Top Artists – Squeeze

Squeeze – Babylon and On

More Rock and Pop

  • Boasting INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides, this vintage UK pressing is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Babylon and On you’ve heard – very quiet vinyl too!
  • We shot out a number of other copies and the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics on this outstanding copy placed it head and shoulders above most other pressings we played
  • I put Squeeze right up there with Elvis Costello and Peter Gabriel in the pantheon of British Pop Music of the era
  • I’m a huge fan of their earlier work, as well as two from their later days, this title and the amazing-to-this-day Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti (1985) – all of them get played regularly and enjoyed immensely

(more…)

Stick with Porky on East Side Story

More Hot Stamper Pressings We Only Offer on Import Vinyl Available Now

Porky cut the original British pressings of this Squeeze album, one of countless personal favorites of yours truly. They are records (and cassettes and CDs) I have played hundreds of times and still listen to regularly to this very day, in this case more than forty years after I purchased my first copy. (Good albums age well.)

I would have picked the record out of the bin at my local Tower Records, probably based on the radio play Tempted was getting.

That copy undoubtedly would have been domestic and made from a sub-generation tape, although I’m quite sure I could not have recognized what constituted dubby sound back then. In 1981, what I understood about the importance of different record pressings would have fit comfortably in a thimble.

I had my MoFi’s, and although I hate to admit it, that’s about as far as I had gotten in my quest for superior sounding pressings. You could add Nautilus and a few other Half-Speeds to the list of what pressing I thought were impressive, leaving plenty of room in that thimble unfilled.

Thankfully those bad old days are gone, and the music can now, finally, live and breath on the best of these imports from the UK. Of course they are the only ones we buy these days for our shootouts. The others are what are known around these parts as “mistakes.”

Sometimes the imported pressings are mastered by Porky and sometimes they are not. The ones that are not tend to have a lot of problems, as you can see from our stamper sheet below.

When Porky is not on side one, that side will tend to be hard, lean and bright. Side two of that copy had decent sound, earning a minimal Hot Stamper grade of 1.5+.

(more…)

Squeeze – Sweets from a Stranger

More New Wave

  • Boasting two excellent Double Plus (A++) sides or close to them, this vintage UK pressing is guaranteed to handily beat any other Sweets from a Stranger you’ve heard
  • We shot out a number of other imports and this one had the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics that were missing from most other copies we played (particularly on side two)
  • If you’re a fan of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Jackson and even quite a few other lesser-knowns from this era, Squeeze is the band for you

I put them right up there with Elvis Costello and Peter Gabriel in the pantheon of British Pop Music of the era.

Squeeze’s prime period with Jools Holland on keyboards encompasses four albums, any of which is worth owning. The band really gets going with their second album, Cool for Cats (1979), pulls it all together and takes it to another level for their breakthrough third, Argybargy (1980), and produces two more of high quality, East Side Story (1981, produced mostly by Elvis Costello) and the darker but equally brilliant Sweets from a Stranger(1982).

I’m a huge fan of all four, as well as two from their later days, the amazing-to-this-day Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti (1985) and the weaker but enjoyable Babylon and On (1987). I play all of them on a regular basis.

(more…)

Squeeze / Argybargy Rocks on UK Vinyl

More Squeeze

squeeargyb_2016_1466782719

  • Both sides of this vintage British import were giving us the big and bold sound we were looking for, earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The overall sonics are rich, full-bodied, lively, and warm, with solid bass and breathy, clear vocals
  • Forget the dubby domestic pressings and whatever crappy Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear this music right, the UK LPs are the only way to fly on Argybargy
  • 5 stars: “If any one album were responsible for sowing the seeds of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook’s reputation as the new Lennon and McCartney, it’s Argybargy, Squeeze’s third album and undisputed breakthrough.”

If you think you might enjoy the mashup of Pub Rock and New Wave that this group unleashed on the pop music scene of the 70s and 80s I could not recommend any album of theirs more highly than Argybargy.

