East Side Story

Squeeze | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 26, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: American Beat
• ASIN: B000PSJCZ6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,998 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. In Quintessence

2. Someone Else's Heart

3. Tempted

4. Piccadilly

5. There's No Tomorrow

6. Heaven

7. Woman's World

8. Is That Love?

9. F-Hole

10. Labelled with Love

11. Someone Else's Bell

12. Mumbo Jumbo

13. Vanity Fair

14. Messed Around

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It'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

Product Description

Digitally remastered reissue of their 1981 album, completewith the two bonus tracks from the box set: 'The Axe Has NowFallen' & 'Looking For A Love'. 16 tracks total, alsofeaturing 'In Quintessence', 'Tempted', 'Heaven', 'Woman'sWorld', 'Piccadilly' and 'Is That Love?'. 1997 A&M release. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishingly Good - A Dazzling Tour-De-Force, November 15, 2002

By 

Eric R. Last "misterrockobscurities" (San Bruno, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: East Side Story (Audio CD)

"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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning fourth album (This review is for the 2007 UK reissue NOT the American Beat Reissue), July 10, 2003

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: East Side Story (Audio CD)

Make 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 fourth 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.

Every 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.

The American Beat version reportedly has better dynamics and is a flat transfer of the original release but I don't have it nor have I heard it for comparison. It doesn't have any bonus tracks.

By the way, this is exactly the same remaster that was used for the box set Six of One that is now out of print.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars THE WORST AUDIO VERSION OF THIS CLASSIC, FANTASTIC ALBUM, June 6, 2007

By 

BOB (LOS ANGELES, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: East Side Story (Audio CD)

The domestic Squeeze catalog has never received the courtesy of being brought properly into the digital world by the odious conglomerate that is Universal Music USA.

This travesty is the old LP-EQ'd master from the original vinyl album release, and it sucks mightily.

There are two import CD's with far better audio of this great album:

The 1998 UK remaster, which also has two bonus tracks, and the 2007 Japan mini-sleeve remaster, which contains four additional tracks.

I mention both because the '98 UK import is still in print, readily available, and the less expensive of the two. The '07 'sleeve edition, while available as of this writing, is, as all Japan mini-sleeve CD's are, a limited-edition, and will probably sell out quickly.

So, if you are considering buying the '07 'sleeve CD, don't hesitate, because as "East Side Story" is the jewel in the Squeeze catalog, it will certainly be gone in the near future.

FYI: On 4/25/07, an eight-album, newly remastered Squeeze catalog mini-sleeve release ("Squeeze", "Cool for Cats", "Argybargy", "East Side Story", "Sweets From A Stranger", "Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti", "Babylon And On", and "Frank") was issued, all of which, again, are limited editions.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.