Oh, the things I do for (and sometimes to and with) you people...

I just decided I'm going to start a new weekly feature here called "Music You Missed", in which I will tell you about some semi-obscure album I like that I think you should check out, some of which I may have already covered here, but no matter. It's just another way for me to enrich your lives with my exceptional good taste and infinite wisdom. Alas, some of these treasures may be out of print and thus hard to find, but the best things in life do not always come easily, my pets.

Now onto this week's feature!

Artist: Squeeze
Album: Play
This album came out in 1991 and I don't think it received any airplay, which is a damn pity. I remember seeing "Satisfied" on a pay-per-view video channel (back when I didn't have MTV or VH-1) once, but that seemed to be the extent of the public exposure for it. Glenn Tilbrook composes some of the most gorgeous melodies ever, and the lyrics put to them by Chris Difford are especially good here, with Tilbrook's sweet, pleasant voice complemented by lush arrangements. This is pretty pop with substance. Besides the lovely aforementioned "Satisfied", my favorite tracks include "Crying In My Sleep", "Letting Go", "House of Love", and "Cupid's Toy". I'd expound further, but in the last 2 hours I've realized that effectively describing music is bloody hard, so I'm leaving it to the professionals.

One last note, however, about the liner notes. These are presented as the script of a play (hence the album title), with the song lyrics appearing as dialogue and incorporated into the stage directions. Being a gal who likes to have a lyric sheet so she can sing along, this presentation is a little difficult to muddle through for that purpose, but I must concede that it is quite clever.

Now then, rush out to your local used CD store and see if you can't bag this beauty for your very own!