty common single. I picked up a copy of it from a guy in my high school class and used to see it second hand a lot.

everything, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:43 (seven years ago) link

Some great stories about the first album sessions. Cale made them bin most of their songs and instructed them to write more on new subjects at his request (Strong In Reason), instrumentals (Wild Sewerage Tickles Brazil) and supposedly he had them cover 'Amazing Grace' and play it for several hours. And he told them to title the album 'Gay Guys'. Seems like he got more hardline after he discovered Jools Holland had written "I am a cunt" on his forehead while he was passed out and failed to notice for a couple of days

PaulTMA, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:44 (seven years ago) link

(on Cale, not himself)

PaulTMA, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:45 (seven years ago) link

Yeah, he wanted 2 de-pop everything and demanded the band wrote songs about muscle men.

WHERE'S JIM!? (Turrican), Tuesday, 26 April 2016 21:50 (seven years ago) link

My guitar teacher and I are big fans of secret '80s guitar heroes: Elliot Easton, guy from Squeeze, even Neil Giraldo (solo on "hit me with your best shot" is pretty tricky). Dudes who know how to lay low until just the right spot to show off. Maybe James Honeyman-Scot or Mike Campbell count, too, but plenty of people cite them as an influence. Less so the aforementioned.

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 27 April 2016 00:43 (seven years ago) link

one year passes...

how representative is labelled with love because jesus christ that is an awful dirge

spud called maris (darraghmac), Thursday, 18 May 2017 13:14 (six years ago) link

I don't think its representative at all - I can't think of another song they did quite like it. but I do think it's one of their best songs so take that how you will

frogbs, Thursday, 18 May 2017 13:23 (six years ago) link

I agree, awful country pastiche, while Tempted is mighty

Dr X O'Skeleton, Thursday, 18 May 2017 13:45 (six years ago) link

three months pass...

apols for the link to you know where but..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-4800220/Squeeze-frontman-Chris-Difford-working-Bryan-Ferry.html

piscesx, Friday, 25 August 2017 10:57 (six years ago) link

Wow.

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 25 August 2017 13:42 (six years ago) link

Yeah that was one crazy story. Or set of them.

Ned Raggett, Friday, 25 August 2017 13:45 (six years ago) link

whoa @ John Bentley in the Magma shirt, very nice

frogbs, Friday, 25 August 2017 13:55 (six years ago) link

Q mag/Marti Pellow was the 0_o bit for me

piscesx, Friday, 25 August 2017 14:10 (six years ago) link

Sounds like being in the orbit of Bryan Ferry is not for the faint of heart.

DavidLeeRoth, Friday, 25 August 2017 17:11 (six years ago) link

one year passes...

Rarely seen video now on Youtube. First US single from Some Fantastic Place in 1993:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjkGuY_EVGE&feature=youtu.be

PaulTMA, Thursday, 13 December 2018 16:49 (five years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjkGuY_EVGE

PaulTMA, Thursday, 13 December 2018 16:49 (five years ago) link

nine months pass...

So they've been on tour over here and last night was pretty sharp -- saw Difford/Tilbrook on their own a couple of years back so it was nice to see them with a full band lineup. My girlfriend's the major fan -- had a great running commentary all night on various deep cuts as a result.

Ned Raggett, Friday, 13 September 2019 16:20 (four years ago) link

seven months pass...

I'm pretty sure this is Glenn TIlbrook singing, but the lyrics are too generic for Google to yield any results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytMdOWd_WNs

Can anyone ID?

enochroot, Thursday, 7 May 2020 01:37 (three years ago) link

It's definitely not Squeeze, but he does sound like a sped up Tilbrook.

Hideous Lump, Thursday, 7 May 2020 05:39 (three years ago) link

That is a song called "Friends Forever" by Greg Hatwell & Marc Lane.

Tim, Thursday, 7 May 2020 08:23 (three years ago) link

one year passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb6vxg_guz8
^ Squeeze performing at the recently mentioned My Father's Place as opening act for Blondie.

AP Chemirocha (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 03:05 (two years ago) link

That whole first album still seems so out of character for them.

Somehow I was never aware (until today) that Squeeze actually named themselves after the Doug Yule VU album:

As teenagers on the South London scene, Squeeze – setting out their stall early on by facetiously naming themselves after a poorly-received Velvet Underground album

enochroot, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 13:07 (two years ago) link

ten months pass...

stain on my fuckin’ notebook

calstars, Saturday, 30 April 2022 20:23 (one year ago) link

Pulling Mussels from a God Damn Shell

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Saturday, 30 April 2022 20:28 (one year ago) link

And now she's two years older
Her mother fucks a soldier

mig (guess that dreams always end), Saturday, 30 April 2022 21:57 (one year ago) link

ten months pass...

Fast live version of Pulling Mussels (1980)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbx_6gavLno

that's not my post, Monday, 27 March 2023 04:25 (one year ago) link

two months pass...

Pulling Mussels from a God Damn Shell

― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Saturday, April 30, 2022 3:28 PM (one year ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

budo jeru, Friday, 23 June 2023 22:41 (nine months ago) link

Alternate universe where the 'suntan lotion' backing vocals are in the studio version

PaulTMA, Friday, 23 June 2023 22:42 (nine months ago) link

you're going to get that and so much more when openAI puts musenet back online!

budo jeru, Friday, 23 June 2023 22:43 (nine months ago) link

There is a flexi disc which has them in. Actually sounds terrible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WkPIG2inPA

PaulTMA, Friday, 23 June 2023 22:49 (nine months ago) link

It sounds like they were recording in the studio next to The Muppets, and got them in for some impromptu backing vocals.

enochroot, Saturday, 24 June 2023 01:35 (nine months ago) link

A bit of a dry-run for Squabs on Forty Fab, this.

Tbh not sure what you're both getting at.

you can see me from westbury white horse, Saturday, 24 June 2023 03:14 (nine months ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdzHoiF8nmU

I think this is my favourite track from Ridiculous (1995), there was a lot of Beatles homage stuff around at that time but I can't think of much that's in this style, it sounds specifically like some of the more eerie tracks from the White Album

he thinks it's chinese money (soref), Saturday, 24 June 2023 09:04 (nine months ago) link


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