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The time to cast the first stone has finally come! Those who have always hated and cursed them can now massacre and torture them here on DeBaser as well! For everyone else, it will be a good opportunity to discover a record that has its good moments and its downfalls, a record of "vulgar" pop music, very popular but not excellent for that reason. The group certainly cannot have the presumption of placing themselves among the "greats" of the 80s, and the unusual rivalry that journalists saw between Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet was, to me, just a big bullshit, since the former were something else entirely, much better equipped and capable than the latter. Yes, the Spandau can indeed secure a place among the most handsome pretty boys of the Thatcher era, that much is true. It doesn’t save them from the abyss, but at least it makes them look a bit less shitty. Is anything salvaged? As far as I'm concerned, their "True" deserves to live. What is "True"? It's 8 little pop songs lined up for a pleasant 40-minute listen, where you can hear several interesting little things. Let me preface this by saying the band was not at their first attempt, but had instead made a two-year apprenticeship during which they released two presumptuous and anything but exciting albums (except for their debut single, "To cut a long story short," which I've always liked). In 1983, (after forming in 1979), the group reached a significant turning point, coinciding with a change of producer and image. From young beautiful rebels, tight and macho, always with some part exposed, they transformed into five elegant and classy young men, with jackets, black shoes, and hair somewhat fixed. The result is also a change of sound, taking them farther from the new wave that accompanied their birth in favor of a refined and unpretentious pop. Gary Kemp, the guitarist, and the author of all the Spandau songs except one, as in the two previous albums, signs all the tracks. The record opens with "Pleasure", a conventional pop song like many heard in the 80s, characterized by light percussion that remains in the background (a feature of the entire album) and Tony Hadley's certainly important voice, much more confident after the first albums. The second track "Communication" was also the first single and is the song that marks a change of direction for the British band. Relying on a very catchy chorus and a video that was high quality for the time, the song managed to break through and consecrate the group even outside their homeland. The record continues with the mid-tempo "Code of love", which I consider one of the most interesting moments of the LP, with several "high" points and classy nuances. The production by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, the two most "in" producers of the early 80s in such cases, greatly helped the 5 lads to create their own sound and make it their trademark, perfectly encapsulated in "Code of love". Next comes the danceable and catchy "Gold" (we all remember that crescendo intro) which reaches even greater heights than "Communication" when it comes to the hit parade and essentially lifts the album's mood that could become somewhat monotonous in the long run, though pleasant. Notably, Steve Norman's sax solos that from this album forward will become the band's hallmark are noticeable. Side B opens with "Lifeline", the third single and a very lively track, with a chorus that sticks in your head and those backing vocals that, yes, indeed, fit in well. Following that is "Heaven is a secret", a trip-up of the album that sums up into a formula similar to that of "Lifeline" but less explosive and less contagious. On a positive note, the arrangements nod to soul. The penultimate stop before the final bang is the fast-paced "Foundation", suspended between a rock that it fails to be and regurgitations of the new wave of times gone by. It’s a nice transition to the title track, the most well-known of the group and their emblem, their only masterpiece, still fashionable today. Hadley doesn’t miss a beat and reveals himself, perhaps for the first time, as a singer of great talent and class. The backing vocals and piano arpeggios in the background are more than useful in creating a very soulful but also very new wave and perfectly harmonized ballad atmosphere. The sax solo performed by Norman is certainly one of the most famous in international pop music and of the '80s in general, a time when sax could even transform an extremely silly song into a great song. This obviously does not apply to True, which is anything but silly, but that solo... that solo IS True. Period. End of the record, end of the little songs. Does so much lightheartedness hurt, in the end? I don't know. I know I enjoy listening to many different records, some are masterpieces, others just honest works. True is not a masterpiece. But it is a good record, perhaps the only Spandau album that goes beyond just sufficient and manages to capture attention not for some gaudiness but for some good music. That Spandau later threw themselves back into crap is another story. But sometimes it's worth stopping time, even if just for 40 minutes...
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Pleasure (03:33)
Pleasure's in my car
even in the bar as I'm searching
in the love that's strong
breathing in the song, I'm learning
(I am learning)
Pleasure in the sand
warm within the hand she's holding
it is on the screen
adventures at ninteen, I'm searching
I am searching in my heart
Pleasure in my heart
never let us part for pleasure
work,work today
never let them pay for pleasure
leave or lose her from my heart.
Pleasure is your name
I accept he blame for falling
it is down the phone
living in your home,I'm calling
(I am calling)
Pleasure is a word
when love is left unheard,it's burning
it is on the screen
adventures at ninteen, I'm searching
I am searching in my heart.
Why do you feel like breaking my heart?
What made you feel like breaking my heart tonight?
Now I am crying,now I am crying.
Pleasure in my heart
never let us part for pleasure
work,work today
never let them pay for pleasure
leave or lose her from my heart.
02 Communication (03:41)
Communication always leaves me incomplete,
The grass is greener, but it's grown beneath my feet...
Love inspiration is a message on a wing,
But I have left it in the words you'll never sing...
Communication let me down,
And I'm left here
Communication let me down,
And I'm left here, I'm left here again!
