Album Review: Squeeze, Cradle To The Grave

This new album from Squeeze is their first album of new songs since 1998. If you saw them recently on Later... With Jools on BBC2 you will know that they still have plenty to offer.

The album starts off with Cradle To The Grave, the song features in the TV comedy series of the same name, based on Danny Baker's autobiography and also strafing Peter Kay, the song is vintage Squeeze, with its skiffle type beat and observational lyric the track is one of the best on the album.

Elsewhere the track Nirvana starts off with a keyboard riff that sounds like The Boomtown Rats hit I Don't Like Mondays before moving on to another track that sounds like vintage Squeeze.

The first single taken off the album is Happy Days and again it's another jaunty track that could only be Squeeze with Glen Tilbrook's vocals being underpinned by the deep backing vocals of Chris Difford. It is interesting to note that on the album Glen Tilbrook performs lead vocals on the tracks and Chris Difford can't be heard singing lead on any of the tracks. We will just have to suffice with the old hit Cool For Cats!

On Top of the Form, a track about old school days recalls the 1970's with references to Starsky and Hutch! The Beatles influences are present on the track Sunny: this could be the 21st relation of She's Leaving Home. Squeeze always come up with a great lyric and here it's like a storyline about the process of growing up, going to festivals, having children, getting older and how time passes by.

Great album, don't leave it so long next time please!

3 out of 5

The band play two Yorkshire dates: 2 October Sheffield City Hall and 24 October Harrogate Conference Centre.