Squeeze: East Side Story CD Track Listing

A list by checkmate

Squeeze East Side Story (1981)
Originally Released May 1981\nCD Edition Released September 12, 1995\nMFSL Gold CD Edition Released December 15, 1998\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: East Side Story was originally planned as a double album with each side produced by a different "hot" producer -- Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and Paul McCartney were the proposed lineup. And while only Elvis Costello (along with Roger Bechirian) ended up doing the job, save for one track by Edmunds, Costello's push for decidedly un-Squeeze-like material and sympathetic production style resulted in not only the band's most diverse but also their most creatively rewarding album to date. East Side Story is definitely packed with the band's trademark bouncy Brit-pop numbers like "In Quintessence," "Piccadilly," "Is That Love," and "Mumbo Jumbo," but the standouts come from the unexpected turns -- the country lament of "Labeled With Love," the trippy near-psychedelia of "There's No Tomorrow," the lush and delicate "Woman Work" and "Vanity Fair," and the soulful groove of "Tempted" (the song the band is probably best known for, sung by newly added member Paul Carrack). -- Chris Woodstra\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nIt's a rare pop band that can fit the word quintessence neatly into a song, but the duo of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook--the heart of Squeeze--do so with ease. There's a good reason that they've been hailed as the best British songwriting team since Lennon and McCartney, and if they've never scaled the heights of fame--or of grandeur--that their forebears did, well, that's OK. East Side Story may not be Squeeze's greatest album--their 1982 hits collection, Singles: 45's and Under, may take that honor--it does have their most memorable song, "Tempted." Strangely enough, the tune was written by then-keyboardist Paul Carrack (with Tilbrook and producer Elvis Costello) and sung by Carrack. The rest of the album remains strong, buoyed by the group's bouncy outlook, Costello and coproducer Roger Bechiran's prodding the group in new directions, and hints of the new-wave-influenced sound Squeeze would develop years later on Babylon and On. --Randy Silver \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA Pop Masterpiece, January 11, 2006\nReviewer: MrDu (NY, USA)\nSimply terrific, literate, tuneful pop music. Not a missed note or thought on the entire LP. 'In Quintessence', 'Woman's World', 'Labelled with Love' are among the best Difford and Tilbrook have penned. \n\nAmong their best with Argy Bargy, Play and Frank. End-to-end, a joy to listen to. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nHigh Quality Squeeze!, April 16, 2005\nReviewer: Andre S. Grindle "Andre' Grindle" (Brewer Maine)\n'East Side Story',Squeeze's fourth album is the only one to feature keyboard player Paul Carrack.This album has one big US pop hit but it's a BIG one-"Tempted" not only sets a nearly impossible standard to high songcraft for them but the soulful,gospel drenched piano and organ playing of Carrack give the catchy song a great classic 60's soul feel.The album is fairly diverse although "In Quintessence","Picadilly","Woman's World" and "Someone Else's Bell" stick very closely to Squeeze's classic economical retro 60's pop/rock style.Elvis Costello and Dave Edmunds also make a guest appearance resulting in the wistful country-western of "Labelled With Love"-the album's big British hit and (sadly) it deserved a better American fate-it's a very catchy tune."Vanity Fair" probably sparked some Beatles comparasins with it's symphony orchestra backdrop and classy lyricism and it's a valid statement.The album closes with Glen Tillbrook's catchy rockabilly of "Messin' Around".Meanwhile "Someone Else's Heart","There's No Tomorrow" and "F-Hole" are all great rock grooves with great basslines.So it being said that 'East Side Story' is not without it's adherants this would be an excellent first Squeeze CD to own if you don't have any music by them.If you already do get it anyway-it's still a classic pop album and as close to being as purely that genre as one could want.