Telex or tell me, but it's always second-hand,
I'm incognito but no rendezvous's been planned...
Dictate or relay, I could send it to your home,
"Return to Sender" - I could sing it down the phone!
Communication let me down,
But I'm left here
Communication let me down,
But I'm left here, I'm left here, I, I, I...
(Dictate!)
(Relay!)
I'm sitting here, waiting by the telephone,
Waiting for the bell to ring,
Short change, fumble,
Dial-a-heart trouble,
And I ain't got time for searching through the rubble, oh no!
Well, I know-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Communication let me down,
And I'm left here
Communication let me down
And I'm left here, I'm left here, I, I, I...
(I'm a-left a-here-oh!)
(I'm a-left a-here-oh!)
(I'm a-left a-here-oh!)
(I'm a-left a-here-oh!)
(I'm a-left a-here-oh!)
(I'm a-left a-here-oh!)
(I'm a-left a-here-oh!)
(I'm a-left a-here-oh!)
04 Gold (04:51)
Thank you for coming home
I'm sorry that the chairs are all worn
I left them here I could have sworn
these are my salad days
slowly being eaten away
just another play for today
oh but I'm proud of you,but I'm proud of you
nothing left to make me feel small
luck has left me standing so tall
(Chorus)
gold
always believe in your soul
you've got the power to know
you're indestructable
always believe in,because you are
gold
glad that you're bound to return
there's something I could have learned
you're indestructable,always believing
after the rush has gone
I hope you find a little more time
remember we were partners in crime
it's only two years ago
the man with the suit and the pace
you knew that he was there on the case
now he's in love with you,he's in love with you
my love is like a high prison wall
but you could leave me standing so tall
(Chorus)
gold
always believe in your soul
you've got the power to know
you're indestructable
always believe in,because you are
gold
I'm glad that you're bound to return
something I could have learned
you're indestructable,always believing
my love is like a high prison wall
but you could leave me standing so tall
(Chorus)
gold
always believe in your soul
you've got the power to know
you're indestructable
always believe in,because you are
gold
I'm glad that you're bound to return
something I could have learned
you're indestructable,always believing
05 Lifeline (03:36)
Changing her colours she's off to the shore
she rides the soul train and he fight the law
there's a power in his voice and it makes her feel so sure
so live and live in love
one day he'll build a statue with his hands
so gentle when he tries to understand
this subterfuge he never really planned
now you're living in the Lifeline
we're moving
in the Lifeline
we're walking
in the Lifeline
we're throwing
so live and let live in love
exchanging their letters their exits begun
with deathless precision he's aiming his gun
a democracy of sorts that justifies the sun
so live and let live in love
neither has the ghost of a chance
those decisions only can be made once
you never really know just what you're giving
till you're living in the Lifeline
we're moving
in the Lifeline
we're walking
in the Lifeline
we're throwing
He could have built a statue with his hands
So gentle when he tries to understand
you never really know just what you're giving
till you're living in the Lifeline
we're moving
in the Lifeline
we're walking
in the Lifeline
we're throwing to you
but I'm not living
06 Heaven Is a Secret (04:27)
She'll sing a "West-Side" song
you could be the boy in the film
Heaven is a secret.
Where are the "West-Side" boys?
Fighting on the scaffold of love
Scripted pleasures made forever
Easier said then done together
Heaven is a secret
it's a passion
it's a long way over there
far from her arms tonight.
Here is her model home
listen to the call of the wild
Heaven is a secret
facts are awful shame
the shadow of a doubtful affair
scripted pleasures made forever
easier said than done together
Act One's the same as you read in the book
could this be the thing that they shout about?
No more in distress, now it's rushed through the door
and you can't believe that the secret's out
scripted pleasures made forever
easier said than done together.
Heaven is a secret
it's a passion
it's a long way over there
far from her arms tonight.
07 Foundation (04:08)
Hello, this is me to you
it's better now we're coming through
and I don't really know just who we are
I'll stay here till my loves full up
so stir this cocktail,shake me up
drink me down and take me from the bar.
We'll build a foundation,
build a foundation
build a foundation,
you know we're gonna build, build it up.
Spent the night in Tumbledown
a hundred miles from west of town
plans were laid , no compromise was made.
Gently up to meet the blue
left a note and signed it "TRUE"
those construction games were all we played.
Oh I know you're gonna give your best
so more or less,gotta put it to the test
don't you know you've got the whole world in your hands.
Surrender up and lay down your arms
the fighting hurts but the loving calms
oh I know you've got the whole world in your hand.
We'll build a foundation,
build a foundation
build a foundation,
you know we're gonna build, build it up.
08 True (06:29)
So true
Funny how it seems
Always in time, but never in line for dreams
Head over heels, when toe to toe
This is the sound of my soul
This is the sound
I bought a ticket to the world
But now I've come back again
Why do I find it hard to write the next line
When I want the truth to be said
I know this much is true
With a thrill in my head an a pill on my tongue
Dissolve the nerves that have just begun
Listening to Marvin all night long
This is the sound of my soul
This is the sound
Always slipping from my hands
Sand's a time of t's own
Take your seaside arms and write the next line
Oh I want the truth to be said
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