Mojo review
Aug 05 '06
The best bits, with bonus DVD of Difford live in concert.
In what looks like an attempt at closure, Difford has taken 10 Squeeze classics and recorded what would appear to be a tribute to his old bandmate Glenn Tilbrook, or perhaps more accurately, to the memory of the band itself.
With pedal steel and strummed acoustic guitar well to the fore, there's a solemnity and understatement to these re-interpretations.
So the synthy, snotty "Take Me, I'm Yours", Squeeze's first big single from 1978, is recast as an intimate love story, with Difford accompanied (as he is on much of this record) by Dorie Jackson on vocals.
Meanwhile, the bouncy late-'80s pop of "Hourglass" is slowed and chilled out to resemble a more straightforward ballad.
It's all impeccably tasteful and the vocals are immaculately sung, but those of a certain vintage will miss the energy and identity of the originals."
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Review from Uncut magazine
Aug 04 '06
x-Squeeze songwriter flexes his muscles, by Max Bell.
The idea of Chris Difford without Glenn Tilbrook is like fish without chips. Even the artist admits he's calling closure here on a songwriting partnership that began in 1973.
Still, he's rejuvenated a set of 10 favourites- from "Up The Junction" to "Cools For Cats"- in a studio-based hits package that is light and charming, pedal-steel replacing the original four-square pop-rock settings.
Dorie Jackson provides a new harmonic counterpoint, and Difford's gruff soul vocal remains authentic.
There's a bonus DVD of a gig recorded at - where else? - the Albany Theatre, Deptford.
No great shakes, but it hits the nostalgic pocket."
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