Rose I Said
Trust me, there's a reason I posted this on Ricochet.
Once upon a time Squeeze turned out tight brilliant pop tunes that often told a tale. Earnest young love in lower-class straits, boozy pub misadventures. The vernacular lyrics may have mystified American audiences - it took me a while to figure out, for example, that a character who pretended he was flush with cash “had done his mother’s meter” meant that he’d stolen the coins she used to pay for the gas in the flat. (I think.) (Delingpole or James of England, help me out.)
They had two fine singer-songwriters (one a crooner, the other a guy who sang like a frog with a cold) a propulsive drummer, and a manic jester keyboard player. Too smart to be just pop, too personal to be a post-punk Important Band like the Clash, too human for nerd-wave status like the Talking Heads. You could sense the weariness as soon as they hit it big, though. “Sweets from a Stranger” was over-produced; it spawned a hit single the old fans didn’t like; the songwriting wasn’t up to par. They were tired, and the band split up after the tour.
They reunited, but the spark was never there. The songs developed a bad case of Costelloitis, swapping melody and simple structure for baroque indulgence. But every so often they’d just bang out a classic, and “Frank” had “Rose I Said,” an urgent little number with a a rote hook but a classic chorus. This live version is too rushed, but what makes it Ricochet-worthy is the chap who introduces the band. He was a fan. Smart guy, but you knew that.
So, Pat: Did you get to hang with the band after the show?
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Jul '10
Re: Rose I Said
My ten year old daughter has Squeeze's The Singles - 45s And Under on her iPod.
And, yes, she stole it from me.
James has it right: Perfect pop, just not quite pop. Not quite New Wave, not at all Punk. For the time, Squeeze was uniquely their own, until success pulled them down, and the Costello effect bloomed in full.
May '10
Re: Rose I Said
Black Coffee in Bed was one of my favorites as a kid! I had the privilege of seeing the lead singer at a coffee house sized venue about 15 years ago. It was packed with about one hundred people, and he was so annoyed with the size of the venue that he played his last three songs out on a rear patio that looked onto Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards in Arlington, Va. Most of the people on the street had no idea who he was, but they all knew the tunes!
Re: Rose I Said
I actually think Squeeze may have been the best pop band out of the UK since the Beatles. Just terrific, hooky little songs marvelously performed.
Also, the Clash weren’t actually from the Authentic Prole® demographic. They were pretty much middle-class left-wing poseurs. John Graham “Joe Strummer” Mellor was the son of a Foreign Office diplomat, who grew up abroad and went to a traditional boarding school. Mick Jones went to a grammar school, then art school. Paul Simonon’s mother was a librarian and his father in the civil service, and lived for a year in Siena as a boy. Etc.
Re: Rose I Said
Oh, and let me promote my favorite Squeeze album, Argybargy. Buy it at iTunes here.
Aug '10
Re: Rose I Said
Pat Sajak: James...
Though my CBS talk show lasted just a year and change, I continue to do it every night in my basement. Ruth Buzzi was on last night and had some pretty funnyLaugh-In stories to tell.
Do you have to make do with Merv Griffin's old set?
Aug '10
Re: Rose I Said
I'm a New Order fan myself.
Sep '11
Re: Rose I Said
Apologies Pat, but your "talk show in the basement" comment immediately brought to mind Rupert Pupkin...