Why SQUEEZE's East Side Story Is One Of The Greatest Albums In The History Of Rock 'n' Roll!

SQUEEZE

EAST SIDE STORY (1981)

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Oh, dear.  I'm in trouble!  Calling this blog post "Why SQUEEZE's East Side Story Is One Of The Greatest Albums In The History Of Rock 'n' Roll!" isn't doing me any favors right now because people immediately want to know WHY and they want to know NOW!  They are also quietly mocking me... or perhaps loudly mocking me and I just can't hear them.  But believe me, I know that detractors are there and ready to pounce and verbally abuse me... but that's OK, because I truly believe that Squeeze's East Side Story IS one of the greatest albums in the history of Rock 'n' Roll!  And here's why...

Back before Squeeze songwriters Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford were dubbed the 'new Lennon & McCartney" they were the quintessential British songwriting team. Difford's lyrics were always clever and Tilbrook knew his way around a melodic hook, thus making them more than just another Pub or New Wave band.  While other groups would seize the moment and create music that was of it's time, not wanting to look too far back into Rock's rich history. Difford and Tilbrook were different - they embraced their influences without copying them.  Before East Side Story, they released their first three albums (Squeeze, Cool For Cats and Arbybargy) to critical acclaim and managed to have a few hit singles in the process.  But with East Side Story, they stripped away the production excesses and recorded an album that was simple, warm and filled to the brim with melodies that were sweet yet tough.  This was the first album where critics started to make their 'new Lennon & McCartney' case, and deservedly so.

With straight-forward production by the great Roger Bechirian and Elvis Costello (who really should have produced a lot more albums than he actually did), East Side Story is charming without being quaint.  It's not an album of twee pop songs for the New Wave generation - its a mature slice of Pop/Rock that still sounds fresh and invigorating over 30 years later. Instead of recreating their breakthrough album Argybargy, Squeeze stepped up to the plate and delivered an album so full of life, love, heartache and joy that its difficult not to experience those emotions while listening to it.

When East Side Story was released, I was 18 years old and had already experienced the highs and lows of every emotion related to a relationship.  This was an album that opened my eyes to a passion that went beyond a love shared by two people.  The songs spoke about things beyond the typical boy/girl fodder that Pop was known for.  They were about real life, real feelings, real people.  The songs were not about the same kinds of politics that The Clash and The Jam sang about.... these were more personal and close to home.  It is an honest album that invites the listener into the band's world, which reflects what was going on around them at the time.  In many ways, East Side Story reflected the lives of the listener: same situations, different characters. Ordinary lives, extraordinary songs. 

From the opening track, "In Quintessence" (the only song on the album produced by Dave Edmunds), the album is a thrill ride through a myriad of styles and moods.  They remained a Pop band, through and through, but they took little detours along the way, building an album as diverse as it was melodic. The hit single "Tempted" (written by Difford/Tilbrook but chiefly sung by new keyboardist Paul Carrack) adds a little slice of Soul to the album while "Labelled With Love" is a Country weeper that sounds incredibly natural and not forced at all.  "Messed Around" is a Rockabilly ditty that comes immediately after "Vanity Fair", which could have been a Revolver track had "Eleanor Rigby" not have existed at the time. The band's desire to experiment is evident in "There's No Tomorrow" and "F-Hole", both of which feature great melodies within musical frameworks that are entirely different to the rest of the album. As for the Pop side of the band, "Someone Else's Heart", "Is That Love?", "Woman's World" and "Piccadilly" are absolutely perfect in every way... from the production to the performance.  

The only blemish on the album is the less-than-stellar "Heaven", which still fails to excite these ears over three decades later.  So, you may be asking yourself HOW can this be a great album if there is a bad song on it?  Well, most people think that Sgt. Pepper is one of Rock's greatest albums of all time, right?  Well, I don't personally know many people who can sit through "Within You Without You" on that album... so I rest my case with that one example.

East Side Story still feels fresh and certainly not of it's time.  It is an absolute delight of an album that raised their profile in the Rock 'n' Roll community and made the band stand out in a sea of 'New Wave' bands (I use that term to define how they were categorized, not how they sounded).  It is entirely unpretentious and is a virtual love letter to the glory, magic and power of Rock and Pop music.

Unfortunately for Squeeze (and for all of us), Carrack left the band after touring for the album and the band began to lose momentum, commercially.  When their follow-up album, Sweets From A Stranger, was released, the simplicity of the band was swallowed up by glossy production and they split after a further single.  They've reunited since then a few times and while their albums have been fantastic, nothing has come close to the magic of East Side Story. Well, OK... maybe some albums did come pretty damn close, but not quite.  Don't get me wrong... a mediocre Squeeze song is still loads better than most band's entire back catalog!

An amazing album that truly is one of the greatest in the history of Rock 'n' Roll.  And you know what?  I've heard a lot of albums in my time... and I'm STILL listening to music every day... and very few come even close...

But don't take my word for it... let the music do the talking!

Peace, love and Pop,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee

SPAZ reviews STATUS QUO's Bula Quo! Two CD set available July 9th, 2013!

