Cool for Cats is the English new wave group Squeeze's second album, released in 1979. Cool for Cats contains four UK hit singles,[2] 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.[2]
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
Musical style
Billboard opined Cool for Cats to be a "hard-rocking" album on which the band "[emphasize] hard-edged power pop".[1] Alluding to the record, Steven Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Cool for Cats as "the work of a rock & roll band [...] that lathered on the keyboards and herky-jerky rhythms".[3]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
| Smash Hits | 9/10[7] |
| Uncut | 9/10[8] |
| The Village Voice | B[9] |
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".[1]
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.'"[10]
In 1995, Chris Woodstra proclaimed Cool for Cats to be a "pure pop masterpiece" in the All Music Guide to Rock.[11]
Track listing
All songs written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook except "Hop, Skip & Jump," by Difford and Jools Holland.[12]
- "Slap and 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 – composer, digital remastering, lead guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Chris Difford – composer, guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals
- Jools Holland – keyboards, vocals (7)
- Harri Kakoulli – bass
- Gilson Lavis – drums
- Technical
- John Wood – arranger, producer
- Brian Humphries – engineer
- Andrew Lumm – engineer
- Geoff Halpin – original sleeve design
- Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff – artwork
- Janette Beckman – photography
- Mark Hanauer – photography
- Chuck Beeson – cover design
- Cindy Marsh – illustrations
- Michael Ross – art direction
- Roger Wake – digital remastering
Charts
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] | 18 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)[2] | 45 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[14] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- ^ a b c d "Squeeze: Cool for Cats". Billboard. Vol. 91 no. 16. 21 April 1979. p. 62. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 522/3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Argybargy – Squeeze". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Cool for Cats – Squeeze". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Squeeze". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Squeeze". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 773–74. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Starr, Red (22 March – 4 April 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1 no. 8. p. 31.
- ^ Watts, Peter (October 2015). "How to Buy". Uncut. No. 221. p. 59.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (30 July 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved 13 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Woodstra, Chris; Bogdanov, Vladimir; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, eds. (2002). All Music Guide to Rock (3rd illustrated ed.). Backbeat Books. ISBN 9780879306533.
- ^ "Squeeze (2) - Cool For Cats". discogs. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 316. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "British album certifications – Squeeze – Cool for Cats". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Cool for Cats in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.