Squeeze released Cradle to the Grave after a 17-year gap

Cradle to the Grave Squeeze

Released: October 2, 2015 Peak: -- US, 12 UK Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Cradle to the Grave [3:20] Nirvana [3:55] (3/17/16, --) Beautiful Game [3:25] Happy Days [4:36] (8/2/15, --) Open [3:46] Only 15 [3:11] Top of the Form [3:05] Sunny [2:59] Haywire [3:52] Honeytrap [3:30] Everything [4:06] Snap, Crackle and Pop [4:52] Songs written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook. Total Running Time: 44:32 The Players: Chris Difford (vocals, guitar) Glenn Tilbrook (vocals, guitar, keyboards, etc.) Lucy Shaw (bass) Stephen Large (keyboards) Simon Hanson (drums)

Rating: 2.503 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: In 2007, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook reunited as Squeeze but it wasn’t until 2010 that they returned to the studio for Spot the Difference, a collection of re-recorded versions of some of their best loved songs. Five years later they released Cradle to the Grave, their first set of new songs since 1998’s Domino. Surprisingly, it became their highest-charting studio release in the UK. It was their only album to feature Lucy Shaw on bass and the first to feature Stephen Large and Simon Hanson. “Remarkably, especially given its mortality-obsessed title, Cradle to the Grave doesn’t play like a revival, nor does it seem concerned with modern fashion. Difford and Tilbrook simply pick up the thread they left hanging in the ‘90s, acting as if no time has passed. Happily, the pair does not seem as knackered as they did on Domino, a record where they seemed to limp along out of habit.” AMG “Without consciously reviving any specific Squeeze era -- the closest companion this album has may be the early-‘90s efforts, such as Play and Some Fantastic Place – Cradle to the Grave relies on the sharp melodic construction of Tilbrook and Difford’s diffident wit, a combination the crackles throughout this lean 44-minute record.” AMG “Although there’s little doubt this is first and foremost a pop album constructed almost entirely out of tight three to four-minute tunes, what Squeeze celebrate is classic pop aesthetics, not sound: perhaps the Tamla-Motown bounce of the title track is expected, but the glitterball disco that follows on Nirvana is not, and the record is filled with such sly curveballs, finding a bit of earthiness in the majestic contours of the Beach Boys and splendor within boozy singalongs. When applied to such sturdy songs, these grace notes make Cradle to the Grave feel nothing less than celebratory, an affirmation of Difford and Tilbrook’s special chemistry as songwriters and bandleaders.” AMG Notes: A deluxe edition added four cover songs: Lou Reed’s “Hangin’ ‘Round,” Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley PTA,” Ray Davies’ “This Strange Effect,” and Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Squeeze AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 5/20/2022.