Customer Reviews

Play

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've owned all of Squeeze's albums. But the songs and arrangements on "Play" (which was actually released in 1990) are D&T's best work. The interesting use of string sections, horns, and sampled ambient sounds compliment their most interesting production. There isn't a weak song here. Bruce Hornsby and Steve Nieve are only a couple of the guest musicians.
As a professional musician I've spent many hours enjoying this brilliant album. Why it never received widespread acclaim has always been a total mystery to me. This is an invisible masterpiece!

This is one of those perfect cd's that you never have to skip a track while listening to it. Great songwriting and production values. Mixed by the best mixdown guy in the business, Bob Clearmountain, who also did the Crowded House albums. When I first got this album, I played nothing else for 2 weeks! Sqeeze should be alot more known than they are, for sure.

Hard to believe this band isn't a household name, and not just for their work in the 80's. This album is what a pop album should be. Not the over-produced, synthed work of today. This is a heart-felt album with amazing tales of love and loss. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Unfortunately, most of Squeeze's albums are currently unavailable, except in used CD bins and such. At least "Play" remains in print, even if only as an import. This 1991 LP is considered by countless Squeeze fans to be their most brilliant masterpiece, as well as one of their most underrated. While "East Side Story" contains such commercial classics as "Tempted" and "Is That Love", "Play" contains more of the band's even better, more recent work. From the beauty of "Satisfied", to the unbelievable chord changes in "The House Of Love", to the more upbeat rock sound of "Gone To The Dogs", this album is a classic not just in Squeeze history, but rock and roll history.

Squeeze and Messrs. Difford and Tilbrook soar to the heights on this release. A height that has only been reached here and there since the Beatles in the 1960's. When "Play" was released unlike some other current artists, the first listening was a nuclear blast. From the perfect melodic interplay of "House of Love" and "Satisfied" to the deep lyrical starkness of the pop-country tinged "The Truth" and the McCartney-like "Gone to the Dog's" this CD is a throwback to the day's when Beatles fans waited with intense longing for the next masterpiece from merrie old England. A decade and a half later, like a fine wine it has only increased its beauty and effervescence.

OK, I've changed my mind, and this is fully deserving of all five stars. I previously thought it was a bit too predictable, but after listening to it a few more times, this becomes irrelevant. This is a super album of catchy tunes and good songwriting/arrangement. It is a 'big' album i.e. lots of guest musicians, including a string and horn section. The lyrics are more on the observational side, and full of contrast.
There is also musical range, from the quirky, roller-coaster style "House of Love" and the excellent "Crying in my Sleep", to the simple, mid-tempo "The Truth", the centerpiece of the album. For all Squeeze fans, this is a must-have

I saw Squeeze at the Roxy in Los Angeles when this album came out. As one of my favorite bands ever, I could not wait to see this album done live. It did not disappoint one bit! To meet the band after the show was a real treat. I was surprised to see them on Warner Bros since they have been on A&M since 1978! It was a one and out and back to the A&M label after this effort. This is a great point musically for Squeeze. I am looking forward to the show coming up this summer with the original line-up. It puts a big smile on my face :) A must have for any Squeeze fan!!!!

which is not intended to damn it. On the contrary, this is a very solid album that holds up well to their earlier material. They have matured and are no longer "bouncy", but their is great craft in the tunes. Plenty of hooks this time around and very nice melodies.

It's hard to pigeonhole Squeeze. On the one hand, this album just screams "80's" from every note of every song. And yet there is no other 80's band that sounds anything like Squeeze. The chord progressions on most of their songs are so different than what anyone else did (or does) that frequently you have to listen to a song 5 times before you catch the flow. My theory is that some of these songs were written by randomly scrambling a bunch of chords and then trying to fit a melody-line over them. Contrary to what other reviewers here say, I think that for this reason most of the songs on this album are NOT instantly appealing. Rather, they grow on you... after listening to the CD a few times, you can begin to hum some of the melody lines. But play it first time for your friends, and they'll probably say "what the hell kind of song is that?" I give 4 stars because the songs are musically interesting and surprising, which is more than you get from most bands. I don't give 5 stars, because not enough of these songs TRANSCEND interesting and surprising to become beautiful. Most of them remain well-crafted curiosities. So I don't think the Beatles have any real competition from Squeeze, but I think this album should be heard, and that Squeeze should get the credit it deserves as one of the most innovative bands of the 80's.

...they had been produced by Mitchell Froom back than. He would have picked a different song order and he would have put more dynamics into the songs. It is sounds a bit flat at times. Not all songs really become what the first seconds seem to promise.

Overall a great record with some of their best tunes of their later days like "Letting Go", "Day I Get Home" and "The Truth".