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nProbably the best album from Squeeze, October 30, 2004\nReviewer: Sandy Toyen (San Diego, CA USA)\nI love Squeeze and this is probably their best album. (Arguably, that title could go to "Argybargy"). So why only four stars? This album, like most Squeeze albums, has too much "filler" material to be considered a five-star album. If they had ended this album after "Is That Love?", it probably would have been a masterpiece. Even with the backloaded filler material, this album comes very close to greatness. It contains classics like "In Quintessence" and "Tempted", and the overlooked-but-no-less wonderful gem, "Someone Else's Heart". If you only know Squeeze from the radio, you probably have never heard the quirky, haunting, "Heaven" - it is definitely worth a listen. Buy this album, but don't feel obligated to listen to the last four songs. And notice just how much the guy on the album cover (the one furthest on the right) resembles Quentin Tarantino.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nPure Pop Perfection, October 11, 2004\nReviewer: Edward Perini (Omaha, NE)\nThis is probably one of my favorite albums of all time. Everything about it - the lyrics, the singing, the musical arrangements - is stunning. The sheer variety of music styles is astounding - from pop-rock ("In Quintessence") to R&B ("Tempted") to psychedelia ("There's No Tomorrow") to avant-garde orchestral pop ("F-Hole") to country ("Labelled With Love") to chamber music ("Vanity Fair") to rockabilly ("Messed Around") - and it's all done with the utmost skill. Although Glenn Tilbrook sings on a majority of the tracks, the album also features the vocals of Chris Difford (on "Heaven") and Paul Carrack (on the classic "Tempted"), and each vocalist makes their individual stamp on the songs. I'm not normally one to listen to albums repeatedly, but I could listen to this album over and over again and never get tired of it. In fact, at the risk of heresy, I would say that this album is the "Sgt. Pepper" of the 80's. Really, it's that good. Pick it up, you won't be disappointed. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nBritpop at its finest, April 28, 2003\nReviewer: "gilgogirl63" (Southold, NY United States)\nWhen I told my college roommate in 1982 that my favorite band was the Beatles, she immediately sat me down to listen to Squeeze's East Side Story, and the Beatles have been first runner-up ever since. Now, don't let that put you off, because I believe that without the Beatles, none of the great pop/rock music we have today would have been possible. But, this isn't a review of the Beatles, it is a review of East Side Story--early Squeeze's finest moment. Like the Beatles, the song-writing team of Difford and Tilbrook could take a look at life through the glare of a naked lightbulb, and put it to music so it would "have a good beat that you could dance to." Whenever I think of East Side Story, there is not one track that I can single out as the best, because each in its own right is great. If you want to look, not even too hard, you'll see that the lyrics are deep with meaning, but if you just want to tap your toes and sing along, you can do that too, without worrying about how sappy you'll sound as you do. It's Britpop for intelligent people. Long may it live!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nPop Goes The Squeeze'll Do You Good, March 9, 2001\nReviewer: Bubbles kingpin "jalaykins" (eastern usa)\nI have no idea why Amazon will not print my 5-star review of this almost flawless album. Is it because I insist that "Tempted" was not written by Paul Carrack? It wasn't!! The info on the back of the album states who SINGS the songs, not who wrote them - - the CD itself carries the statement "All Selections Written by Difford/Tilbrook." So therefore "Tempted" was not written by "Paul, Glenn, and E.C." - - just as "Piccadilly" wasn't written by "Glenn with Paul, Chris, and John" - they are simply the voices on the track!! But anyway, all that aside, if you want the best of best from the "New Wave" period, then buy this album. Joy is what moves you to sing!!! And this will do it for you.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nTheir finest overall CD, October 10, 2000\nReviewer: Michael J Harrington (Phoenix, Arizona USA)\nOne of the many underrated bands in the world, Squeeze to me were masters of the great pop song. When compared to Lennon and McCartney, I went "yeah, right!"...but all one has to do is listen closely to this gem and you will see why. \nThis is not a light collection of pop-py love songs, but a pop analysis of the human day-to-day (aka domestic) condition. Interesting? You BET - give them a medal! The terrific vocals from Difford/Tilbrook are instantly catchy, and truly catch their creative peak at their best. My personal faves are 'Is that Love', 'Labelled with Love', 'Womans World', 'Picadilly', 'Tempted' and 'In Quintessence'. How they can successfully move from one style to another, yet still retain the ability to grab you with the song of the moment amazes me. I do not think I have heard something as diverse yet consistently appealling since Queen's 'Night at the Opera'. (Don't let my Queen analogy turn you off!)