According to an interview with Bud Scoppa, Difford found the process of working with their producer John Cale to be challenging: "I remember, he came up and said, 'Lyrically, you’re quite soft; have you ever thought about writin’ about musclemen?'

"[2] A record consisting of material written on the orders of producer John Cale,[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that Squeeze had a "chaotic" sound.

[1] The initial A&M Canada and A&M U.S. LP pressings were released on limited edition red vinyl.

Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote: "Musically, the instrumental is the only boring cut on the whole first side, but the record as a whole is a case study in excitingly adequate hard rock craftsmanship spoiled by trashy literature.

"[1] The album received a negative retrospective review from Allmusic, who said that producer John Cale forced Squeeze to pursue a musical direction that ran contrary to their inclinations.

They singled out the two tracks produced by the band themselves as the only ones which show any sign of the artistic success they would later reach.