Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

In the spirit of George Harrison, all things must pass, eventually. For some it’s a relief, the death of a dystopian and despotic regime, ground to dust or wiped out by plague is a thought that a cheery liberal would welcome with huge applause and gladdened heart; a new release by a band who filled a lot of teenage hearts with inspired lyrics and power ballad like affection finding themselves at the crossroads of the much missed Mr. Harrison’s almost fatalistic scenario, it can be a daunting proposition.

For T’ Pau, a vanguard of the late 80s and early 90s Pop/Rock British elite, the past isn’t helped by the unfortunately distinctly average new album Pleasure & Pain.

Even the most upbeat fan from the period would be hard pressed to find solace in memory, the glory that was the group’s debut release, Bridge of Spies, scintillating, fulfilling, an album that could stand toe to toe with Heart’s Bad Animals as being one of the most consummate of the genre at the time now feels like a fading heartbeat, the last act in George Harrison’s prophecy.

Finding solace in a song, losing yourself in the agony of an album, in the despair and ultimate triumph of a songwriter’s thoughts is what keeps the music fan coming back for more. When the album fails to deliver, any scrap of decency is clung too harder, the wreckage of the ship can still save a person from drowning and whilst the ballast of I Think About You and the crow’s nest of Misbelieving keeps hope alive; the shore is a long way off and there are obstacles hidden under the surface of the ocean in which Pleasure & Pain are easily snagged upon and cutting deep into the skin of the glory of the past.

There are some musicians, some song writers that you just want to go on forever, that you believe are untouchable to the ravages of Time; some things must surely end and with deep regret Pleasure & Pain isn’t that memorable, nor captivating enough to be pleasurable.   

Ian D. Hall