According to Glenn Tilbrook the process for making their first album was rewarding but also frustrating: "For me, U.K. Squeeze wasn’t really very representative of what we were doing at the time. When we worked with John Cale in the studio, he threw out all the songs that we had written. When most bands make their first album, they go in and do a lot of stuff that’s been going down well in their sets; well, that wasn’t the case with us. He told us to write new songs – which we did. He was an inspirational guy to work with, but I felt that it was almost like we were writing for what he wanted rather than what the band itself was. When you’re in a position to be making a first album, it’s awe-inspiring to be making an album, and difficult to assert yourself against somebody who knows the ropes." Chris Difford's approach to writing the lyrics for the album was different as well. According to an interview with Bud Scoppa, Difford found the process of working with their producer John Cale to be challenging: "I remember, he came up and said, 'Lyrically, you’re quite soft; have you ever thought about writin’ about musclemen?' I said, 'That’s never occurred to me, actually.' And he said, 'Well, go away and do it – I wanna see songs like that on the album.' So my perception of what the band was at that point was completely different from the way he saw it, obviously. He had us doing some awfully strange things."
Release
The initial A&M Canada and A&M U.S. LP pressings were released on limited edition red vinyl. In 1997, the CD was released in the UK with two bonus tracks, as part of the Six of One... box set. The set included the band's first six studio albums, each digitally remastered. These CDs were made available for individual purchase in 1998. In 2007, the album was digitally remastered and released in Japan. It contains 4 bonus tracks, one of which is a single edit of Take Me I'm Yours. The other bonus tracks are taken from B-sides from the singles of the album. It also contains the bonus tracks from the 1997 re-release.
Critical reception
Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote: "Musically, the instrumental is the only boring cut on the whole first side, but the record as a whole is a case study in excitingly adequate hard rock craftsmanship spoiled by trashy literature. When a band obviously influenced by Queen, Rock Scene, muscle mags, and boarding-school porn finishes off by advising their postpunk admirers to 'get smart,' it sounds like they want 'em to stop reading Hustler and start reading Oui." The album received a negative retrospective review from Allmusic, who said that producer John Cale forced Squeeze to pursue a musical direction that ran contrary to their inclinations. They singled out the two tracks produced by the band themselves as the only ones which show any sign of the artistic success they would later reach.
Track listing
All songs written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook except as indicated.
