The imminence of the Glenn Tilbrook / Chris Difford
tour as ‘The At Odds Couple’ in the autumn of 2014, and reports of Danny Baker's upcoming TV series Cradle To Grave featuring new Squeeze songs, have
reminded me to revisit a piece I wrote for Mojo back in 1996. It is reprinted
below.
In reviewing the original text, which was simply a list
of my favourite Squeeze songs, I see that I omitted ‘Some Fantastic Place’, a
song that today I would immediately insert in a collection of 12. In fairness
to my oversight, ‘Some Fantastic Place’ was a relatively new song at the time
of writing the piece and had not fully sunk in, but today I hear it as one of
their best. Here is the original piece:
"The Indians send signals from the rocks above
the pass /
The cowboys take position in the bushes and the
grass…”
In the beginning the
signals that Squeeze sent out were of the mixed variety. Saucy song
titles; a vague punk veneer; an EP produced by John Cale; management by Miles
Copeland (a former Wishbone Ash man). Not surprisingly, many were
disinclined to investigate their early Cheap Trick-ish power pop and general
toilet talk, but with the release of Cool For Cats a distinct musical
direction started to emerge in songs like ‘Revue’ and ‘Goodbye Girl’. By
the time of Argybargy, most of the flab had been cut away to reveal a
pop group of the highest calibre. And it was always the combination of
Chris Difford’s words and Glenn Tilbrook’s urgent melodies and McCartneyesque
vocal that distinguished the group’s greatest songs. These are they:
‘Up The Junction’
From Cool
For Cats (A&M) 1979
“She said she’d seen a doctor and
nothing now could stop her…”
Several early Squeeze songs took their titles from
British films of the 1960s and early TV pop shows, providing an irresistible
point of reference for the slightly older listener. ‘Up the Junction’ is a
skillful story full of deliberate nearly rhymes – happen / Clapham, common /
forgotten, assumption / junction, etc, welded to an unforgettable melody. Possibly
their most dearly-loved song.
‘Goodbye Girl’
From Cool
For Cats (A&M) 1979
“The sunlight on the lino…”
I once heard that Dave Edmunds was asked to consider
recording this song, but he left his copy of the record on the parcel shelf of
his Jag and it ended up flowerpot-shaped.
‘Pulling Mussels (From The
Shell)’
From Argybargy (A&M) 1980
“Coach drivers stand about, looking
at a local map…”
Opening the breakthrough Argybargy, this is a
song about holidays, day trips and, I think, sexual activity thereon. Whether
it’s a beano to Brighton or a week in Waikiki (where “surfers drop their boards
and dry…”), the lyrical detail is dense – “a he-man in a sudden shower shelters
from the rain…”, two fat ladies window-shop for “something for the
mantelpiece…” A quick glance behind the chalet and the song is complete.
‘Another Nail For My Heart ‘
From Argybargy
(A&M) 1980
“She made a call to a sympathetic friend and
made arrangements…”
Argybargy track two and the melodies are
stacking up faster than 747s over Middlesex. Tilbrook’s hoarse vocal is
less choirboy-ish than usual. There’s that little ‘Waterloo Sunset’ lick
in the guitar break. I’ve never been able to work out the exact words of
the chorus. They sound like “So play the song that makes it so tough…” and
“In the bar the piano has found… another nail for my heart.” Answers on a
postcard…
‘Woman’s World’
From East
Side Story (A&M) 1981
“Whistles to the radio now (sic), every
hook she catches…”
A majestic guitar intro gives way to a tale of
domestic drudgery… “but she likes to wear the crown of the kingdom.” Men
may iron or change the bed, but rarely without being asked. Whatever they
say about equality, it’s usually the girls who end up doing the shitty
jobs. The sheer repetition of household chores is captured perfectly at
the end of the song – “press the button on the toaster… tuck the sheets in on the
bed… it’s a Woman’s World.” Makes you wanna go down the pub.
‘Is That Love ‘
From East
Side Story (A&M) 1981
“You’ve left the ring by the soap, now is that love?”
An up-tempo power pop classic, it you’ll excuse the
term, and more domestic tension. Is that what produced this amazing run of
great songs in 1980? “Legs up with a book and a drink…” It
beats hanging around in bars. The false ending always catches out half the
audience at Squeeze concerts. Are they, God forbid, unfamiliar with ‘Is
That Love’ and its host LP?
‘Vanity Fair’ From East
Side Story (A&M) 1981
“She poses foot on a chair, coconut
shy but vanity fair…”
Glenn with strings, in a moving portrait of every
young girl’s growing pains… She “has her eyes on medallion men that get her
home on the dot at ten…” When she “comes home late with another
screw loose, she swears to have had just a pineapple juice…” She “might
not be all there” but every line, I swear, is a tearjerker.
‘Tempted’
From East
Side Story (A&M) 1981
“I said to my reflection let’s get out of this place…”
“Past the church and the steeple, the laundry on the
hill…” The laundry on the hill! This is the absolute pinnacle of
Difford and Tilbrook’s genius, with the bonus of Paul Carrack’s vocal,
interrupted by Tilbrook’s cameo in the second verse – “I’m at the car park, the
airport, the baggage carousel…” Elvis Costello’s falsetto and deep-voiced
interjections produce the surprises, while Carrack’s growl at 3.19 is a
landmark in his distinguished vocal career.
‘Man For All Seasons’
(by
Difford and Tilbrook)
From Difford & Tilbrook (A&M) 1984
A brief and invigorating track from a breakaway
‘project’. After East Side Story, where was there to go?
Funny, this group business. Imagine the Beatles disband after Revolver
and John and Paul make Sgt Pepper as a duo. No ‘Within You, Without
You’, that’s for sure. From this point on, memorable songs from Squeeze
are a little thinner on the ground. In fact, we have to leap forward five
years to locate their next stroke of pop greatness…
‘If It’s Love’
From Frank
(A&M) 1989
“If it’s love, that would really explain it, how
I feel like I’m covered in wool…”
The way Tilbrook twists and stretches the melody on
the word “love” throughout the song is a source of pure enjoyment. It’s
particularly affecting at 0.52 and 2.22.
‘Cupid’s Toy’
From Play
(Reprise) 1991
“This boy doesn’t give love, this
boy doesn’t get love…”
String-laden standout from otherwise ambitious LP that
evokes memories of listening to Smokey Robinson records in an otherwise
charmless disco where an empty-headed Casanova “stalks the club with eagle
eyes…” He has “a pea for a brain, a spud for a heart.” Where does all
this inspiration come from and where, one might ask, does it go?
‘Electric Trains’
From Ridiculous
(A&M) 1995
“I played a willow cricket bat guitar…”
Light at the end of the tunnel; proof that, although
Chris and Glenn may have spent the odd night in the sidings, an express can
come along at any moment.
Will Birch © willbirch.com
First published in Mojo, January 1996
First published in Mojo, January 1996
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