Cool for Cats (album)
1979 studio album by Squeeze
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Cool for Cats is the second studio album by the English new wave group Squeeze, released in 1979. Cool for Cats contains four UK hit singles,[1] more than any other album the band has issued. The album peaked at number 45 in the UK Albums Chart, spending 11 weeks in that listing.[1]
| Cool for Cats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 6 April 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1978–1979 | |||
| Studios | Olympic Studios, Britannia Row Studios and Sound Techniques (London, UK) | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 38:12 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producers | John Wood and Squeeze | |||
| Squeeze chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cool for Cats | ||||
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Its 1997 CD release, as part of the Six of One... box set contained two bonus tracks. This collection included the band's first six studio albums, each digitally remastered. In 1998 the six CDs were released individually. In 2007, the album was digitally remastered and released with 5 bonus tracks exclusively in Japan. Each of the 5 tracks came from B-sides from the singles released from the album.
Content
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [5] |
| Music Week | [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
| Smash Hits | 9/10[8] |
| Uncut | 9/10[9] |
| The Village Voice | B[10] |
In 1979, Billboard selected Cool for Cats as one of its "recommended LPs" and cited "Slap and Tickle", "Hop, Skip & Jump", "Up the Junction", and "It's So Dirty" as the album's "best cuts".[2]
Reviewing the album in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Power poppers (remember them?) suck this stuff up, and I understand why—not only does its songcraft surpass that of the band's debut, but it also isn't quite as sophomoric. It's sophomoric enough, though, and like so many such records makes you wonder where the power is. Not in the vision, that's for sure. And not in the beat. Great song: 'Up the Junction.'"[11]
In 1995, Chris Woodstra proclaimed Cool for Cats to be a "pure pop masterpiece" in the All Music Guide to Rock.[12]
Track listing
All songs written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook except "Hop, Skip & Jump", by Difford and Jools Holland.[13]
- "Slap & Tickle" – 4:00
- "Revue" – 2:30
- "Touching Me Touching You" – 2:25
- "It's Not Cricket" – 2:35
- "It's So Dirty" – 3:11
- "The Knack" – 4:34
- "Hop, Skip & Jump" – 2:46
- "Up the Junction" – 3:12
- "Hard to Find" – 3:37
- "Slightly Drunk" – 2:41
- "Goodbye Girl" – 3:08
- "Cool for Cats" – 3:39
Bonus tracks (1997 reissue)
- "I Must Go" – 2:16
- "Ain't It Sad" – 3:29
Bonus tracks (2007 Japanese remaster)
(Note: These bonus tracks precede the 1997 bonus tracks on the album.)
- "Saints Alive" – 2:30
- "All's Well" – 2:27
- "Christmas Day" – 3:53
- "Going Crazy" – 3:53
- "Blood and Guts" – 5:01
Personnel
Squeeze
- Glenn Tilbrook – keyboards, lead guitars, vocals
- Jools Holland – keyboards, vocals (7)
- Chris Difford – rhythm guitars, vocals
- Harri Kakoulli – bass
- Gilson Lavis – drums
Production and technical
- Squeeze – producers, arrangements
- John Wood – producer, arrangements
- Brian Humphries – engineer
- Andrew Lumm – engineer
- Laurence Burrage – assistant engineer
- Michael Ross – art direction
- Geoff Halpin – original sleeve design
- Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff – artwork
- Janette Beckman – photography
- Mark Hanauer – photography
- Chuck Beeson – cover design
- Cindy Marsh – illustrations
- Glenn Tilbrook – digital remastering
- Roger Wake – digital remastering
Charts
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] | 18 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[1] | 45 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[15] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[16] | Silver | 60,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||