\n\nIf you only get one Squeeze CD, make it this one and then get the Singles one to round off the Squeeze collection that will NOT get dusty in your CD cabinet!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nMy personal favorite Squeeze album, February 10, 2000\nReviewer: Brian C. Taylor "smug feldspar magnate" (Tallahassee, FL USA)\nSqueeze was (and probably still is) a great singles band, which a listen to their greatest hits album will prove, but I think this album has the most consistency of any of theirs. All the songs are stylistically different, but fit together like a good album should. And they never recorded a sweeter, more poignant song than "Vanity Fair". I've known girls like the one in that song, and next to the Kinks "Arthur" I can't think of a finer, more loving tribute to one of "the little people".\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nTHE Definitive English Pop Album, November 29, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nThis is without question my favorite album by my favorite band - SQUEEZE. Each track is incredibly different yet the album flows like no other. From the straight ahead pop of "In Quintessence" to the Patsy Cline-ish "Labelled With Love", every song is a gem. Glenn Tilbrook's voice and lead guitar are in fine form, and Chris Difford adds his usual dark edge and humor to the record. Strangely enough, "Tempted" is probably my least favorite cut from the record - I've always though it sounded better in concert with Glenn singing rather than Paul Carrack. Gilson Lavis and John Bentley provide a stellar rhythm section - check out the bass playing on "Someone Else's Heart", and the drum fills on "Mumbo Jumbo". I love this record - I wore out the grooves on the album, and the CD still gets regular airplay in my house. Just a batch of great songs - not a clunker in the bunch....check it out!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSorely, sorely underrated, August 4, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nDifford and Tillbrook are absolute masters of pop songwriting, and Squeeze is easily the most underrated band in rock history. Cool For Cats and Argybargy are both brilliant, but East Side Story is the truest testament to Squeeze's talent, exemplifying the genre-spanning experimentation that was at the heart of New Wave. Can there possibly be a greater pop song than "Picadilly?"\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n...one of the great pop albums of all time, January 9, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nWhen I first bought "East Side Story" in 1981, it didn't leave my turn table for over a month. Living in a city which at the time was starving for new music, being hung up on the tired 70's rock and disco, this album was a breath of fresh air. "In Quintessesnce", "Piccadilly", "Is That Love" to name a few of this album's many great cuts are excellent pop songs. It is a shame that "Tempted" is the cut that received all the airplay from the album, because there are at least a half a dozen superior songs on "East Side Story". While some times dark and moody, this album contains some of pop's great lyrics and melodies. Based on this release, as song writers, Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook were considered by some to be the next Lennon and McCartney. While an unfair comparison from either perspective, Tilbrook's sweet vocals and catchy melodies when merged with Difford's insightful lyrics created many songs to rival some of the Beatles best mid-sixties work. This is a must CD for anyone interested the late seventies/early eighties New Wave sound. Other great Squeeze releases include, "Cool for Cats", "Argybargy", and "Sweets from a Stranger".\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe album where Difford and Tilbrook came of age, November 23, 1998\nReviewer: A music fan\nUntil East Side Story, Squeeze had been an amusing if accomplished band on the fringes of the British New Wave. The Elvis Costello-produced East Side Story finally lifted the lid on the superior pop combo they were to become. Tempted was the stand-out but Vanity Fair and Someone Else's Bell are up there with the finest Squeeze output. The latest British release - Domino - goes someway to recapturing these glory days.\n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nSqueeze: Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook (guitar, vocals); Paul Carrack (keyboards, vocals); John Bentley (bass, background vocals); Gilson Lavis (drums).