Squeeze Singles

The ultimate Squeeze album is, of course, Singles, 45's and Under. This is a classic album of 1980s pop that belongs in any record collection. This compilation (The Piccadilly Collection) is an updated release of classic Squeeze tunes, containing many of the favorites from Singles, 45s and Under (Pulling Mussels, Tempted), as well as newer material from the 1990s (Everything in the World, Some Fantastic Place). It includes a few other noteworthy songs (Hourglass, Love's Crashing Waves) that are worth having, as they are of the same quality as the material from "Singles". In addition, there are a few interesting tunes (Spanish Guitar, Elephant Girl) that are positive additions and are relatively unknown. This is a good compilation to buy if you need a Squeeze CD that covers the highlights but also adds some newer material.

Following two patchier albums filled with cheery East End tales, Argy Bargy (1980), emerged as their crowning achievement. Now reissued along with some of the band's later efforts, it remains a masterpiece of kitchen sink pop, possibly second only to the follow up, East Side Story. Chris Difford, and Glenn Tilbrook, the band's Lennon and McCartney had already proven themselves adept at gritty, witty tableaus like Up The Junction or Slap And Tickle. Added to this was their technical sheen. There's Tilbrook's underrated ability to pull tasty (and apt) solos out of the hat like a younger George Harrison - the solo at 1.46 on Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) is one of the best - and also one of the best drummers in the business in Gilson Lavis. All this briefly made Squeeze world-beaters.

One imagines that this collection was aimed at the total neophyte listener – taken in any other context, this is an odd collection of single sides by one of the premiere singles bands of the 1960s and early '70s…

One imagines that this collection was aimed at the total neophyte listener - taken in any other context, this is an odd collection of single sides by one of the premiere singles bands of the 1960s and early '70s. Does it start at the beginning, with either "I'm the Face" or "I Can't Explain"? No. Does it encompass many of the freestanding singles issued by this band through 1972? No. Does it even offer any of the less well-known single sides from that period? No - apart from the three-and-a-half-minute single edit of "Won't Get Fooled Again," which was hardly a sterling example of the format or the genre. Instead, listeners get all of the most familiar hits, albeit in their original mono mixes where relevant: "Substitute," "I'm a Boy," "Pictures of Lily," "I Can See for Miles," "Pinball Wizard," "Squeeze Box," etc.

4CD set. Collects six original albums including "Ronnie Scott & Tony Crombie at The Royal Festival Hall", "Tubby Hayes & The Jazz Couriers", "Presenting The Ronnie Scott Sextet", "Jazz Couriers In Concert", "Couriers Of Jazz" and "The Last Word", plus rare BONUS cuts.

Depending on who you talk to, the irrepressible Jools Holland is best known as a blisteringly energetic, piano-pounding performer of boogie-woogie, jazz, and R&B; or as the keyboard-wizard sideman to one of the great new wave pop bands of the '70s and '80s; or as one of the U.K.'s most popular television presenters. And while any one of these accomplishments would be enough for most people, Jools Holland has managed to be all those things in his remarkable show biz career – a career that's seen him work with almost everybody who was anybody on the U.K. or U.S. music scene from the late '70s onward.