Rocktrospectiva: The Mature And Thoughtful "Play" Turns 35

Released on 23 July 1991 "Play" was the 9th., studio album by the British new wave group Squeeze. Back in the day was the first LP in the Squeeze discography to feature only four official members instead of five. Tony Berg produced the album. The album spawned the singles "Sunday Street", "Satisfied" & "Crying In My Sleep".  The album spent one week at number 41 in the UK Albums Chart in September 1991.

Considered one of Squeeze's most mature and thoughtful albums in which the liner notes are written out as a theatre script, with the songs laid out as dialogue. Play was a simple and low-key collection of songs charting the dissolution of a love affair. Reduced to a quartet by Jools Holland's departure for a career as a BBC television presenter, this aided the group to play with a loose, R&B-inflected casualness. 

Play may be one of Squeeze's greatest late period works. Producer Tony Berg, who'd just scored a sizable U.S. hit with the irresistible Michael Penn cut "No Myth." His studio wizardry meshed well with a collection of tunes that tackled various vagaries of love and loss, from breakups (the upbeat "Crying in My Sleep," the downbeat "Letting Go" to keeping it honest "The Truth," "House of Love", slice-of-life scenes "Sunday Street," "Satisfied" and even a relaxed celebration of coming back from a concert tour "The Day I Get Home". 

Though Play was only a moderate success in England, just missing the Top 40 of the British charts, the period is looked on warmly by both fans and even the band themselves, despite a challenging time behind-the-scenes where Difford entered rehab to address his relationship to alcohol. The album also received some positive reception from critics by proclaiming the record to be probably Squeeze's best post-reunion album. 

 

Play Track List:  

 

1. Satisfied

2. Crying In My Sleep

3. Letting Go

4. The Day I Get Home

5. The Truth

6. House Of Love

7. Cupid's Toy

8. Gone To The Dogs

9. Walk A Straight Line

10. Sunday Street

11. There Is A Voice