Editing Argybargy

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Argybargy
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Squeeze (band)|Squeeze]]
| cover      = Argybargy.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = February 1980
| recorded   = August 1979–January 1980
| studio     = [[Olympic Studios|Olympic]], London
| genre      =
* [[New wave music|New wave]]<ref name="50 best new wave paste" />
* [[power pop]]<ref name="borack" />
| length     = 36:14
| label      = [[A&M Records|A&M]]
| producer   = [[John Wood (music producer)|John Wood]], Squeeze
| prev_title = [[Cool for Cats (album)|Cool for Cats]]
| prev_year  = 1979
| next_title = [[East Side Story (Squeeze album)|East Side Story]]
| next_year  = 1981
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Argybargy
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Another Nail in My Heart]]
 | single1date = January 1980
 | single2     = [[If I Didn't Love You (Squeeze song)|If I Didn't Love You]]
 | single2date = March 1980 (US)
 | single3     = [[Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)]]
 | single3date = April 1980
 | single4     = [[Farfisa Beat]]
 | single4date = September 1980 (DK/DE), February 1981 (CH)
}}
}}
'''''Argybargy''''' is the third studio album by the English [[New wave music|new wave]] band [[Squeeze (band)|Squeeze]]. Written and recorded after the band's successful sophomore release, ''[[Cool for Cats (album)|Cool for Cats]]'', the album's lyrics were written by [[Chris Difford]] while living with his wife in New York City. The band reunited with ''Cool for Cats'' producer [[John Wood (music producer)|John Wood]] and, after [[Glenn Tilbrook]] composed music for Difford's new lyrics, recorded the album in late 1979.

''Argybargy'' was a commercial and critical success, reaching number 32 in the UK and becoming the first Squeeze album to chart in the US. The album has since been recognized as a classic of [[new wave music|new wave]] and features multiple of the band's most famous songs, including "[[Another Nail in My Heart]]," "[[Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)]]," and "[[If I Didn't Love You (Squeeze song)|If I Didn't Love You]]." This would be the final Squeeze studio album to feature founding member [[Jools Holland]]. Holland would leave in early 1981 to pursue a solo career.

==Background==
Following the commercial success of the band's previous album, ''[[Cool for Cats (album)|Cool for Cats]]'', as well as a successful international tour, Squeeze reached its highest level of success to that point. This level of fame and recognition began to take its toll; [[Glenn Tilbrook]] worried of becoming "too big for [his] boots" and struggled with being recognized in public.<ref name=songbysong>{{cite book|last1=Tilbrook|first1=Glenn|last2=Difford|first2=Chris|last3=Drury|first3=Jim|title=Squeeze: Song by Song|publisher=Sanctuary}}</ref> He recalled,

{{quote|"I was standing in [a pub] in [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]] with my mates when I became conscious of the fact that a lot of people were looking at me. ... I had to get out. I'd never experienced anything like it before and it was a horrible feeling. As much as I wanted to be successful and famous, I wasn't as comfortable with fame as I'd thought."<ref name="songbysong" />}}

Following the ''Cool for Cats'' tour, [[Chris Difford]] married and spent the summer of 1979 in the US with his wife. There he wrote over 40 new lyrics, inspired by his new marriage and his time spent in [[Greenwich Village]]. He recalled, "I would sit in the flat all day while [wife] Cindy went to work and this fluidity of lyricism came gushing forth. The whole of the ''Argybargy'' album came in one fell swoop and lots more besides that never saw the light of day."<ref name="songbysong" />

==Recording==
When asked by [[A&M Records]] to produce a third album, the band brought back ''Cool for Cats'' producer [[John Wood (music producer)|John Wood]] and Tilbrook composed music for the best of Difford's new lyrics.<ref name="songbysong" /> The album was recorded during the tail end of 1979.

''Argybargy'' would be the last Squeeze album featuring founding member [[Jools Holland]] until Squeeze's first reunion album, 1985's ''[[Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti]]''. Difford recalled, "He was becoming less and less involved at this time. I think he was getting frustrated that he wasn't getting more of a shout in the band, but by then he was spending less time thinking about being in the band and more about his career."<ref name="songbysong" /> Holland would release a solo album before moving to a television career.

