Chris Difford's album The Last Temptation of Chris is the perfect Sunday morning record.

You wake up early, or maybe a little late, and probably a bit groggy from the night before. You slip into autopilot and start up the coffee, grab a bagel, snatch the paper.

You flip through the CD racks for the soundtrack to your A.M. Something engaging, but not too harsh. Something that's comfortable without being too familiar. Music that will tickle your ears, but never get caught in the wax.

That's The Last Temptation of Chris. An easygoing, affable album of light pop tunes ("light" in the effervescent sense, not the Celine Dion radio single sense), Temptation deserves a play on your best Sunday mornings.

Difford is best known as one half of the Squeeze songwriting team along with Glenn Tilbrook. It's easy to hear some familiar Squeeze lyrical rhythms in Difford's words for Temptation, although his themes have moved far beyond the youthful tales of romance won and lost in such songs as "Up the Junction" and "Is That Love?"

These are songs written from an older, if not wiser, perspective; "Reverso" tells the story of a reversed vasectomy and the joy to be found in the resulting child. "Broken Family" floats reminiscences of divorce's impact on a family over a wheeling, infectious guitar riff.

"Battersea Boys" is a particular triumph; adapted from a tale told to Difford at an old folks' home, it's a sentimental reminiscence of two brothers and their simple journeys through life. Deceptively basic on the surface, but infused with stirring nostalgia and the kind of lilting melody that's tailor-made for drunken crooning when out getting teary-eyed with the old gang.

Overall, this is a very sentimental, nostalgic record, longing for such images of the past as a mother's handbag, kids playing outside the pub on a Sunday, and a pair of aging queens gossiping their way through the days. There's even a final song aptly titled "The Party's Over."

Which fits, too; I mean, is there a more fitting song to hear on a Sunday morning than "The Party's Over"? Is there a better way to feel than nostalgic as you nurse a slight hangover, read about the shitty state of our world, and drink lukewarm coffee?

There's something undeniable about Difford's singing voice; he's not a singer per se, although he hits his notes just fine. He's more of a melodic storyteller, casual and loose even when the tempo picks up and the tunes start to move, as on "On My Own I'm Never Bored" and "Fat As A Fiddle." It gives the record just the right relaxed, conversational feel; this is music that could just as easily be taking place in your living room as it could be coming out of your stereo speakers.

"Comfortable" is the operative word. The Last Temptation of Chris is easy music that's not easy listening. An old pair of jeans you wear like a second skin; the crook of your spouse's arm where your head fits just right. A random Sunday morning where there's a hint of rain in the air, the Washington talk shows are too depressing, and you'd like to go back to bed. Instead, you'll sit and listen.