Squeeze - Greatest Hits
Art, craft, fashion, and commerce, despite widespread presumptions, have hardly been synonymous in the record business. A prime example is Squeeze, one of the U.K. new wave's most traditional-minded bands and largely the conceit of songwriters Chris Difford (words) andGlenn Tilbrook(music). Despite glowing critical comparisons with Lennon and McCartney, tireless touring, initial successes in Britain, and a perennially popular hits compilation (45's and Under), Squeeze's fortunes were mixed. Even their hard-won status as mid-'80s MTV sensations seemed to evaporate overnight. Perhaps they were just too smart for their own good. Tilbrook's hooks and melodies comfortably recalled theBeatlesand theKinks, but with ever surprising and sophisticated twists, while many of Tilbrook's cinematic lyrics were Broadway-sophisticated in their scope. "Up the Junction," "Pulling Mussels from the Shell," and "Tempted" (the latter burnished to perfection by the production ofElvis Costelloand the vocals of veteranPaul Carrack) paint remarkably robust portraits of romantic tensions set in contexts so rich with detail you can almost smell and taste them. This 20-track compilation effectively expands upon45's and Underby appending the best of the band's final three '80s albums, even if a few provide discomfiting evidence that the band was being positioned as the English equivalent ofHuey Lewis and the News. But like its effervescent early singles, what would the Squeeze saga be without a compelling twist or three?--Jerry McCulley