Surprisingly, the CD I've listened to this summer more than any other has been Squeeze's Singles 45's and Under. Nothing in particular made me get into it -- it's not like people go around today and say things like, "Man, wasn't Squeeze awesome?" My dad had always had this tape in his car, and I listened to it years ago, and all I remembered from it was that every song sounded different, so I liked it. I suppose this is what made me return to it.

Singles 45's and Under is basically a greatest hits-type compilation, but it's very brief, only twelve songs. This is a very good thing for two reasons: 1) Squeeze didn't force it so that their greatest hits album had to be 20 songs (few things are worse than a greatest hits album with tons of filler, which defeats the whole purpose), and 2) the record's brevity gives it the feel of an actual album, something that can't be said for many other greatest hits collections.

Singles proves that Squeeze were in fact a terrific singles band. They mixed up their sound regularly, but they never strayed too far away from the key elements that make up memorable pop songs. Their signature song is "Up the Junction," a classic boy-loves-girl number with an instantly recognizable hook, and an extremely catchy melody that carries each verse.

Squeeze, like their contemporaries XTC, were fortunate in that they had not one but two skillful songwriters, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook. Their work comes straight from the double-frontman mold, two separate styles fused together to fuel a singular vision. Neither have particularly tremendous range as singers, but they do have undeniably pleasant voices, and always nail the notes they aim for.

Occasionally their lyrics can be especially poignant, as on "Tempted," which soundtracked an incredibly ubiquitous jeans commercial a couple years ago (I can't remember the brand). "Tempted" opens by detailing the protagonist's morning routine, peaking with the line, "I said to my reflection, 'Let's get out of this place.'" On "Goodbye Girl," Difford references Bob Dylan and plays a neat syntactical trick, singing, "If you see her, say, "Hello, goodbye girl."

Squeeze wrote the type of pop songs that one doesn't easily tire of. Singles 45's and Under, despite its short length, is yet to wear out its welcome with me. I duly recommend it to any fan of late 70s-early 80s era British pop.