Squeeze - Cool For Cats (1979)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by the 1997 remastered CD with bonus tracks.

Awesome, goofy, early New Wave/power pop. This was Squeeze's sophomore effort and it is better than most. When Jools Holland plays piano with the group, they always sound like a pub band to me and that suits this music just fine. Miles ahead of the group's debut, UK Squeeze, but not quite as good as the follow-up, Argybargy.

Press of the time:

• Trouser Press: "Fun stuff"
• Smash Hits (9 out of 10): "Posers will hate this, but you should check it out without delay"
• Stereo Review: "The melodies are nonexistent, the lyrics are hilarious and bitter, and the performances are eerie and deliberately mechanical."
• Robert Christgau (B): "not only does its songcraft surpass that of the band's debut, but it also isn't quite as sophomoric"
• Rolling Stone: "too often offers more tedium than titillation."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: Typical Difford & Tilbrook greatness. Top tracks are Slap And Tickle, Up The Junction, Goodbye Girl, and the title track. I'm not a fan of The Knack and Slightly Drunk. When you hear the two bonus tracks, it is easy to understand why they were left off the original album (I'm just guessing the bonus tracks were recorded around the same time as the rest of the album. The useless liner notes are little more than a track listing and band credits.)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: My high school's mascot was the Black Cat. Sadly, despite my best efforts, the title track of this album would not be considered for the our Class of 1984 class song. An early example of "the man" keeping me down. In this particular instance, "the man" was actually our female senior class sponsors, who flat out rejected my nomination of this tune. Teachers were always stifling my creativity. So what did we end up with as our senior class song? All The Way by Triumph. WTF??

I don't know why I've kept it, but my original cassette is one of the few tapes I still have:

Previously revisited for the blog:
Domino (1998)
Some Fantastic Place (1993)
Babylon and On (1987)
Difford & Tilbrook (1984)
Argybargy (1980)