Squeeze is mostly known in the US for their one large hit, Tempted (By the Fruit of Another), which had lead vocals by future Mike Rutherford sideman, Paul Carrack. That being said, they had a string of minor hits here, but did very well in the U.K., where their brand of pop that borrowed from the Beatles, the Kinks and eclectic pop references like Tin Pan Alley and Cole Porter as much as from the new wave movement that birthed them made them very…British. At one point, songwriters Difford and Tilbrook were considered a new kind of Lennon/McCartney composing partnership in the music press, seeing as their brand of tunesmithing had less to do with fashion and more with a great hook.

By 1991 they had a new label and a rather sharp producer, Tony Berg. Berg had produced quite a lot since the late 70s, including Wendy & Lisa, Public Image Limited and Michael Penn. He was a capable musician and arranger who would make what is probably the most lush sounding and conceptually coherent album in the Squeeze catalog, Play. Guests on the album included Bruce Hornsby, Susie Katayama, Bill Reichenback Jr, nd even members of Spinal Tap.

The video above is for Satisfied, the lead single with the ethereal fretless bass and the loping percussion. The rest of the album is full of great tunes with a few clunkers. I have seen it regularly in cutout bins (a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless), and it is worth picking up.