Squeeze’s prime period with Jools Holland on keyboards encompasses four albums, any of which is worth owning. The band really gets going with their second album, Cool for Cats (1979), pulls it all together and takes it to another level for their breakthrough third, Argybargy (1980), and produces two more of high quality, East Side Story (1981, produced mostly by Elvis Costello) and the darker but equally brilliant Sweets from a Stranger (1982).

I’m a huge fan of all four, as well as two from their later days, the amazing-to-this-day Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti (1985) and the weaker but enjoyable Babylon and On (1987). I play all of them on a regular basis.

If you’re a fan of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Jackson and probably quite a few other lesser-knowns from this era, Squeeze is the band for you. I put them right up there with Elvis Costello and Peter Gabriel in the pantheon of British Pop Music of the era.

(more…)

Squeeze – East Side Story

More Squeeze

  • With solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them throughout, this original British A&M pressing is guaranteed to handily beat any other East Side Story you’ve heard – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • The sound on side two of this superb import is rich, full-bodied, lively, and warm, with solid bass and breathy, clear vocals, and side one is not far behind in all those areas
  • Don’t waste your money on whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of Squeeze’s fourth studio album, a vintage 80s pressing like this one is the only way to go (particularly on this side two)
  • 5 stars: “…it stands as Squeeze’s tour de force, the best pop band of their time stretching every one of its muscles.”

(more…)

Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti – A Personal Favorite from 1985

If you’re a fan of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Jackson and a few other lesser-knowns from this era, Squeeze is the band for you. I put them right up there with Elvis Costello and Peter Gabriel in the pantheon of Best British Pop Music Bands of All Time.

Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti has long been a favorite album of mine, a Desert Island Disc if you will, with some of the most powerfully produced, intelligently written and passionately performed songs in the entire Squeeze canon.

There’s plenty of Tubey Magical richness and smoothness on the best British pressings — such as this one — qualities the domestic pressings are sorely lacking, having been mastered from dub tapes. If you want to hear this music right on vinyl, it’s British or nothing, and with one of our Hot Stamper pressings it’s British and everything — everything that’s good about this recording is captured on these sides.

What to Listen For

The overall sound needs to be rich and tubey, not dry, thin or modern.

Clarity and space are nice but not if they come at the expense of the smooth, rich, natural sound of tubes (whether there are tubes in the chain or not).

For more What to Listen For advice on other titles we have auditioned, please click here.

This record sounds best to us this way:

For more modestly helpful title-specific advice, click here.

(more…)

Argybargy Is Quintessential Squeeze

squeeargyb_2016_1466782719Hot Stamper Pressings of Personal Favorites Available Now

If you think you might enjoy the mashup of Pub Rock and New Wave that this group unleashed on the pop music scene of the ’70s and ’80s I could not recommend any album of theirs more highly than Argybargy.

Squeeze’s prime period with Jools Holland on keyboards encompasses four albums, any of which is worth owning. The band really gets going with their second album, Cool for Cats (1979), pulls it all together and takes it to another level for their breakthrough third, Argybargy (1980), and produces two more of high quality, East Side Story (1981, produced mostly by Elvis Costello) and the darker but equally brilliant Sweets from a Stranger (1982).

I’m a huge fan of all four, as well as two from their later days, the amazing-to-this-day Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti (1985) and the weaker but enjoyable Babylon and On (1987). I play all of them on a regular basis.

If you’re a fan of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Jackson and probably quite a few other lesser-knowns from this era, Squeeze is the band for you. I put them right up there with Elvis Costello and Peter Gabriel in the pantheon of British Pop Music of the era.

The Sound

There’s plenty of Tubey Magical richness and smoothness on the best British pressings, qualities the domestic pressings are sorely lacking. If you want to hear this music right, on vinyl it’s British or nothing, and with one of our Hot Stamper pressings it’s British and everything — everything that’s good about this recording is captured on this on the copies we offer.

