This double CD features Squeeze's BBC studio recordings which include acoustic versions of some of their biggest hits and live to air recordings, covering the years 1977-1994. Judging from the band's brief setlists here, the band had absolutely no desire to be commercially successful. Instead of playing their hits to a national audience, we're treated to live versions of obscure b-sides. The band doesn't give us a version of their most famous hit, 1981's Tempted, until 1992. When they finally get to their hits, in the late '80s, they're no longer hits, but reworked versions of their early hits (the band was getting ready to play on the very first MTV Unplugged in 1989). That's where the gold is in these tracks - the stripped-down remakes. This makes the second disc much better than the first. This compilation isn't for casual fans. The sound of these recordings is surprisingly good; the liner notes are sadly lacking for such a retrospective.
Tracks, Disc 1:
Tracks 1-4, August 17, 1977: The band were just finding their sound here, so these tracks are of historical interest, but not much more than that. Not quite punk, not quite new wave, not quite pop, it's all rather manic.
Tracks 5-8, May 3, 1978: More of the same, except the band slows things down a little. In the b-side I Must Go, we get hints of the interesting chord progressions that would be characteristic of the group's sound.
Tracks 9-12, March 18, 1982: Even though most Brits knew of the band by '82, we still get filler tracks and b-sides, mostly from the Sweets From A Stranger album. However, by this time, the songwriting had improved greatly, so even filler tracks like I Can't Hold On sound good. However, the last track of this session, The Apple Tree, sounds as bad here as it does on Difford & Tilbrook.
Tracks 13-16, October 19, 1989: This is when it starts getting good. Unplugged versions of songs from the albums Frank and Babylon And On and a great remake of Is That Love? from East Side Story, the first real hit to make an appearance on this compilation.
Tracks, Disc 2:
Tracks 1 -4, June 4, 1992: Probably my favorite set, mainly because it gives us hits: Take Me I'm Yours, Up the Junction, Pulling Mussels/Labelled With Love, and Tempted (although Paul Carrack isn't on vocals, it's still a good cut). Just vocals with an acoustic guitar and occasional piano.
Tracks 5-8, July 14, 1993: Full band versions of 4 songs from Some Fantastic Place. No surprises here, these versions hardly differ from the album versions. Paul Carrack made a brief return to the band around this time to sing the Tempted knock-off, Loving You Tonight.
Tracks 9-11, March 4, 1994: Full band is back. The sound isn't as good on this set where we're treated to another straight-ahead version of Third Rail that sounds almost exactly like track 5. We get an interesting version of the band's biggest US hit, Hourglass, that works in a little of Sunshine Of Your Love. Finally, the second version of Tempted with Glenn Tilbrook on vocals. I wish the mix was better.
Tracks 12 & 13, December 13, 1994: A more unplugged sound. We get another version of Some Fantastic Place and a third version of Tempted, this time with Paul Carrack on vocals. It's hard to decide which is the better version of Tempted - this one or track 4. The vocals are better here, but I like the arrangement of the earlier version.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Domino (1998)
Some Fantastic Place (1993)
Babylon and On (1987)
Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti (1985)
Difford & Tilbrook (1984)
East Side Story (1981)
Argybargy (1980)
Cool For Cats (1979)
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