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Frank (Squeeze album)

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Frank
Studio album by
Squeeze
Released24 August 1989
StudioThe Chocolate Factory and Nomis Studios (London, UK)
Length45:19
LabelA&M[1]
Producer
Squeeze chronology
Babylon and On
(1987) 		Frank
(1989) 		A Round and a Bout
(1990)
Singles from Frank
  1. "If It's Love"
    Released: September 1989
  2. "Love Circles"
    Released: 15 January 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Hi-Fi News & Record ReviewA:1[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Frank is a studio album by new wave group Squeeze, released in 1989.[6][7] The album sold poorly, and Squeeze was dropped by A&M Records while on tour.[6] Forced to take offers from different major labels for the first time in their career, the band soon signed with Reprise Records and began working on their next studio album, Play.

Frank peaked at number 58 in the UK Albums Chart.[8] It peaked at No. 113 on the Billboard 200.[9]

Style

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Susan Whitall of The Honolulu Advertiser described Frank as having a "typically Squeezian diversity of songs". The album was described as post-punk.[10]

Production

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Frank was recorded live in the studio with producer Eric "E.T." Thorngren.[11]

Critical reception

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Trouser Press called the album the band's best since Argybargy, writing: "Relocating its original magic with memorably inventive material and spirited delivery, Squeeze here seems exuberantly youthful, as if music-making had suddenly become fun again."[12] Phoenix New Times wrote that Squeeze went "for a live garagey sound that finally gives [Gilson] Lavis' powerhouse drumming center-stage placement."[13] The Rolling Stone Album Guide called the album "well-crafted" but "only occasionally involving."[5]

Track listing

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All songs written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook except as indicated.

  1. "Frank" (Public domain, no author) – 0:15
  2. "If It's Love" – 4:02
  3. "Peyton Place" – 4:08
  4. "Rose I Said" – 3:36
  5. "Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken" – 4:37
  6. "(This Could Be) The Last Time" – 3:49
  7. "She Doesn't Have to Shave" – 3:27
  8. "Love Circles" – 5:34
  9. "Melody Motel" – 3:51
  10. "Can of Worms" – 4:47
  11. "Dr. Jazz" (Jools Holland) – 4:04
  12. "Is It Too Late" – 3:12

Bonus tracks on 2007 CD reissue

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  2. "Red Light" (b-side of "Love Circles") – 4:23
  3. "Frank's Bag" (b-side of "If It's Love") – 3:43
  4. "Good Times Bring Me Down" (previously unreleased) – 5:14
  5. "Any Other Day" (previously unreleased) – 3:42
  6. "Who's That" (demo, b-side of "Love Circles") – 2:41
  7. "If I'm Dead" (Glenn Tilbrook demo) – 2:14
  8. "She Doesn't Have to Shave" (live, BBC Radio 1 Acoustic Session 19/10/1989) – 3:11
  9. "Melody Motel" (live, BBC Radio 1 Acoustic Session 19/10/1989) – 3:52

Personnel

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Squeeze

Additional personnel

  • Matt Irving – accordion (3, 9)
  • Karen Beany, Monique Dyan and Barrie St. Johns – backing vocals (2)

Production

  • Squeeze – arrangements
  • Glenn Tilbrook – producer
  • Eric "ET" Thorngren – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Paul Tipler – assistant engineer
  • Mark Willie – assistant engineer
  • Stylorouge – design
  • Chris Difford, Gilson Lavis, Glenn Tilbrook and Keith Wilkinson – portrait photography
  • Trevor Rogers – front cover and inner sleeve photography

References

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  1. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1078.
  2. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Frank - Squeeze | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 685.
  4. ^ Dellar, Fred (December 1989). "Review: Squeeze — Frank" (PDF). Hi-Fi News & Record Review (magazine). Vol. 34, no. 12. Croydon: Link House Magazines Ltd. p. 143. ISSN 0142-6230. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021 – via World Radio History.
  5. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 665–666.
  6. ^ a b Squeeze | Biography & History | AllMusic
  7. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock - Google Books
  8. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 522/3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. ^ Squeeze | Billboard
  10. ^ Whitall, Susan (4 February 1990). "Band puts the squeeze on post-punk sound". The Honolulu Advertiser.
  11. ^ "Fresh Squeeze". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Squeeze". Trouser Press. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  13. ^ Suicide Squeeze | Phoenix New Times
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