STATUS QUO

BULA QUO

7.9.13

They may be celebrating their 50th Anniversary, but I became a STATUS QUO fan late in the game.  Back in '84, they were they first band to play Live Aid, which I watched pretty intently for much of the day.  Kicking off the show with "Rocking All Over The World", I was pretty much hooked on Quo then and there.  Already 20 years into their career, I definitely had quite a few albums to purchase at that point.  I've stuck with them ever since, buying every album, every hits collection, every CD and then every remastered CD.  And I'll buy every album, remaster or whatever until they stop releasing them. Which I hope never happens...

Well, OK, so I've avoided the live releases, but that's just because I don't care for live albums all that much.  In fact, I don't care for live albums at all! But I must say that I've seen many bands over the years during their heyday (XTC, The Jam, Split Enz, Squeeze, etc) but my absolute favorite live show of all time was Quo at the House Of Blues in Anaheim on February 27th, 2003.  Yes, the smallish club in Downtown Disney.  Quo usually never play anything smaller than a stadium in Europe and elsewhere, but I saw them live at this little club during the Heavy Traffic tour and it blew me away. Everything about that night was magical.  It was the greatest Rock 'n' Roll show I've ever experienced.  But then again, I think Status Quo are one of the greatest Rock 'n' Roll bands ever! 

Some say that Quo aren't as great as they used to be.  I beg to differ.  They are still releasing some great Rock records and I'll stand by every one of them.  Except for the live albums.  Oh, and the cover version albums.  I own them all but they released too many covers albums over the last 20 years and probably lost some fans because of it.  But when they release their albums of original material (which they've been doing pretty consistently for the last 10 years), they are all top notch in my book.  Even in the '90s when critics would rip them to shreds, they were still releasing great albums.  OK, so they weren't Piledriver, Hello! or Blue For You (or whatever '70s album you prefer) nor were they trying to be.  While Quo may have essentially stayed the same, they also changed things up a little bit, too. As they've grown older, the guys in Quo have grown wiser and perhaps a little more mellow, too.  They can't keep making the same record over and over again - although that is what people have said about them. While I read what critics have to say, I don't let the reviews impair my judgement.  I listen to each album with a fresh pair of ears.  I can't think of one Quo album of original material that I haven't loved over the years.  And, no, I'm not deaf!

So, when I heard Quo were making a movie, I thought it was a bit odd.  Why now?  I mean, didn't they stop making movies about bands unless it was a concert film or documentary?  Bula Quo, the movie, is a comedy with action, adventure and suspense and certainly not a movie about their real lives.  The move's tag line is "It started with guitars... And ended with guns!" And Jon Lovitz plays the main bad guy!  Huh?  Well, I will certainly see the movie if given the opportunity, but I'll have to wait until then to cast any judgement apart from that big question mark over my head.  Funny thing is, I've seen the previews and it looks kind of cheesy but I'm quite excited about it in the end.  I mean, this is Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt after all! By the way, it seems that band members Andrew Bown, John Rhino Edwards and Matt Letley have only minor roles in the film (but I can't say that for sure since I haven't seen it yet). 

So, just last week, I managed to get my hands on the soundtrack to the movie. It's a two CD set containing nine brand new Quo tracks written for the film plus a second disc containing a few oddities related to the film as well as live material from 2010.  And you know what?  It is pretty outstanding!  In fact, all nine of the tracks on Disc One are Quo at their best. The title track, "Bula Bula Quo" was the first single and is one of my favorite later period Quo tracks by far.  The 'Kua Ni Lega' bit is quite wonderful, to be honest.  The album's second single, "Looking Out For Caroline", is the band's 100th single and while it is pretty much a standard sounding Quo track, it worms its way into your head after the second or third listen. "GoGoGo" has a unique melody in the verses which makes the song a real standout. "Never Leave A Friend Behind" (GREAT backing/harmony vocals... is that you, Rhino?) and "Run & Hide (The Gun Song)" (that IS you, Rhino!) are bursting with great hooks and Rock 'n' Roll energy. The delectable island-flavored Rock of "Fiji Time" is another winner.  I could go on, you know, but I'll just come out and say that these 9 new Quo songs have had me hooked and I've been listening to them over and over again for a few days now and they are only getting better with each listen. Each of the five band members had a hand in writing various tracks on the album, so it's a well-rounded affair. Lyrically, all the songs seem to reference the plot/characters of the movie, so they were definitely all written specifically for this project.  Gets me excited to see the movie just to hear the songs in their proper context. 

Disc Two features a new recording of the glorious "Living On An Island", which may not reach the heights of the original, it is still exciting to hear a new twist to the track. The Bula Edit of "Rockin' All Over The World" is ace and may be the version I use from now on when I make my own Quo mixtapes. There are two tracks from their great Quid Pro Quo album from 2011. Rounding off the 2nd disc are live versions of six Quo classics like "Pictures Of Matchstick Men", "Caroline", "Whatever You Want" and "Down Down" (my personal favorite). Like I said, I don't care for live recordings, but these are pretty sweet.  Definitely great versions for someone listening to Quo for the first time here.  

So, while I wait to see the film, I'm more than elated over this soundtrack, which is quite a wonderful helping of Quo stew. I'd even go as far to say that this is my favorite Quo album since the one-two punch of original albums Under The Influence (1999) and Heavy Traffic (2002).

Highly recommended for fans of Rock 'n' Roll and Status Quo, which are basically one and the same!

Peace, Love and Quo,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee