During the tail-end of their too-brief career, when England’s Squeeze finally began to garner the attention they deserved, some critics put songwriter Glen Tilbrook and lyricist Chris Difford on a par with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. That’s going a bit far, I think, but Tilbrook, Difford, and their cohorts do have enough talent to explain how a fan could get carried away.

For evidence, see Singles—45s and Under, which collects the group’s hits and, to a greater extent, songs that should have been hits. Running the stylistic gamut from punk to country to mainstream pop, the outfit never flags in its allegiance to snappy melodies, strong vocals, and clever, cogent lyrics. The only problem is that Squeeze deserves to be remembered as more than just a singles band; and if you fall for these songs, you’ll probably find it rewarding to pick up their other LPs, which would render this one redundant.