Squeeze - Babylon and On (1987)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD. (If memory serves, the LP was the last new LP I ever purchased before moving solely to CDs and cassettes)

While it's certainly no East Side Story, this is still a fairly consistent pop album from Squeeze; good but not great. While the production sounds dated today, the songwriting of Difford and Tilbrook was still strong. There's more album filler than usual on a Squeeze album, but this group's filler is still better than many top hits from other artists. Glad to see keyboardist Jools Holland with the band on this release; he always seems to make the band sound more relaxed.

Press of the time:

• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "their simplest and poppiest thing in ages, though also their most bland and American-sounding"
• Billboard: "band bounces back with this delectable venture"
• CashBox: "A necessary return"
• Rolling Stone: "endlessly catchy"
• Stereo Review: "Highly recommended"
• Robert Christgau (B-): "a case study in pop-star devolution, suffused with the regrets of successful young professionals who drink too much liquor, smoke too many cigarettes, and don't want to be alone any more."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #36 (Dec 5, 1987)
• Billboard Top CDs: #19
• CashBox Top CDs: #18
• Rolling Stone: #36

Tracks:

• Filler: Tough Love, In Today's Room, Striking Matches, Who Are You?, The Waiting Game, Some Americans
• Better: Hourglass (curiously, the band's biggest US hit, peaking at #15), Trust Me To Open My Mouth, Cigarette of a Single Man
• Best: Footprints, The Prisoner, 853-5937

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This reminds me of the summer of 1988, when I worked all week in a hot warehouse then would make weekend treks from Commerce to Hurst to see a girl. Those weekly trips cost me about what I made working in the warehouse, so I finished that summer no richer than when I started. Then, to top it off, the relationship with the girl ended when the fall semester started. Common sense and long-term planning were not my strong suit back then. I don't know if much has changed on that front.