Squeeze: Greatest Hits (Reissue)

During their brief initial heyday in the late-70s and early 1980s, Squeeze were looked upon as possible heirs to a power-pop renaissance. That renaissance never happened, as the original group disbanded just as the 80s was reshaping its direction, and while there were only a few years between releases, it was enough to stop the band’s momentum. Still, the group — and their standout songwriting team of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook — pursued smart, sophisticated pop songs and accrued a devoted, appreciative cult audience and a loyal college radio following that kept the group’s commercial potential alive throughout the downtime. Mainstream radio eventually acknowledged a handful of their best songs from “Another Nail in My Heart,” “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)” and “Tempted,” to “Hourglass,” the band’s highest charting U.S. hit from the reformed group in 1987. The simple infectiousness of “Goodbye Girl” and “Up the Junction” and the overlooked gems “King George Street” and “If It’s Love” make for classic pop from an era that wasn’t always kind to its classic pop practitioners.