My Amazon Reviews: Squeeze "East Side Story"

 

Squeeze to Perfection

5 Out of 5 Stars

Of all the new wave bands to come out of the 80's, Squeeze were the most classicist of the pop makers. "East Side Story" marked a creative peak for them and marked the moment when Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook began to really earn those Lennon/McCartney accolades that had been bandied about in their names. For roughly 50 minutes, this album rips through all sorts of variations on the pop songbook of styles with only a couple of minor misfires, which are redeemed by the mere presence of "Tempted," which is one of the - if not the very - best songs of the 80's.

The band was feeling their oates on several fronts. For starts, flamboyant showboat Jools Holland was out of the band, with the soulful crooner Paul Carrack taking his place. This attention more on the band's exquisite songcraft. Difford and Tilbrook had also started out with the concept of the album as a two disc affair with each side being a collaboration. Only Dave Edmunds came through on the pledge, and he contributed the album's fiery opener, "In Quintessence."

The remainder fell to frequent touring buddy Elvis Costello and producer Roger Bechiran. The remaining 13 songs on ESS fell to their studio skills, I have often wondered how much they pushed Squeeze to experiment with the eccentricities of "Heaven," "There's No Tomorrow" and "F-Hole," the album's three quirkiest songs. While the experiments didn't always work for me (I could have totally done without the countrified "Labeled With Love"), the band's incredible skills with a hook come through every time.

The penultimate moment to all of this, again, was "Tempted." Giving Carrack a moment to have a white-soul workout with the clever wordplay and the tricky vocal interplay (including a cameo from Costello) made this a most irresistible song. While it didn't make it to the charts in America, it has kept the staying power of a classic. And while it wasn't even a single, the interconnected melodies of "Mumbo Jumbo" have never failed to blow me away. Same for the rock-abilly closer of "Messed Around" (makes me wish Edmunds had been around for this one), that still makes me tap my toes in sheer amazement. "East Side Story" was Squeeze (and by extension, Tifford and Dilbrook's) peak. Afterwards, indulgence started getting the better of them. For this album, though, every highlight seemed to be followed by yet another moment of brilliance.