Spot The Difference [Double CD]

It's difficult to say quite what Squeeze were trying to achieve with this album. Some have said they released it because of licensing difficulties, but (the separate issue of 'rights' aside, which Chris Difford talks about in one interview) considering the recently-released "Essential Squeeze", I'm not sure what the point would be (although I'm willing to be enlightened). Alternatively, there was footage on their website featuring Mssrs Difford and Tilbrook talking about Squeeze wanting to be its own best tribute-band, a bizarre act of deference, but one which they quite rightly said they could pull off better than anybody else.

And this is something we're perhaps being asked to consider: as the group has recently re-formed, this is a wonderful way of showing the record-buying (or rather song-downloading) public that the band can still perform with the best of the young guns. It's an opportunity to show they can still sound as bright and as perky as they did all those years ago. This is important, because we hear they'll be releasing new material in the near future, but when I mention them to friends who aren't as ancient as I apparently am, they respond in ways that make you think they're looked upon as 'Golden Oldies', not particularly fashionable, and, well, the sort of thing your dad might listen to, if you bought him a gramophone record. So did it work?

Personally I was a little surprised at myself when I first put this album on. I thought I'd have it on in the background, knowing all the songs already, and wouldn't particularly listen to it; but in reality I was gripped, waiting eagerly for the next track, thinking to myself "just this one, and then I'll go and make a cup of tea... Okay, then I'll listen to the next one aswell..."

You can class what you get on this album into some distinct, yet overlapping groups: many of the songs here - Another Nail, Hourglass, Is That Love, Labelled with Love, Pulling Mussels - sound very much like the originals, perhaps with a little re-mastering having taken place. It's a little spooky listening to them. Others are similar to the originals but actually a little better (I'm thinking of Black Coffee in Bed and Take Me I'm Yours, with Simon Hanson's excellent drumming adding even more urgency to an already 'driven' rhythm); others are slightly different versions, such as Goodbye Girl, Loving You Tonight, and Some Fantastic Place; but sadly there's a fourth group, the songs that don't quite work as well on this album as they did in their original settings (Glenn's voice doesn't quite come off in Up The Junction, I'm still not convinced by his lead vocals on Loving You Tonight, and would be interested to hear whether Chris could do it more justice instead, and his final phrase in Some Fantastic Place sounds a bit... odd). Cool for Cats falls into a category of its own, "the set of songs that don't belong in any set of songs". Chris Difford's voice has changed over the years, and I'm not sure yet what I think about this version. Time will tell - but I don't dislike it.

So this is an album of "Modern" Squeeze trying their best to sound like other incarnations of Squeeze. On the whole, they do it very well indeed. Job done. So there are two ways you can judge this album -

Either:
It's just another re-packaged 'greatest hits' collection, to add to all the others on your shelves (45s & Under, Piccadilly Collection, Excess Moderation, Classics, Master Series, The Squeeze Story, Greatest Hits, Big Squeeze, Essential Squeeze, Millennium Collection, not to mention Six of One, the BBC Sessions and the live albums, and probably a couple of others I've forgotten). Most of the songs sound pretty much the same as the originals, with a few exceptions, and the musicianship and voices, while certainly no worse, haven't got significantly better over the years. All in all a bit like flogging the same old horse (albeit one that's happily coming back to life!).

Or...
It's an interesting, worthwhile and thought-provoking take on the greatest hits idea, better than any singles collection because you get to hear new versions, versions of what they sound like now; and adding that extra twist for fans wanting to know how different takes compare. In other words, you're getting a fine selection of Squeeze's greatest hits, without having to buy the tracks you already have. They've obviously put an awful lot of work into it, and it allows the listener to think a little deeper about the songs he or she owned and thought they knew. An excellent piece of marketing, and a fine gift to fans and newcomers alike.

But when it comes down to it, we have to ask: is there really a difference?

I wasn't sure what to expect from this album. As a Squeeze fan, I intended to purchase it anyway, but based my expectations on the earlier review. By enlarge the earlier review sums this album up very well and I'd tend to agree with most of what was written. I did however personally enjoy hearing these rerecordings very much. It is interesting to hear the difference between Squeeze as they were and what they are now. Many years have passed since these songs were originally released, but Tilbrook and Difford have not by any means lost their magic. Naturally I wouldn't ever want to substitute these versions for the originals, as these were the reason I grew to love their music in the first place. Nothing could replace the magic that the originals gave, however it was nice to hear these songs re-done and I was able to appreciate them in their own right.

Just a quick note to explain why Squeeze have bothered to re-record their greatest hits (and some misses) and release them when there are countless other greatest hit collections out there already.

Basically, they don't own the rights to their own songs, therefore Universal are free to release their songs for use on commercials etc without getting the band's permission. Also when they do, the band don't make any money from the use of their songs.

These have been re-recorded, so that the band can directly offer their songs for use in commercials and get paid for it.

The songs do sound very similar, sometimes identical to the originals, but I suppose that was the point.

For fans who probably already own countless greatest hits collections, it probably is still worth purchasing for the free bonus CD, that was recorded on the recent USA tour.