"Striking Matches" -- 3.5/5 This is a fine song. Not a favorite, but it's a fun one, and I like the interplay between Chris and Monique Dyan. Count me in as another who's not a big fan of the accordion in this, though. Still, the "Instant Buff" mix isn't necessarily my preferred version -- it's too stripped in other ways -- but it does make me wish for a standard mix of the track either without the accordion, or with it mixed much lower. Apparently it was played by the late T. Bone Wolk. Never noticed that until today. I had been blaming Jools for it for years.
Striking Matches is a great song that I instantly liked when I brought home Babylon and On. I thought that it was very catchy and had the potential to be hit. Many of the songs on the album were potential singles, I believe by design. They were writing three and a half minute pop songs with repeateded chorus, great beats and interesting flourishes. Likely trying to win back their fans that may have been put off by the departure of the sound that made them popular. Perhaps they were just looking to get to the next step in a quest for greater fame. I enjoyed Chris's vocal with the addition of the female singer. I do recall this was the song that would repeat in my head after listening to side two, it actually still does. I had never heard the other mix which I think is a little better. Score 4.5/5
Sorry, missed a day again... Trust Me To Open My Mouth Generally being a catchy, hooky song is a good thing, and I can understand why this was chosen as a single, but occasionally (as in this case) the hooks are a little irritating, and it doesn't help that the arrangement sounds so generic as a mid-80s song (yes, Huey Lewis or maybe Go West). 3/5 Striking Matches Not bad just fairly unmemorable, and not one of Chris's best lead vocal performances. 3/5
I totally love "Striking Matches" from start to finish. When I heard it the first time, it was a real surprise to hear a Squeeze song with a zydeco feel to it, with accordion featuring prominently and Monique Dyan's vocals being an integral part of the song. Chris sounds very confident singing it and it sounds like all involved had a blast recording this track, with all musicians and singers being totally into it. Keith's bass lines are very good and suit the song's euphoric mood perfectly. I also like the "mob vocals" during the bridge. The lyrics are well-written with some typical Chris details, such as "There's some of her hair in the teeth of my comb". It's nice to have such a happy and uncomplicated set of lyrics, with the narrator being euphoric about the love being mutual and strong. The song is very catchy, immediate but quirky and full of positive energy. 5/5 A P.S. regarding this song... in 1989, a Swedish group called Dag Vag had a huge hit with their comeback single "Du får aldrig nog" and the first time I heard it on the radio my reaction was, "Wow, they've just taken the bass lines from the outro of 'Striking Matches' and turned it into a whole song!". Anyone hear this too on the link below (or should I simply try and get a life?)?
Our votes for "Striking Matches" 1-0 2-0 3-5 4-10 5-6 Average: 3.9476 "King Buff" Mix 4-2 5-1 Average: 4.2667 Cumulative Rankings For Babylon And On 1. Hourglass - 4.2586 2. Striking Matches - 3.9476 3. Tough Love - 3.8397 4. Footprints - 3.8357 5. In Today's Room - 3.5611 6. Trust Me To Open My Mouth - 3.2813 (updated) 7. 853-5937 - 3.0650 8. The Prisoner - 2.9833
Today's song is "Cigarette Of A Single Man" Alternative access: Squeeze Youtube channel Squeeze – Cigarette of a Single Man Lyrics | Genius Lyrics Not a favorite of Glenn, the song came about from Chris watching a man looking lonely at the Rose and Crown Pub at Crooms Hill.
Cigarette of a Single Man I think this is a good album song. It glides along quite nicely and I think the lyrics are very good - I particularly like the refrain of "What you got to go home to" which makes for a desolate picture of this man's life. I quite like the piano solo although it's perhaps not outstanding. The whole song is pleasant - which seems like damning with faint praise. But then again, this album seems to have a few songs like that. 3.7/5
I like this one better than Glenn does. It starts a series of three good but not great songs in a row that are not remarkable on their own but are melodic, well-played and pleasant on the ears. I like the sense of the subject's ennui in Chris's lyrics. Nothing Dylan-esque but good overall detail. As KangaMom noted, Jools hammers out a good but far too brief piano solo that goes by so fast that you wonder if it was an aural mirage. 3.5/5
I like how Cigarette is after Striking Matches! Other than that, the song doesn't do much for me. The flourish around the 2:30 mark saves it a bit. 3/5
Striking Matches/Cig of a Single man Two of the lesser tracks of this great album. Both songs are just sort of there. Not without their charms but both are slight tunes. The voting of the songs on the album are interesting and surprising. 2.5 for each
Trust Me To Open My Mouth 4/5 Striking Matches 5/5 To me this is the best walking 'round the kitchen the day after you've had a bit of a good night if you know what I mean song , EVER. I know Chris is singing (AND there had already been 5 Babylon & On singles) but I believe in an alternative dimension this could have been a hit. Is this what Mental As Anything sound like? I've only ever heard two songs of theirs. There's something very atypically 'Australian' about it (or so I've decided anyway), and that should not necessarily be discouraged. I mention this because I do know their earlier, brilliant song 'The Nips Are Getting Bigger', and in 1987 saw them performing 'Live It Up' on the Wide Awake Club and somehow always think of 1987 Squeeze when it pops into my head. Why? I dunno! Cigarette Of A Single Man 4/5 I also love this one, the songwriting that comes into play on, em, 'Play' is apparent here. Joyous yet tragic. And like 'Tough Love' and 'The Prisoner', works as a thematic double-pack.
