The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 444

Number 444

UK Squeeze

"Cool For Cats"

(1979)

Genre: New Wave

cool cat? maybe, top cat? definately

Seeing this old picture of Top Cat sure makes me miss the old cartoons we had when we were kids [Gen X]. Hong Kong Fooey, Pink Panther, Flintstones, The Jetsons, Roadrunner, Foghorn Leghorn and anything with Goofy from Disney were my favourites of the day. Today's cartoons are rubbish compared to what i had when i was a terror tot. Click the links for some nostalgic memories.

Speaking of memories, UK Squeeze or just plain Squeeze as we called them, are one of these rare unique bands with a defining sound with the same likes of "The Clash", "Madness", "The Cure", "Tubeway Army" or "Adam & The Ants", all had a sound that was unique to the turn of the 80's. Now, you can see a connection between yesterdays cartoons & yesterdays music vs todays artificial and processed plastic packed crap we have today. And no, i am not stuck in a time warp, i just miss quality. Give me Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Doors anyday over Brittney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Scissor Sisters!

Head spin

Rebounding after a difficult debut, Squeeze hunkered down with producer John Wood -- the engineer of U.K. Squeeze -- and cut Cool for Cats, which for all intents and purposes is their true debut album. More than U.K. Squeeze, Cool for Cats captures the popcraft of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, while also sketching out a unique musical territory for the band, something that draws deeply on '60s pop, the stripped-down propulsive energy of pop/rock, and the nervy style of new wave. Although this is considerably less chaotic and aggressive than U.K. Squeeze, Cool for Cats feels like it belongs to its time more than its predecessor, partially due to the heavy emphasis on Jools Holland's keyboards and partially due to the dry British wit of Difford, whose best work here reveals him as a rival to Elvis Costello and Ian Dury.

Get out of my mugshot bro

Chief among those is "Up the Junction," a marvelous short story chronicling a doomed relationship, but there's also the sly kinky jokes married to deft characterizations on "Slap and Tickle," the heartbroken tale of "Goodbye Girl," and the daft surrealism of "Cool for Cats." These are subtle, sophisticated songs that are balanced by a lot of direct, unsophisticated songs, as Difford picks up on the sexually charged vibe of John Cale and gets even kinkier, throwing out songs about masturbation and cross-dressing, occasionally dipping into how he's feeling slightly drunk. Tilbrook pairs these ribald tales to frenzied rock & roll, equal parts big hooks and rollicking rhythms, including a couple of showcases for Holland's boogie-woogie piano. It's all a bit scattered but in a purposeful way, as the impish wit lends the pub rockers a kinky kick while Tilbrook's tunefulness gives it all an identity. Cool for Cats winds up being wild and weird, angular and odd in a way only a new wave album from 1979 could possibly be, but this is a high watermark for its era with the best moments effortless transcending its time. ~ [Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide]

For the Clash see Number 999

For Madness see Number 794

For the Cure see Number 881

For Tubeway Army see Number 945

For Adam & The Ants see Number 763

For the Beatles see Number 489, #587, #894 & #947

For Led Zeppelin see Number 577 & #957

For the Doors see Number 729, #746 & #851

For Elvis Costello see Number 876

For Ian Dury see Number 619

What does Rolling Stone think about the Squeeze?

Formerly U.K. Squeeze, this British fivesome mostly blends pop frivolity with arty synthesizer textures on its second album, which owes as much to the Beatles and 10cc as to the progressive fringe of the New Wave. Squeeze's format certainly has its pleasures—"Slap & Tickle" combines clever sexual nonsense verse with what sounds like the mating squeals of laboratory animals—but Cool for Cats too often offers more tedium than titillation.

The band's chief problem resides in its two alternating lead vocalists, Glen Tilbrook and Chris Difford, both of whom usually sing with puzzling and dull reserve. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics of "It's So Dirty" and "Touching Me Touching You" (the latter an ode to masturbation) demand real vocal verve to sustain interest. Not surprisingly, Squeeze is most successful in parts of "Slightly Drunk," "Goodbye Girl" and "Slap & Tickle," where the singers let loose to harmonize endearingly.

If Tilbrook and Difford were more convincing, it'd be easy to admire this record. There are plenty of perky melodies ("It's So Dirty," "Up the Junction"), some shadowy synthesizer work ("The Knack") and lots of engagingly understated guitar lines. Maybe next time, Squeeze will come up with a winner. As Cool for Cat's best moments suggest, they have it in them. ~ [Source: Rolling Stone MITCHELL SCHNEIDER -RS 296]

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '444th Song of all Time' was "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher. Cher has appeared in The Definitive 1000 @ Number 889

Other songs with reference to UK Squeeze #814, #960

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (well .. you got one on us) the Album ranked at (We didn't know it)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 77.3 out of 108

Squeeze - Cool For Cats
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