East Side Story Squeezed Down

31 Years Ago

The original plan was for a sprawling double album that genre-hopped (in the same way the White Album had down 13 years earlier).

Each side would have a different producer: Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, and Paul McCartney.

But the Edmunds and Lowe sessions each produced one track and Paul McCartney begged off to do his own album.

So Costello mostly produced the sprawling genre-hopping record that squoze down to the amazing single-record classic East Side Story.

Still, I can't help but wonder what might have happened if Squeeze and McCartney had actually gotten together -- especially since the press was tripping over itself to declare Difford & Tilbrook the new Lennon & McCartney.

Guess we'll never know.

So I'll have to be content with this: