Search - T'Pau :: Bridge of Spies

Give a little bit of Heart and Soul?

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 04/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Clearly, Carol Decker and company are Star Trek fans, as they took their name from the priestess in the Star Trek episode "Amok Time." Me, I heard their single "Heart And Soul" and was entranced by the dreamy new-wave/alternative pop hybrid they came up with. The smooth melodic keyboards and wall of sound makes me imagine of floating down a river. Carol's voice varies between the sultry monologue: "Something in the moonlight catches my eye/the shadow of a lover goes dancing by/looking for a little bit of love to go, so/give me love give me heart and soul" to lilting singing, of which the two are mixed together, and finally the shrill emotion in the chorus. One of my favourite songs of all time."I Will Be With You" is one of those wishful dreams of going back to times past. However, it's the third single (in the U.S., anyway) that rivals "Heart And Soul" in sheer silkiness. "China In Your Hand," which did better in T'Pau's native UK, opens with pizzicato strings, and this leisurely paced song coated with their usual wall of synthesizer. The chorus goes "Don't push too far/Your dreams are china in your hand/Don't wish too hard/Because they may come true." Or, as another proverb goes, "Be careful what you wish for-you may get it." The sax solo at the end is a nice touch, and the fact that there is a brief reprise of this song as the last track hints at its status as the keynote track here."Friends Like These" takes a critical look at tunnel-visioned friends who fall down once their dream and vision prove fallible: "But oh how the mighty all fall down/Heavy in a sea of principles." The chorus goes: "Only one dream/only one way/only one vision and thought for the day." Carol wonders if they are aware that there's more than one way to the answer."Sex Talk" sounds like a flashy upbeat Elton John pop song. She says of the title theme, done by the phone as "love without a face." The narrator has been alone too long and can't go on this way."Bridge Of Spies," the second single, is a mid-paced ballad with its slow U2-like guitars, equates the meeting of lovers akin to standing on opposite sides of a bridge the way Cold War spies were exchanged-remember Francis Gary Powers and Rudolf Abel? "I am walking/over the bridge of spies today/Freedom is only one more step away/You only have to hold me/Take me to you." Another nice line: "where I lived in my fantasy on the continent of dreams." Funny, I thought that's where I lived.That song segues into the down-and-dirty "Monkey House" with its watered down AC-DC rock guitar. It's an analogy of Puritanical censorship being the wealthy state of Mental Hygiene. "We can make or break your mind/With Mental Hygiene/And you will see things in the way we think you should" definitely has totalitarian overtones."Valentine" is a sad forlorn look at a lost love who's now married and has a child: "I know mine are the arms you'll never hold/I know mine is a love remains untold." She sings in her lilting ballad voice here. That is followed by the bittersweet "Thank You For Goodbye" with a sax permeating the song. Notable lyric: "So I really don't matter/I'm just a rung on your ladder/To climb over on your way to town."The raucous "You Give Up" is a scolding tone of people who aim for extremes and don't go for closer dreams. Not a good song for idealists or romantics.Even sixteen years after its release, I still can't find myself just shuffling it off into any category except as a hybrid combination. So give a little bit of heart and soul..."

Amazing. Simply Amazing.

R. Nease | Maryland | 03/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first saw the video for "Heart and Soul" when I had insomnia as a 17-year old -- and ran out and bought this cassette the same day. Little did I know that, good a song as it was, that it was the worst song on the album.



I recently rebought it in CD form and it's as amazing now as it was then. How T'Pau was so successful in the UK and yet a one-hit wonder in the US, I have no idea. China in Your Hand is such a well-done song, lyrically, musically, and emotionally, and the rest aren't far behind.



Now if only they'll rerelease The Promise, and actually come up with a US version of Rage, I'll be happy.

"