It might seem odd that this was the only Squeeze song to appear on a Now album, except that it was their only Top 20 hit in the relevant time period: in fact, it was their first single to breach even the Top 40 since 1981, and they didn't manage another until 1993. Not in the UK, anyway: in the US 'Hourglass' was such a big hit it brought them a second Top 40 with, of all things, '853-5937', which stiffed at 91 back home.
'Hourglass' is, to me, a rare case of a group taking on 80s production values and winning. It's hard to say exactly why it works here when it often didn't, even on other Squeeze records: their previous album Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti is almost unlistenably gloopy and even some of the rest of Babylon And On sounds wrong today, but in this one case the taut sound of the recording, the compressed drumming and even the synthesised brass seem to hit the spot, lending it a sense of nervous energy (also captured by Ade Edmonson's MC Escher-style video, which alas you'll have to find for yourself thanks to certain business disputes at the moment). Although the catchy, almost chant-like chorus was immediately appealing to radio listeners on both sides of the Atlantic, including my younger self, there's also a darker heart to the lyric, with hindsight another of Chris Difford's more honest depictions of his own mental state. For his part, Glenn Tilbrook described the music as an attempt to emulate Prince, which wouldn't have occurred to me (either as a description of this or as something Squeeze might want to do) but makes perfect sense when you hear it.
I'm aware that this is one of the longest posts I've ever put here, but even though this track doesn't need my cheerleading I was determined to do it justice.
Available on:Essential Squeeze
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