==Title==
The album was titled ''Argybargy'', a British expression that Difford said "sums up succinctly what our lives were like at the time. We were in each other's pockets, travelling in a minibus and on [[Freddie Laker]] planes. It was getting tiring, but we lived on the adrenalin of it."<ref name="songbysong" />

Because the titular expression is not used in America, band manager [[Miles Copeland III|Miles Copeland]] opposed the album name. Difford recalled, "Miles told us no one would know what it meant but we didn't give a shit and were in a belligerent, young Englishmen's mood, so we kept it."<ref name="songbysong" />

==Reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/argybargy-mw0000194401 |title=Argybargy – Squeeze |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=25 December 2015 |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev2score = B−<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Squeeze: Argybargy |chapter-url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=8425 |access-date=25 December 2015 |title=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s |title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |publisher=[[Pantheon Books]] |year=1990 |isbn=0-679-73015-X}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Squeeze |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Squeeze: Argybargy |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |page=123 |quote=Such bittersweet, ''Rubber Soul''-ful plays-for-today as 'Pulling Mussels (from the Shell),' 'Another Nail in My Heart,' the underrated 'Farfisa Beat' and 'Vicky Verky' repay close attention.}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Record Collector]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Squeeze: Argybargy |magazine=[[Record Collector]] |page=95 |quote=Difford's lyrics were stronger and more elaborate than before, especially his use of metaphor on the singles 'Another Nail in My Heart' and 'Pulling Mussels from the Shell.'}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Record Mirror]]''
| rev6Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Feeling The Pinch |last=Nicholls |first=Mike |date=16 February 1980 |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |page=16}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Squeeze |last=Considine |first=J. D. |author-link=J. D. Considine |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/773 773–74]}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Smash Hits]]''
| rev8score = 9/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Albums |magazine=[[Smash Hits]] |volume=2 |issue=5 |date=6–19 March 1980 |last=Starr |first=Red |pages=30–31}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]''
| rev9score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Easy Squeeze |last=Sutcliffe |first=Phil |date=16 February 1980 |magazine=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]] |page=36}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
| rev10score = 9/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=How to Buy |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |issue=221 |date=October 2015 |last=Watts |first=Peter |page=59}}</ref>
}}

''Argybargy'' was released in February 1980. It spent 15 weeks on the [[UK Albums Chart]], peaking at number 32.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |title-link=British Hit Singles & Albums |editor-last=Roberts |editor-first=David |publisher=[[Guinness World Records Limited]] |edition=19th |year=2006 |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |pages=522–23}}</ref> ''Argybargy'' was the first Squeeze album to chart in the US, reaching number 71 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref name="Billboard">{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/squeeze/chart-history/tlp/ |title=Squeeze Chart History (''Billboard'' 200) |website=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=22 November 2020}}</ref> On the [[Dance Club Songs|''Billboard'' dance chart]], all cuts from ''Argybargy'' jointly peaked at number 76, and spent 6 weeks on that listing, in the summer of 1980.<ref>{{cite book |title=Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |publisher=Record Research |year=2004 |isbn=089820156X |page=243}}</ref>

''Argybargy'' has seen critical acclaim from music writers. Chris Jones of [[BBC Music]] called the album "their crowning achievement" and "a masterpiece of kitchen sink pop," concluding, "If you're going to own at least one Squeeze album, this has to be the one."<ref name="bbc">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/dc25/ |title=Squeeze Argybargy Review |publisher=[[BBC Music]] |date=7 March 2008 |access-date=4 August 2020 |last=Jones |first=Chris}}</ref> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] wrote, "''Argybargy'' doesn't stay in one place; it's restless and crackling with colors... with ''Argybargy'' it was clear that Squeeze were at the top of the pack among [[new wave music|new wave]] popsters, and that their sardonic yet lively voice was unique among any pop group before or since."<ref name="allmusic" />

===Accolades===
''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' listed ''Argybargy'' as the 20th best new wave album, calling it the band's "first truly great" album and concluding, "Clever, infectious, with genuine emotion lying just below the surface—it's everything a great New Wave record should be."<ref name="50 best new wave paste">{{cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/new-wave/the-best-new-wave-albums/ |title=The 50 Best New Wave Albums |website=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |date=8 September 2016 |access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref> Music journalist [[John M. Borack]] ranked ''Argybagy'' at number 58 on his list of "The 200 Greatest [[Power Pop]] Albums" in his book ''Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Guide to Power Pop''.<ref name="borack">{{cite book |title=Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Guide to Power Pop |last=Borack |first=John M. |author-link=John M. Borack |publisher=[[Not Lame Recordings]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780979771408 |page=80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqtGTJgE4rEC |access-date=4 February 2020}}</ref>