\nProducers: Roger Bechirian, Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds.\n\nIn one of the smartest free transfer deals ever, Squeeze were able to plug the massive midfield gap left by the departing Jools Holland with the nimble-fingered Paul Carrack. They gained an extra vocalist in the process, but there seems to have been little room for Carrack's underrated and expressive voice. For many, the album's best track was "Tempted," with Carrack taking lead vocal (with help from producer Elvis Costello). Close behind in the queue is "Someone Else's Bell," "Is That Love," "In Quintessence"--in fact the whole set, except possibly the uncomfortable chord/key change of "F-Hole," which leads back to the hypnotically great "Tempted."\n\nIndustry Reviews\nRanked #4 in CMJ's Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1981.\nRolling Stone - Ranked # 82 in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Albums Of The Eighties survey (11/01/1989)\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Remastered CD)\nStunning fifth album, July 10, 2003\nReviewer: Wayne Klein "Wayne Klein" (Fairfield, CA United States)\nMake no mistake, East Side Story is the band's early masterpiece. While Sweets was far more experimental (as was Cool for Cats), the band's fifth album focused on songcraft. Originally intended as a double album (with hopes for Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Dave Edmunds and someone else who I can't recall at the moment), East Side Story is the band's most perfectly formed album. \nEvery track belongs here and the arrangements from the startling guitar break on Inquintessence to the organ hook that opens Tempted are brilliant. This is an album that's crying out for a second disc of live material from the same album. The two bonus tracks are a mixed bag. One's quite good and the other is just a so-so remake of an oldie. \n\nBy the way, this is exactly the same remaster that was used for the box set Six of One that is now out of print.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Remastered CD)\nAstonishingly Good - A Dazzling Tour-De-Force, November 15, 2002\nReviewer: Eric R. Last "misterrockobscurities" (San Bruno, CA United States)\n"East Side Story" is the greatest album of Squeeze's long, distinguished career. It was their fourth album, and they were on an amazing trajectory, with each album revealing growing craftsmanship and confidence, culminating in this masterpiece in 1981. Difford's wry lyrics remained fascinating, but it was Tilbrook's growth as the music-writing half of the team that was leading them into astounding new realms of creativity. He seemed to be able to absorb all musical styles and spit them out in wildly diverse gem after gem. The songs were becoming ever more melodically complex, but without sacrificing the catchiness that it essential to this sort of pop music. (On later albums he would sometimes be guilty of going too far with the melodic complexity, but no sign of that yet in 1981). In addition, Tilbrook had blossomed into a wonderful vocalist, and his guitar leads had become models of dazzling efficiency. (I defy anyone to name a more exquisitely consise guitar solo than the 12-second masterpiece in the middle of "In Quintessence".) New keyboardist Paul Carrack (of pub-rockers Ace and "How Long" fame) is a smoother fit for Difford and Tilbrook than his predecessor Jools Holland, and his lead vocal showcase, "Tempted", became Squeeze's biggest hit to date. Among the other highlights: the achingly lovely ballad "Labelled With Love", here given a gentle country treatment, but you could just as easily imagine this song sung by a crooner like Sinatra or Tony Bennett (assuming the crooner could pull off Difford's lyrics); the rockabilly "Messed Around", which sounds like it's straight out of Elvis' Sun Sessions; the more typical Squeeze pop-rock gems "Is That Love", "Someone Else's Bell", and of course "In Quintessence"; and the amazing "Mumbo Jumbo", wherein Tilbrook combines 3 or 4 great melodies into a single three-minute classic. Elsewhere there are Beatles-inspired orchestrations and dark sonic experiments. Squeeze hit their peak here, and their albums of the past 20 years have often come close to the heights reached on "East Side Story", without ever topping it. This album is an absolute must-own for any Squeeze fan.
This rock cd contains 14 tracks and runs 48min 39sec.
Freedb: d30b650e
Buy: from Amazon.com

Categories

Latest lists

Squeeze: East Side Story CD Track Listing

Category

Tags

cyList

Legal