What to Listen For 

Extension up top was hard to come by on most pressings. When you hear those lovely highs you can hear how much they add to the sound.

The overall sound is rich and tubey, not dry, thin or modern. Clarity and space are nice but not if they come at the expense of the smooth, rich, natural sound of tubes (whether there are tubes in the chain or not).

(more…)

Squeeze – A Great Band that Deserves More Respect from Audiophiles

More Hot Stamper Pressings We Only Offer on Import Vinyl Available Now

If you’re a fan of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Jackson and even quite a few other lesser-knowns from this era, Squeeze is the band for you. I put them right up there with Elvis Costello and Peter Gabriel in the pantheon of Best British Pop Music of All Time.

If you think you might enjoy the mashup of Pub Rock and New Wave that this group unleashed on the pop music scene of the ’70s and ’80s I could not recommend any album of theirs more highly than Argybargy. It’s a MASTERPIECE.

Squeeze’s prime period with Jools Holland on keyboards encompasses four albums, any of which is worth owning. The band really gets going with their second album, Cool for Cats (1979), then pulls it all together and takes it to another level for their breakthrough third, Argybargy (1980).

The band then produces two more of high quality, East Side Story (1981, produced mostly by Elvis Costello) and the darker but equally brilliant Sweets from a Stranger (1982).

I’m a huge fan of all four, as well as two from their later days, the amazing-to-this-day Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti (1985) and the weaker but still enjoyable Babylon and On (1987).

I play all of them on a regular basis and enjoy the hell out of them whenever I do.

Squeeze Background

Squeeze are a British band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording successfully in the 1980s and 1990s.

They are known in the UK for their hit songs “Cool for Cats”, “Up the Junction”, “Tempted”, “Labelled with Love”, “Black Coffee in Bed”, “Another Nail in My Heart”, “Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)” and “Hourglass”. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American chart hits with “Tempted”, “Hourglass” and “853-5937”, and they have a dedicated following there and continue to attract new fans.

All of Squeeze’s hits were written by band members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, with the former penning the lyrics and the latter handling the composition. The duo were hailed as “the heirs to Lennon and McCartney’s throne” during their peak of popularity in the early 1980s.

Wikipedia

Squeeze – If I Didn’t Love You – “Tiny Collector’s Edition” 5 Inch Single

This is a brand new, unplayed British import pressing of the world’s smallest 7″ single — because it’s only 5″ across! The record plays at 33 RPM & has 2 songs, ’If I Didn”t Love You’ & ’Another Nail In My Heart’, two of the best songs on Argybargy.

Don’t buy this for the sound or the surfaces, buy it for the awesome coolness of having a unique Squeeze “Tiny Collector’s Edition.” 

Squeeze – Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti

Records We Only Sell on Import Vinyl

  • This British original earned excellent sonic grades of Double Plus (A++) on both sides – the band sounds great here
  • This has long been a favorite album of mine, a desert island disc if you will, with some of the most powerfully produced, intelligently written and passionately performed songs in the entire Squeeze canon
  • The domestic pressings are obviously made from dubs, and only the best of the Brits have sound even approaching this copy 
  • “”By Your Side,” “I Learnt How to Pray,” and “Last Time Forever” are all darker tunes than just about any Squeeze had done so far but they carry an emotional punch.” Boy, do they

If you’re a fan of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Jackson and even quite a few other lesser-knowns from this era, Squeeze is the band for you. I put them right up there with Elvis Costello and Peter Gabriel in the pantheon of Best British Pop Music of All Time.

The Sound

There’s plenty of Tubey Magical richness and smoothness on the best British pressings — such as this one — qualities the domestic pressings are sorely lacking. If you want to hear this music right, on vinyl it’s British or nothing, and with one of our Hot Stamper pressings it’s British and everything — everything that’s good about this recording is captured on these sides. (more…)