The Essensial Squeeze Poll

Voted "Tempted" although most of their 79-81 singles are equally strong.

Another Nail In My Heart

ditto

IS THAT LOVE

I'm assuming the "Essential" refers to the title of the compilation album and not to the nature of this thread?

Yes, as this thread is Essensial.

Essensual

I feel that I ought to vote for something other than "Tempted" in order to show I'm not one of those people who only knows "Tempted," but I can't.

"Up the Junction"

"If I Didn't Love You." Which apparently doesn't appear here, so it's got to be "Nail" instead.

I'm going with "Pulling Mussels..."

goodbye girl

my dad and my uncle (as "No Relation") gigged with this lot a few times. good SE London gents.

Something about "Pulling Mussels.." and "Another Nail..." are so deeply intertwined with my memories of the dawn of the 80's. Love'em both.

difficult ...

Alex in NYC: Ditto the entire Argybargy album. I got it for my 14th birthday, in fact.

where's "Everything in the World"?

They might've been the second 18+ show I went to (first, the Jim Carroll Band)

If I Didn't Love You is my favorite, but of these, I go with Tempted. It's just such a perfect melodrama as pop tune.

And two weeks ago, I picked up, what, four Squeeze albums from their heyday for $1.50 each. I'm learning to love all their non-singles.

(first, the Jim Carroll Band)

Oh I seethe with envy.

"Up the Junction".

My five favorite songs up there are the five at the top of the list.

My seven favorites are the seven at the top of the list.

After that, sure, "Tempted" and "Black Coffee In Bed" are okay.

I'm going to take "Goodbye Girl" just barely over "Another Nail" - which surprises me a bit, but at least right now that melody just slays.

UTJ

I thought it said "The Existential Squeeze Poll" (hey, it's late)

"black coffee" by the tiniest of arbitrary margins over "pulling mussels" and "up the junction." love everything on the list through "annie get your gun," mostly don't know them after that.

I got out the old singles comp to make sure that 'Pulling Mussels' was still as awesome as ever (it is), but also was lifted up by the whole experience. God love you, Squeeze.

"Up The Junction"

And two weeks ago, I picked up, what, four Squeeze albums from their heyday for $1.50 each. I'm learning to love all their non-singles.

They are most famous for their hit singles, but at least the three albums they released from 1979 until 1981 are fully consistent albums more or less all the way. "Someone Else'e Heart", "There's No Tomorrow" and "Vanity Fair" are all up there with their best moments.

Plus after a couple of weird mid 80s albums ("Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti" sounds like a Paul Young album, which would have been nice enough, had it been one...) the returned to form again and released several greatlate-career albums that were largely ignored by anyone but the die hards.

Up the Junction, always and forever.

Head says "Junction", heart says "Slap & Tickle". Heart wins. (Those disco synthesizers...)

That's OK, MVB, looks like "Up The Junction" is going to carry on up the charts regardless.

I never really even heard Squeeze singles as "singles"--they were all just part of albums played without interruption and repeatedly and never on the radio until Black Coffee.
It was a revelation to live in London and hear almost all of these at some point on morning radio.

Pulling Mussels. It's on regular rotaion on cable radio and played at the grocery store, the gym, dozens of other public places and I never get tired of it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I like "Up The Junction" on songwriting, but "Goodbye Girl" and "Another Nail" on catchiness. Choices, choices.

"Goodbye Girl" - One of the great lyric mysteries for me was the line "sunlight on the lino." I puzzled over that one on and off for ages. Problem was "lino" meant nothing to me until met some Brits then the penny dropped. In the States it's always "linoleum" with a short "i" so "lino" didn't even sound like the word I knew. Anyway gets my vote.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

A bit sad to see no votes at all for the later stuff, but after all I voted for something older too.

If "Love Circles" or "Letting Go" would've been listed, I may have gone for either.

One of the great lyric mysteries for me was the line "sunlight on the lino."

a friend of mine in high school confidently translated this as "sunlight on the lionel," i.e. that the protagonist was a model-train guy. which made the girl leaving seem both more understandable and also more pathetic. i never bought this -- they're in her motel room, how would he even get his model trains over there? maybe he carries them around in a suitcase... -- but when i figured out it was "lino" i was still kinda sad.

"sunlight on the lionel" nice... I had gone more cosmopolitan and decided it was "sunlight on Milano." And, I agree, "lino" was a bit of a let down.