Tears for Fears: C or D?

"My Girls" seems slightly pointless.

Lyrics still no less obnoxious, but at least the sound of this cover doesn't make me feel queasy.

10 years between albums, I'm expecting something akin the XTC 's "Apple Venus", IE a great album after so much time off.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, December 17, 2013 8:11 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd be happy with something with the production depth of The Seeds Of Love, myself!

"The Working Hour" is made for car boomin' systems.

The 80s had big overdone sax in so many pop songs, and it just overwhelmed everything with its heavy slick sleazy stripper-pole sound so often. But this song has a sax intro that is kind of dated, but the saxaphone in it is strong and expressive in a way more like the clarinet in Joni Mitchell's For Free.

I fucking love this song.

Can't think of a better example of big overdone 80s sax myself.

"Woman in Chains" is so pretty.

'Advice For The Young At Heart' is perfection to me... the song, the production, the vocal...

i have this weird thing where lots of songs vaguely remind me of "Advice" and i tend to feel instant affection for them just because of that (examples: Wye Oak's "We Were Wealth," India Arie's "Just Do You").

"Advice..." is their sophisti-pop song (those bongos remind me of "Shattered Dreams") so Curt Smith singing it makes sense.

do we have a dedicated sophistipop thread or anything?

as a kid i loved the "Head Over Heels" video because there was a monkey in it. as an adult, i love it because of the guy making ridiculous faces and saying "YEAH!" after playing a synthesizer solo in the library.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9-Vb-Sj7uU

This one is old: S&D: Sophistipop

These have candidates: Swing Out Sister - "Breakout" C/D

Johnny Hates Jazz "Shattered Dreams" C/D

^^ that one ends with a request like yours, ship

these two seem to share a common ancestor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InFbBlpDTfQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH16ax3t1T4

both great videos.

Sorry, I thought the second video was the actual music vid. Here is the song, to compare with DJ Shadow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEMtSPZNch8

Shadow's was an actual sample of the Pekka Pohjola track. The descending four chord sequence isn't particularly complicated and it's possible that Orzabel came up with them on his own. Have there been any lawsuits?

No way is that a coincidence. Tears for Fears added eight beats, so it's not exactly the same, but the first eight are exactly the same chords, in the same key played in the exact same rhythm, on the same instrument (which I assume is a Wurlitzer electric piano). I think Tears for Fears borrowed it from an obscure record, then DJ Shadow sampled the same record.

From Steven Wilson's site.

My remix of Tears for Fears’ iconic 80’s album “Songs From the Big Chair” is included on a 30th anniversary reissue, to be released by Universal Music Group on 4th November.

Songs from the Big Chair was one of the biggest albums of the 80’s, and particularly successful in the USA where it reached number one in the Billboard chart on its way to selling several million copies. It features two US number one singles, Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World, as well as 2 more hit singles Head Over Heels and Mother’s Talk.

It’s a brilliant record by a truly innovative 80’s band – both accessible and ambitious. The reissue will be available in several different formats including a stand-alone Blu-Ray and a comprehensive 6 disc deluxe edition with live tracks, singles, B-sides, TV/radio appearances, remixes, videos, and the original mix.

There will also be a vinyl edition of my new stereo mix. The new stereo and 5.1 mixes were overseen and approved by Roland Orzabal (and are included as flat transfers with no mastering). More details and track listing are available on SuperDeluxeEdition.

Didn't know Wilson did this. I love his Crimson remixes.

Down the rabbit hole with this 5 disc deluxe edition, it's super annoying that the Stephen Wilson remix is only on DVD and not CD, making it more of a pain to rip (and making it unavailable on Spotify)

I haven't played that Wilson remix, is it all that different?

The Seeds of Love = Songs From The Big Chair > The Hurting > Raoul and The Kings of Spain > Everybody Loves A Happy Ending > Elemental

I was just today thinking about starting/finding a thread about songs that you didn't realize were sublime until you were able to escape their once-numbing ubiquity, specifically with respect to "Head Over Heels". I don't know how there was ever a time when that thing sounded to me like just another meh radio pop song.

Love this band so much. I'd also like to nominate "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" as containing some of the best lyrics to ever crack the Top 40.

Very poor sentence there but that's what happens when I try to type while people are talking at me. You get my drift

I was just today thinking about starting/finding a thread about songs that you didn't realize were sublime until you were able to escape their once-numbing ubiquity, specifically with respect to "Head Over Heels". I don't know how there was ever a time when that thing sounded to me like just another meh radio pop song.

― I Stepped On Your Samwich (Old Lunch), Tuesday, April 21, 2015 1:44 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is exactly where I'm at with Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

sowing the seeds of love is one weird album, man.

when that simply red dude heard the gospel piano-jazz tune on this album he must have said "argh, back to the drawing board!".

heck, even the level 42 dudes must have been green with envy.

and the dream academy were in the middle of making their album when they heard the title track to this album and they went "argh! maybe if we add dolphin noises and poly styrene to our john lennon cover everything will be okay..."

the blue nile were so devastated by this record they didn't record again for 7 years.

sorry *THE SEEDS OF LOVE*. not sowing the seeds of love.

blue nile >>>>>> tears for fears imo

Dream Academy have worn me down over the years to the point where I now either enjoy or tolerate all of their songs. I know that's faint praise, but it's something.

'Street Fighting Years' was the Minds' 'Satanic Majesties Request' to TFF's 'Sgt. Pepper'

"Street Fighting Years" was the Minds "Cant Stop the Music" to TFF's "Flash Gordon".

those Talk Talk kids didn't seem to be too bothered by "seeds of love".

God, I fucking love The Seeds of Love. I listen to it far more than The Hurting and even Songs From The Big Chair these days. I'd love for them to put out a box set for The Seeds of Love, there must be so much fucking outtake material out there somewhere.

Then Play Long reaches the difficult third album: http://nobilliards.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/tears-for-fears-seeds-of-love.html

Yeah, obviously I disagree. I personally don't find this to be an "irritatingly unsatisfactory" record at all, and while the production is completely rammed with detail, I still wouldn't call the sound "oxygen starved" ... 'Advice For The Young At Heart' is a wonderful song with production to match, IMO, and side 2 is wonderful when it clicks. It's not Songs From The Big Chair part 2, but that's a good thing.

Love is a promise
Love is a souvenir

Time to eat all your words!

Correct number one.

I'd swap out "break it down again" with "badman's song" and shuffle a few towards the end, but mostly otm

"The Working Hour" is majestic.

tears for fears deliver on the bombastic promise of simple minds at their worst and most anthemic

it's hard to be a man when there's a gun in your hand

tears for fears deliver on the bombastic promise of simple minds at their worst and most anthemic

― erry red flag (f. hazel), Sunday, June 11, 2017

otm

I've said it before, but Tears For Fears may be the only band in the world influenced by '80 Genesis​, bless 'em.

no quibbles with that list. excellent

Was hoping this would be news about the loooong promised new album. Feel like these guys have at least one more great album left in them - the last one had a few excellent moments