==Track listing==
The track listing below is from the original UK [[LP album|LP]] release. On the American release, the song order was changed slightly, with "If I Didn't Love You" moved up to the first track of the second side, but the order otherwise remaining the same.
{{tracklist
| all_writing =  [[Chris Difford]] and [[Glenn Tilbrook]], except where noted
| headline = Side one
| title1 = [[Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)]]
| length1 = 3:58
| title2 = [[Another Nail in My Heart]]
| length2 = 2:56
| title3 = Separate Beds
| length3 = 3:21
| title4 = Misadventure
| length4 = 2:56
| title5 = [[I Think I'm Go Go]]
| length5 = 4:18
}} 
{{track listing
| headline = Side two
| title1 = [[Farfisa Beat]]
| length1 = 2:57
| title2 = Here Comes That Feeling
| length2 = 2:12
| title3 = Vicky Verky
| length3 = 3:12
| title4 = [[If I Didn't Love You (Squeeze song)|If I Didn't Love You]]
| length4 = 4:11
| title5 = Wrong Side of the Moon
| writer5 = [[Jools Holland]], Difford
| length5 = 2:25
| title6 = There at the Top
| length6 = 3:46
}}
{{track listing
| headline = Bonus tracks (1997 reissue)
| title1 = Funny How It Goes
| length1 = 3:49
| title2 = Go
| length2 = 4:12
}}

===2008 deluxe edition===
''Argybargy'' was re-issued in 2008 as a two disc deluxe edition. The first disc includes the original album, the two bonus cuts from the 1997 reissue, and seven additional bonus tracks.

# "What the Butler Saw" ("Pulling Mussels" b-side) – 2:46
# "Someone Else's Heart" (Previously Unreleased Version) – 2:55
# "Pretty One" ("Another Nail in My Heart" b-side) – 2:46
# "Going Crazy" ("Christmas Day" b-side) – 3:56
# "Farfisa Beat" (Previously Unreleased Alternate Version) – 2:58
# "Library Girl" (Demo) – 3:17
# "If I Didn't Love You" (Glenn Tilbrook Demo) – 3:39

The second disc contains a concert recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on 9 March 1980, plus a US radio commercial for the album.

# Radio Commercial – 1:05
# "[[Slap and Tickle]]" – 3:54
# "Touching Me Touching You" – 2:07
# "Slightly Drunk" – 2:40
# "[[Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)]]" – 3:44
# "Hop Skip and Jump"
# "Funny How It Goes" – 3:18
# "[[Another Nail in My Heart]]" – 2:55
# "[[Cool for Cats (song)|Cool for Cats]]" – 3:46
# "[[Mess Around]]" – 2:37
# "I Think I'm Go Go" – 4:55
# "[[Take Me I'm Yours]]"
# "If I Didn't Love You" – 3:54
# "Strong in Reason" – 4:06
# "Misadventure"
# "It's So Dirty" – 3:02
# "[[Goodbye Girl (Squeeze song)|Goodbye Girl]]" – 4:14
# "[[Up the Junction (song)|Up the Junction]]" – 3:03
# "There at the Top"
# "Going Crazy" – 4:59

==Personnel==
'''Squeeze'''
* [[Chris Difford]] – rhythm guitars, vocals, lead vocals on "Here Comes That Feeling", co-lead vocals on "If I Didn't Love You" & "I Think I'm Go Go"
* [[Glenn Tilbrook]] – keyboards, lead guitars, lead vocals
* [[Jools Holland]] – keyboards, vocals, lead vocals on "Wrong Side of the Moon"
* [[John Bentley (musician)|John Bentley]] – bass
* [[Gilson Lavis]] – drums

with:
* [[Del Newman]] – string arrangements

'''Production'''
* John Wood – producer, mixing 
* Andrew Lumm – engineer 
* Squeeze – mixing 
* Frank DeLuna – mastering at [[A&M Studios]] (Hollywood, California, USA)
* Michael Ross – art direction, design 
* Mike Laye – front cover photography

==Certifications==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Certifications for ''Argybargy''
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Level
!scope="col"|Date
|-
!scope="row"|Canada ([[Canadian Recording Industry Association|CRIA]])
|Gold
|1 October 1981
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Squeeze}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Squeeze (band) albums]]
[[Category:1980 albums]]
[[Category:A&M Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by John Wood (record producer)]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios]]