Like XTC this is a band defined in the minds of the majority by a couple of early hits. Take me I'm Yours and Up The Junction. Like XTC a huge part of their artistic catalogue is unheard by the majority ( Frank?). Their keyboard player left. Their drummer left. Eventually the two key songwriters fell out. They got a bit ripped off by their manager

I kinda like them, but am definatly a greatest hits and East Side story only man...

I like them, not like XTC, but I've got all the singles, somewhere. The past has been bottled and Man U for the treble.

Good one - I love Squeeze.

I've seen them live 2 or 3 times, and they're a cracking live act!

I do agree that their earlier stuff is much better.

I really liked their 'comeback' album 'Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti' (their Sgt Pepper!), and 'Babylon and On' was pretty good, and 'Frank' had some good tunes too.

But...I heard an album they did called 'Play' and I couldn't believe how bland it was!

I do think there are some similarities with XTC, such as the Ray Davies/Lennon-McCartney songwriting tradition thing, but Squeeze's ratio of good to ordinary tunes is nowhere near as impressive as XTC's, IMO.

Great band, though - and Tillbrook is a particular hero of mine, and a vastly under-rated guitarist, as I told him when I met him in a bar after a gig.

There's another semi-similarity with XTC, maybe:

In 1982, Squeeze finished their US tour with sell-out gigs at Madison Square Garden, and they were about to be HUGE...

then Tillbrook decided Squeeze were as big as he wanted them to be and split the band up!

I also think the Difford/Tilbrook songwriting partnership peaked in '81/'82 with the song 'Tempted' - I wondere if they 'knew' subconsiously that they would never write a better tune?

Few people can write a tune that good!

I had that album with "Hourglass" which is the only song on it I really dug.
But I agree about "Tempted" and their older stuff.

Squeeze in my number two favorite band. Seen 'em about a half dozen times, including last summer, and everything Android said is true. Always got my money's worth. I think the early 80's soul/Motown influenced stuff is brilliant, but I do love the first few albums. Jools Holland's keyboard contributions created a unique sound compared to the more generic style of later keyboard players.

I like Squeeze, though I only own "45's and Under" and "Argybargy." I always mean to get more of their music, but it always slips my mind. "Separate Beds" is my fave tune of theirs.

An excellent band. Of all the British bands that came out of that immediate post-punk era, Squeeze are the closest to matching XTC's brilliance. They were a lot more soulful than XTC though. 'Labelled With Love' is my favourite song.

I love them. I have all their stuff, except for the new reissues, which are a bit pricy as imports, plus I already bought the boxed set with bonus tracks, so I need a rest! Same for Tilbrook's demo CDs.

"East Side Story" is my favorite, but I think they did great work almost to the end ("Domino" doesn't really have much, I must say). I love "Frank", and I love the first half of each of "Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti" and "Some Fantastic Place". They went through kind of a seesaw of nice, straightforward album followed by overproduced album through the eighties and nineties.

No, not as good a ratio of great to middling tunes as XTC, but like XTC, they've had some fabulous b-sides.

I'm seeing them next Saturday in the Philly area for the first time since the '82 "farewell" tour, before they re-grouped in '85!

Got everything up to Play... love the band. Very prolific lyrically and great musicians. Glenn's one mean guitarist. And, Glison Lavis & Pete Thomas are two of my all time favourite drummers.

East Side Story is the best of their's IMO - with the help of Elvis Costello & Paul Carrack, just one brilliant album.

I really like Frank as well - clean, crisp sounding (the drums especially), and Babylon & On - with Hourglass, Footprints and Trust Me To Open My Mouth... bliss!

Having Simon Hanson (who had played as a "Fluffer") as drummer on their last tour was a good call (he used to frequent Panic studios in west London a lot with the studio's owner Mark Roberts). Simon wrote some good tutorials in Rhythm magazine many moons ago.

So, favoritething, baby...
How were Squeeze the nicht?
What songs did they play?
Who's in the band these days?
How is Tilbrook's angelic voice and excellent gtr playing?
etc..?
I wish I had just seen Squeeze!
I envy you, favoritething!
Al.x

Glenn Tilbrook's a jewel.

Great show, in a smallish theater similar to what you see in their "A Round And A Bout" video. Tilbrook is still angelic (resplendent in a tailored canary-yellow suit!) and he delivers the goods on the guitar, no question.

The set was heavily tilted toward the early years, possibly due to the inclusion of John Bentley on bass (the passage of time definitely shows on him, but he was quite animated and seemed happy to be back). They did "Hourglass" and "Some Fantastic Place", and the rather obscure "Melody Motel" (serious brain-deadness from Glenn on the lyrics) and "Slaughtered, Gutted & Heartbroken" (more of a showcase for Glenn's guitar than Chris's singing, really). They opened the show with "Strong In Reason" from the first album—must have been perplexing to many in the audience, but it went over well. They also pulled out "Revue" and "I Think I'm Go Go", to great effect. Pretty much the entire "45's and Under" collection was represented, too.

Near the end, a significant percentage of the audience filled the aisles toward the front (we went up for the encore). Not sure if it was sold out, but it was close at least.

Besides Glenn, Chris, and John, the band included the keyboardist and drummer from Glenn's solo band. They were up to the task, though the keyboard guy went slightly off the rails once or twice with his solos.

A nice plus for me was that they were selling their recent live CD and Glenn's two volumes (so far) of demos for just $15 apiece, instead of the twice-the-price imports I had been eyeing warily on the Web. Online, I saw an interview with Glenn and Chris where they say that they're friends now for the first time in about 30 years, and that after both their solo albums run their course, they plan to do a new Squeeze album.

We saw them last December at Wolverhampton Civic Hall...they were truly awesome...It was a standing gig downstairs with seats in the balcony............I had no idea that you could fit that many people in there! It really was shoulder to shoulder full of Squeeze fans who enjoyed every drop of what was a fabulous live set.



Really envy you favoritething and thanks for the review!