"Cigarette" is so intriguing to me because it closes with what seems to be an anti-cigarette line ("better off without the grief that people wear between their teeth," which is a freakin' brilliant line btw) sung by a person who was, at least at the time, such a smoker that he'd break the filters off his smokes before lighting up! But it's a good song with a cool vibe and a very cinematic-mixed-with-voyeuristic feel. 4.3/5
Cigarette of a Single Man I like this song a bit better than most of what I've heard on Babylon and On. Its hard to pinpoint exactly how, because I don't really like it that much. I guess just find it has a bit more going for it than the last few tracks and the the band seems to find a groove. As far as I'm concerned this whole record is kind of in mediocre territory for me. I'm hearing this record for the first time now, having bought most every previous Squeeze record when they were released and liked many of them a lot. If I had bought this record in 1987, it would have been played 5 times and gone into storage. I saw them in 1987 in Washington DC and my reaction to seeing them live is about the same as my impression of this record: The Squeeze spark is gone. 3/5
Catching up quickly- “Striking Matches”- like the unexpected female vocal but I wish the song was mixed better - appreciate Chris doing a more upbeat vocal even if I prefer his darker, more melancholy singing 3/5 “Cigarette of a Single Man”- one of Glenn’s better vocals on the album but I find the melody a little too polished (the problem with a lot of songs on this album for me.) I’m also realizing by this time I was buying Squeeze on cd (vs lps where the listening experience was broken into 2 separate halves) which meant I would often bail on “Babylon and On” before it played all the way through because I wasn’t a fan of its last few songs. 3/5
“Cigarette of a Single Man” Discounting b-sides this has always been my favorite Babylon song. Once again it's subdued and slinky, I think on some level they knew it was inherently strong and didn't need to be doctored up with boom-y bombast. In a welcome contrast to the last track's shopping-list lyrics "Cigarette" is overtly cinematic, almost noir. Really the only complaint I have is the piano solo is too short, everything else is beyond reproach. Glenn, on the other hand, is very much deserving of reproach for not recognizing the classy little gem of a song he created. 5/5
Cigarette of a Single Man This one is quite nice, fairly simple and straightforward in a good way. Sad and lonely lyrics. 3.5/5
Cigarette is certainly a solid song, but also just a bit dreary. Makes its point very well, and not overly depressing thanks to the sprightly rhythm and tune. Would have actually sounded refreshing if it had been on Cosi, but on this album it's a slight buzzkill. A pretty quintessential "middle of side two" type of song. 3/5
"Cigarette of a Single Man" - Nice, though it comes a little short of being great for me. Good vocal and great instrumentation, though. Definitely an album track, but not a bad one. 3.6/5
"Cigarette Of A Single Man" A good track that settles into a decent groove and develops nicely over its three minutes - I wouldn't say it's outstanding but it works well as an album track and isn't overladen with some of the 80s production touches of previous tracks. 3/5.
Cigarette Of a Single Man - Love the sequencing! The music doesn't fit the lyrics for me. I really like this story Chris has come up with. 3/5
"Cigarette of a Single Man" 4/5 Great little character study that has always drawn me in. Like some of Chris' best writing, it paints scenes you can easily imagine and visualize, and gives some empathetic insight into person's world. Glenn's music isn't maudlin so the song avoids becoming a depressing slog, and it gives Jools room to contribute some nice keyboard flourishes. dan c
Cigarette Of a Single Man is a great album track and Chris paints a very sad picture with the lyrics. He is at home alone, at a bar alone and finally sleeping in a gutter. His only companion is his Cigarettes and alcohol. In three verses he tells a story about loneliness in a similar way the Eleanor Rigby does, where the listener fills in the blanks and comes to conclusions of the person's situation. However this story is much darker due to the alcoholism. The catchy line is the "What you got to go home to?" That's the line that sticks in my head. There are only a few tracks on Babylon and On that are not obviously endeavours to write a hit. I enjoy the craft that went into putting together all these catchy pop tracks. This is a nice break from that formula. Score 4.2/5
