Squeeze – Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti (1985) Review | Sour Quince Logs from a Stranger
Kronomyth 8.0: Get depressed!!
If you’d only heard the first two Squeeze albums, you might have thought they would end up here five years later, making overproduced pop songs for alcoholic englishmen. The album title and cover promise a clever album that never arrives. Despite the return of Julian Holland and Gilson Lavis, this is not a return to the pub-rock Squeeze we all know and love and wish would come back. In fact, it’s even more mechanical than their last record, Difford & Tilbrook. That the band still had two guitarists may be the album’s best-kept secret. There are a few tunes that Squeeze fans can salvage from the wreckage: King George Street, I Won’t Ever Go Drinking Again, Hits of the Year. Honestly, that’s about it. Otherwise, the production is far too fussed-over, the fretless bass distracting, the lyrics sharp but self-inflicted, and the melodies buried under layers of effects. It could be that the band, recognizing the stakes of their return, sought to make a perfect album while mistaking perfection for inspiration. (And, as for Chris Difford, inspiration was unlikely without an intervention first.) The best Squeeze songs went straight to your heart. Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti is injected into your bloodstream with a sterile syringe like medicine. Nobody would have enjoyed shouting “Squeeze is back!” from the rooftops more than me, but I didn’t feel that way until Play. What we’re in now is the doldrums of Squeeze as they went through the motions without much emotion. This and their first album are probably the last two Squeeze albums you need to own.
The Product
A1. Big Beng (4:02)
A2. By Your Side (4:24)
A3. King George Street (4:25)
A4. I Learnt How to Pray (4:23)
A5. Last Time Forever (6:18)
B1. No Place Like Home (4:26)
B2. Heartbreaking World (Chris Difford/Julian Holland) (5:06)
B3. Hits of the Year (3:03)
B4. Break My Heart (5:12)
B5. I Won’t Ever Go Drinking Again (?) (4:36)
All songs written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook unless noted.
The Players
Chris Difford (guitar, all tambourines, vocals), Julian Holland (keyboards, vocals), Gilson Lavis (acoustic and electric drums, backing vocals), Glenn Tilbrook (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Keith Wilkinson (bass guitars, backing vocals) with Hearts of Soul (backing vocals on A4), Christopher Holland (organ on B1), Ian Kewley (E.M.U. on B1). Produced on Laurie Latham. Additional engineering by Erwin Autrique and Michael Diericks.
The Pictures
Art direction by Rob O’Connor and Michael Ross. Design by Rob O’Connor. Illustration by Simon Fell. Squeeze photography by Nick Knight. Inner sleeve photography by Trevor Rogers.
The Plastic
Released on elpee, cassette and compact disc in August 1985 in the UK (A&M, AMA/CDA 5085), the US (A&M, SP/CS 5085), Germany (A&M, 395 085) and Japan (A&M, AMP-28132) with lyrics innersleeve. Reached #31 on the UK charts and #57 on the US charts.
