Album Review #19 - Squeeze - "East Side Story" (1981)

 Album Review #19

Artist:  Squeeze

Album:  East Side Story

Year of Release:  1981

Grade:  4 / 5

 

Band Members

Chris Difford – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Someone Else’s Heart” and “Heaven”

Glenn Tilbrook – lead vocals, lead guitars

Paul Carrack – keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Tempted”

John Bentley – bass, backing vocals

Gilson Lavis – drums

Elvis Costello – additional vocals (“Tempted”, “There’s No Tomorrow”)

 

Background

Squeeze is sometimes hard to pigeon hole as to the style of music.  Sometimes they are traditional pop while venturing into the “new wave” territory.  No matter the style of music, it is the songwriting quality that is Squeeze’s trademark with songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook.  Early in their careers, they were compared to Lennon and McCartney.  Most of their songs are story songs.

 

The original concept of Squeeze’s fourth album “East Side Story” was to be a double album (4 sides) whereas each side would have a different producer.  The producers were going to be Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, and Paul McCartney.  All of them agreed to the arrangement but planning and scheduling made it near impossible so the album was relegated to a single album with Dave Edmunds producing only one track and none of the others getting any production credit on the original album.

 

This was the first album without long time keyboardist Jools Holland.  Paul Carrack (formerly of the band “Ace”) replaced him on this album.

 

Squeeze is a very underrated band.  They are one of my favorite bands but have seen them only twice in concert.

 

 

Track Listing

1.      “In Quintessence” (Glenn Tilbrook/Chris Difford)

2.      “Someone Else’s Heart” (Tillbrook/Difford)

3.      “Tempted” (Tillbrook/Difford)

4.      “Piccadilly” (Tillbrook/Difford)

5.      “There’s No Tomorrow” (Tillbrook/Difford)

6.      “Heaven” (Tillbrook/Difford)

7.      “Woman’s World” (Tillbrook/Difford)

8.      “Is That Love” (Tillbrook/Difford)

9.      “F-Hole” (Tillbrook/Difford)

10.  “Labelled With Love” (Tillbrook/Difford)

11.  “Someone Else’s Bell” (Tillbrook/Difford)

12.  “Mumbo Jumbo” (Tillbrook/Difford)

13.  “Vanity Fair” (Tillbrook/Difford)

14.  “Messed Around” (Tillbrook/Difford)

 

Review

 

The opening track is an upbeat song called “In Quintessence”.  It has a good poppy guitar lick to it.  The lyrics are about a guy who sits around and smokes pot and dreams of girls that he can’t have.  Per the writers, it is based on a teacher that they knew who was straight laced on the outside but a pot head on the inside.

 

 

“Someone Else’s Heart” is about a guy who reads her girlfriend’s diary and her flowery language about love is actually about someone else.  This song is sung by Chris Difford.  It is a pretty decent song and fits Difford’s vocals more than usual.  Squeeze’s songs are always story driven and plenty of pop hooks.

“Tempted” is Squeeze’s biggest hit (generally) and the one that they are most known for.  The strange thing is that neither Glenn Tilbrook or Chris Difford are the primary singer.  In this case, it is new keyboardist Paul Carrack (formerly of Ace and later of Mike & The Mechanics) who takes lead vocals at the suggestion of producer Elvis Costello.  The song itself was inspired by a drive to the airport and ruminations of a failed relationship due to infidelity.  Originally, the song was more uptempo as produced by Dave Edmunds but Elvis Costello tried a version that was more bluesy and pushed for Carrack to sing it.  Tilbrook acquiesced and thought it sounded better.  In concert after Carrack left the band, Tilbrook sings it.

 

“Picadilly” is one of my favorite Squeeze songs.  It is a full story song.  It is about a man and woman on date and all of the things that they encounter.  From a songwriting perspective, it is an amazing gift of songwriting to tell this whole story in 3 ½ minutes.

 

“There’s No Tomorrow” is the first mediocre song on the album.  The lyrics are about toxic relationships but instrumentation is where I find fault.  It is simple – too simple – for such deep lyrics. 

 

“Heaven” is another Difford sung tune about a scene in a bar about a married man wanting an affair and the people he encounters.  This is another one of those kind of bland songs but still has some musical hooks.

 

“Woman’s World” is a pretty good track about a woman and her unfulfillment of a traditional housewife role.  It is a strong song with plenty of lyrical and musical hooks.

 

“Is That Love” is a great song.  The song is about relationships and trying to find your way through them.  It was inspired by Difford’s new marriage when his wife left her ring by the soapdish and he wondered what that meant.  It is an upbeat tempo song.  Surprisingly, with the topic, it is actually a lighthearted take.

 

“F-Hole” is a quirky song that really doesn’t do much for me.  It is a story about a guy who meets a strange girl in a bar and begins a relationship.  The lyrics are unique but the melody is just sort of bland.  It isn’t one that I listen to often.

 

“Labelled With Love” has a country-ish feel to it.  The twangy guitars and the waltzish type time signature make this song memorable.  While I wouldn’t rate it in the top 4 or 5 tracks on the album, it is definitely in the top half of the songs.  Once again, great songwriting.

 

“Someone Else’s Bell” is another complicated relationship song with more infidelity.  I have often wondered if this is the other side of the coin of “Someone Else’s Heart”.  Different singers but it could be another version of the same relationship (different singer, same instance).

 

“Mumbo Jumbo” tells the story of multiple women and their different personalities.  It is an upbeat song with a fun melody.

 

“Vanity Fair” is a very subdued track.  It explores the downside of materialistic pursuits.  To me, this is just a very bland song.  I appreciate the lyrics but it is a case where the music should add more to the song.  Instead, the music begins with almost a psychedelic-lite feel to it.

 

“Messed Around” is an uptempo song about a girl who feels she is being cheated on.  It has a very catchy melody and is quite lively in concert.  Once again, this is a typical good Squeeze song.