1978: Squeeze - Squeeze

Most begin and end their Squeeze shopping list with one record: 1982's compilation Singles: 45s and Under. But for the adventurous and chronologically-minded fan who wants to dig deeper into Squeeze's catalog, it might seem like their 1978 self-titled debut is a good place to start. Unfortunately, it isn't.

Sure, it's their debut record, features the band's most prominent lineup (including Jools Holland, most well-known for his work in television), and was produced by John Cale (who had become quite a prominent record producer by 1978), but when Squeeze went into the studio, Cale made them scrap the songs they'd written and write new ones on the spot. Squeeze did as they were told and wrote a batch of 11 new songs -- they're really not that bad, but they aren't Squeeze. The fact that "Bang Bang" and "Take Me I'm Yours," the only songs Squeeze managed to keep from the original bunch, are the best songs on the album really makes the listener question Cale's ‘advice.’

That's really the trouble with this record. Since its their debut release, the goofy and amiable songs on this record are unfairly compared to the rest of the band's catalog of literate, sophisticated pop, the kind of songs that aren't on this record. It does have its highlights -- "Bang Bang" and "Take Me I'm Yours" are catchy and enjoyable, and "Wild Sewerage Tickles Brazil" is an instrumental silly enough to have been recorded by The B-52s -- but the rest of the songs are as lyrically and musically slight as you'd expect from a band who had to write a brand new set of songs before recording an album.

Listeners who want more Squeeze in their lives would be better served by picking up a copy of the band's second LP, Cool for Cats. This record is a more realistic introduction to Squeeze's catalog, while their debut should really be considered their bastard child, much like how Squeeze, the album the band named themselves after, was the bastard child of The Velvet Underground's catalog.

DeLorean

There’s a lot of good music out there, and it’s not all being released this year. With DeLorean, we aim to rediscover overlooked artists and genres, to listen to music historically and contextually, to underscore the fluidity of music. While we will cover reissues here, our focus will be on music that’s not being pushed by a PR firm.

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