"In Quintessence" is the first song on Squeeze's 1981 album '' East Side Story''. The lyrics were written by

Chris Difford Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Musical career Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written ly ...

and the music by

Glenn Tilbrook Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957) is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the music for Squeeze's son ...

Background

said, "The lyric is autobiographical in some ways, another song that mentions masturbation." When discussing the lyrics,

said, "The bloke who the lyric was about is now a very responsible teacher working just outside

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. I saw him a couple of months ago and he said how perfectly this described his life at the time. Chris was spot on in analysing him as someone who liked smoking joints and shagging birds, but what's wrong with that?" Tilbrook stated, "Musically it was my tip of the hat to Elvis ostello He'd borrowed the riff from '

Time Is Tight "Time Is Tight" is an instrumental recorded by Booker T. & the M.G.'s for their soundtrack to the 1968 film '' UpTight''. Background The group recorded two versions of the song – the shorter (3:14), slower version was released as a single in 1 ...

' and used it on a song called '

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'. I thought it would be funny to use that riff again for 'In Quintessence' and expand it." The song also features a solo from Tilbrook, who recalled "working that solo out in the bathroom in the studio." Although the rest of ''East Side Story'' was produced by Elvis Costello, this track was produced instead by

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...

. This is because ''East Side Story'' was originally intended to be a double album, with each side produced by a different producer; others intended for the task included

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Live history

"In Quintessence" was often played live by Squeeze. Chris Difford said: "'In Quintessence' was in our set for quite a while and we used to segue it into 'Time Is Tight', which was a Booker T. & the M.G.'s song."

Critical opinion

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

described it as "the almost ideal opener" and said that it "strangely enough sounds like lvisCostello's 1981 album, ''

Trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

'' (it really was an incestuous scene) Another ''AllMusic'' critic, Stewart Mason, opined: "A quintessential (sorry) Squeeze song, 'In Quintessence' kicks off the band's masterpiece, 1981's ''East Side Story'', in grand style." He went on to say that " in many of the best Squeeze songs, Glenn Tilbrook's choirboy chirp and Chris Difford's dry croak are used simultaneously throughout the song, a vocal trademark that's one of the group's most unique assets."

References

{{authority control Squeeze (band) songs Songs written by Glenn Tilbrook Songs written by Chris Difford 1981 songs