Argybargy | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 1980 | |||
Recorded | August 1979–January 1980 | |||
Studio | Olympic, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 36:14 | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Producer | John Wood, Squeeze | |||
Squeeze chronology | ||||
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Singles from Argybargy | ||||
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Argybargy is the third studio album by the English new wave band Squeeze. Written and recorded after the band's successful sophomore release, Cool for Cats , the album's lyrics were written by Chris Difford while living with his wife in New York City. The band reunited with Cool for Cats producer John Wood and, after Glenn Tilbrook composed music for Difford's new lyrics, recorded the album in late 1979.
Argybargy was a commercial and critical success, reaching number 32 in the UK and becoming the first Squeeze album to chart in the US. The album has since been recognized as a classic of new wave and features multiple of the band's most famous songs, including "Another Nail in My Heart," "Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)," and "If I Didn't Love You."
Following the commercial success of the band's previous album, Cool for Cats , as well as a successful international tour, Squeeze reached its highest level of success to that point. This level of fame and recognition began to take its toll; Glenn Tilbrook worried of becoming "too big for [his] boots" and struggled with being recognized in public. [3] He recalled,
"I was standing in [a pub] in Blackheath with my mates when I became conscious of the fact that a lot of people were looking at me. ... I had to get out. I'd never experienced anything like it before and it was a horrible feeling. As much as I wanted to be successful and famous, I wasn't as comfortable with fame as I'd thought." [3]
Following the Cool for Cats tour, Chris Difford married and spent the summer of 1979 in the US with his wife. There he wrote over 40 new lyrics, inspired by his new marriage and his time spent in Greenwich Village. He recalled, "I would sit in the flat all day while [wife] Cindy went to work and this fluidity of lyricism came gushing forth. The whole of the Argybargy album came in one fell swoop and lots more besides that never saw the light of day." [3]
When asked by A&M Records to produce a third album, the band brought back Cool for Cats producer John Wood and Tilbrook composed music for the best of Difford's new lyrics. [3] The album was recorded during the tail end of 1979.
Argybargy would be the last Squeeze album featuring founding member Jools Holland until Squeeze's first reunion album, 1985's Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti . Difford recalled, "He was becoming less and less involved at this time. I think he was getting frustrated that he wasn't getting more of a shout in the band, but by then he was spending less time thinking about being in the band and more about his career." [3] Holland would release a solo album before moving to a television career.
The album was titled Argybargy, a British expression that Difford said "sums up succinctly what our lives were like at the time. We were in each other's pockets, travelling in a minibus and on Freddie Laker planes. It was getting tiring, but we lived on the adrenalin of it." [3]
Because the titular expression is not used in America, band manager Miles Copeland opposed the album name. Difford recalled, "Miles told us no one would know what it meant but we didn't give a shit and were in a belligerent, young Englishmen's mood, so we kept it." [3]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B− [5] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
Mojo | [7] |
Record Collector | [8] |
Record Mirror | [9] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [10] |
Smash Hits | 9/10 [11] |
Sounds | [12] |
Uncut | 9/10 [13] |
Argybargy was released in February 1980. It spent 15 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 32. [14] Argybargy was the first Squeeze album to chart in the US, reaching number 71 on the Billboard 200. [15] On the Billboard dance chart, all cuts from Argybargy jointly peaked at number 76, and spent 6 weeks on that listing, in the summer of 1980. [16]
Argybargy has seen critical acclaim from music writers. Chris Jones of BBC Music called the album "their crowning achievement" and "a masterpiece of kitchen sink pop," concluding, "If you're going to own at least one Squeeze album, this has to be the one." [17] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote, "Argybargy doesn't stay in one place; it's restless and crackling with colors... with Argybargy it was clear that Squeeze were at the top of the pack among new wave popsters, and that their sardonic yet lively voice was unique among any pop group before or since." [4]
Paste listed Argybargy as the 20th best new wave album, calling it the band's "first truly great" album and concluding, "Clever, infectious, with genuine emotion lying just below the surface—it's everything a great New Wave record should be." [1] Music journalist John M. Borack ranked Argybagy at number 58 on his list of "The 200 Greatest Power Pop Albums" in his book Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Guide to Power Pop. [2]
The track listing below is from the original UK LP release. On the American release, the song order was changed slightly, with "If I Didn't Love You" moved up to the first track of the second side, but the order otherwise remaining the same.
All tracks are written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)" | 3:58 |
2. | "Another Nail in My Heart" | 2:56 |
3. | "Separate Beds" | 3:21 |
4. | "Misadventure" | 2:56 |
5. | "I Think I'm Go Go" | 4:18 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Farfisa Beat" | 2:57 | |
2. | "Here Comes That Feeling" | 2:12 | |
3. | "Vicky Verky" | 3:12 | |
4. | "If I Didn't Love You" | 4:11 | |
5. | "Wrong Side of the Moon" | Jools Holland, Difford | 2:25 |
6. | "There at the Top" | 3:46 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Funny How It Goes" | 3:49 |
2. | "Go" | 4:12 |
Argybargy was re-issued in 2008 as a two disc deluxe edition. The first disc includes the original album, the two bonus cuts from the 1997 reissue, and seven additional bonus tracks.
The second disc contains a concert recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on 9 March 1980, plus a US radio commercial for the album.
Squeeze
with:
Production
Region | Level | Date |
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Canada (CRIA) | Gold | 1 October 1981 |
Squeeze are an English pop rock band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. In the UK, their singles "Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction", and "Labelled with Love" were top-ten chart hits. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American hits with "Tempted", "Black Coffee in Bed", and "Hourglass", and were considered a part of the Second British Invasion.
Christopher Henry Difford is an English musician. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze.
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Sweets from a Stranger is the fifth studio album by the British new wave group Squeeze, released April 30, 1982 through A&M. The album peaked at number 20 in the UK Albums Chart. The band split up soon after a world tour for the record, and the two main songwriters went on to record 1984's Difford & Tilbrook. Squeeze reunited and released Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti in 1985. As with all Squeeze albums, Chris Difford wrote the words first and Glenn Tilbrook would write the music afterwards often editing Difford's material to create a streamlined narrative. Tilbrook would record a demo afterwards and play it for Difford.
Glenn Martin Tilbrook is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the English new wave band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally writes the music for Squeeze's songs, while his writing partner, Chris Difford, writes the lyrics. In addition to his songwriting skills, Tilbrook is respected both as a singer and an accomplished guitarist.
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"Another Nail in My Heart" is a 1980 song by new wave band Squeeze. Written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, it was released on the album Argybargy. Notable for Tilbrook's guitar solo right after the first verse, the song features marimba in its opening at the suggestion of newly acquired bassist John Bentley. Difford has expressed disappointment with his lyrics on the song, though he praised Tilbrook's solo.
"Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" is a song by the band Squeeze. First released on the 1980 album Argybargy, it received positive critical reviews, peaked at No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart, and became one of Squeeze's most popular songs. The song is about singer and guitarist Chris Difford's experiences at a holiday camp.
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Such bittersweet, Rubber Soul-ful plays-for-today as 'Pulling Mussels (from the Shell),' 'Another Nail in My Heart,' the underrated 'Farfisa Beat' and 'Vicky Verky' repay close attention.
Difford's lyrics were stronger and more elaborate than before, especially his use of metaphor on the singles 'Another Nail in My Heart' and 'Pulling Mussels from the Shell.'