Tears for Fears: C or D?

They might owe Elvis Costello a bit more for Floating Down the River.

The punchline I saw is that Orzabel then reached into his pocket and handed over a five pound note.

That sounds almost too good to be true, but I'll go with it.

Time to eat all your words.

sftbc is classic and at the time i did not care for the hurting but it has since grown on me but like i said most of the appeal of the 80s groups was waning toward the 90s!

new record is dope

like

really really really dope

"rivers of mercy" sounds related to the ballads from sowing the seeds of love which is probably the highest compliment i can give a song

oh it's out tomorrow, nice

Are there any cinematic, standing on a cliff-top with the wind in your hair while the clouds pass by in sepia-toned time-lapse moments?

every song feels like it comes from a different record but it really flows? the songs are so good???

Great, I feel optimistic!

last track is sophistitechnopop

Are there any cinematic, standing on a cliff-top with the wind in your hair while the clouds pass by in sepia-toned time-lapse moments?

― Maresn3st, Thursday, February 24, 2022 2:46 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

"rivers of mercy" makes me wish i had a beard as luscious as roland's

It's fine so far. I wish the songs were faster but this is my usual wish.

Smith however is in fine form.

otm, was happy to hear his voice on so many of the songs

there's a few moments that almost eerily reflect the best moments on 'seeds'

for two:
- the ringing guitars that come in at the end of "rivers of mercy" strongly evoke the guitar during the outro of "women in chains"
- the chord that kicks off the verse in "break the man" is verry similar to the suspended chord that opens "advice for the young at heart"

https://tapeop.com/interviews/147/roland-orzabal/

I got together with Curt at the beginning of 2020, before the pandemic was announced. Curt wasn’t into it. He wasn’t into being in Tears For Fears. He didn’t need to be in Tears For Fears and didn’t need the money. Fair enough. So, for the first time in many, many decades, we sat down together at his house in L.A. with two acoustic guitars and an iPhone, recording, and came up with a song called “No Small Thing.” That was the point at which Curt became interested again. He sprang to life. Then “Rivers of Mercy,” “Master Plan,” and “Break The Man” all came afterwards.

Then Smith left...and returned

Yeah, what *is* it between those two? Do they really dislike each other or something?

I think it's honestly that they've been linked together since they were 13 or so. Like, I can't think of the last time I saw a couple of my cousins, and I can't think of the next time I might see my cousins. If my cousins were in town and wanted to grab a drink I'd probably say sure. If they asked me to fly out to visit, or go on a trip together, I'd likely say no.

There's probably tension between them about Curt's relative creative input, both then and now.

their recent gq interview (conducted by a certain dude) is somewhat enlightening on the subject: https://www.gq.com/story/tears-for-fears-interview-the-tipping-point/amp

Orzabal said in the interview they get on fine when recording, lol

the back half of this is a bit of a slog on first listen, hoping it'll grow on me

"End of Night", track 9, is the album favorite for me on first listen.

First four songs and "End Of Night" are the ones I like here. Over all surprised at the slickness of the production, for good and bad. Wouldn't be surprised to hear some of this stuff in an upcoming Netflix series or something.

Something very early '00s in the production with all the whooshes and chirruping synths and shiny background vocals. I kind of miss the sound of these guys recording in big actual rooms/studios - a lot sounds like it was created remotely, in the box, with an arsenal of the best plugins.

Smith's voice does sound phenomenal. Orzabal's has changed a lot, I think. That great bellowy tone of his is extremely subdued now.

Good interview:

You guys grew up together, and you’ve really come back to one another in making this record. What is the biggest difference creating together now as adults with your perspective, than maybe it was back in the day?

Orzabal: I mean, it’s much easier. We’re never too worried about taking each other too seriously. But I do think that we have a more profound respect for each other. We’re not butting heads. Maybe it’s the fact that the testosterone is dropping rapidly when you get to our age, I don’t know. But if we bicker now or if we argue now, it only lasts a couple of minutes, and then one of us says: “OK, shall we have a cup of tea?”

Smith: In marriage terms, we’ve got to the “Yes, dear” stage of our relationship.

https://variety.com/2022/music/news/tears-for-fears-tipping-point-album-tour-interview-1235190302/

“Tipping point” sounds like a Ghost song

I agree with Alfred that I wish they still wrote more faster/uptempo material, but this is good for what it is.

album is alright, definitely liked the singles more than the rest of it but it may grow on me. I think I like it more than the last one and Raoul, it's about on par with Elemental to me.

"Big Chair" was as commercial as anything on the charts and they took that sound and made something that I find listenable as someone musically trained...but I am not sure the approach worked for on later recordings.

However I was surprised when I revisited "Big Chair" how good it is, so maybe I ought to give them a chance, based on what I'm reading here.

The first three are all great in their own ways: moody insular synthy debut; intense but intensely melodic arena ready second record; indulgent, ambitious, long gestating third record.

Why doesn’t the cover of Songs from the Big Chair have the guys sitting in a big chair? Maybe holding a mock-up of a story book with little children at their feet. Instead of that Simon and Garfunkel-ass cover.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/1965c971618f53b5b79a1c0c95152ce4/tumblr_monvkfiU1l1sv68fzo1_500.gif

anyone heard the three bonus tracks?

I think I like it more than the last one and Raoul, it's about on par with Elemental to me.

That's exactly what I was gonna write but it sounds like it's a higher compliment in my book (Raoul is the only TFF album I don't like, everything else is good or better). This new one is a smoother, more consistent album than Elemental but doesn't have the peaks that album had. But it's just nice to hear these guys' voices after so long

Casual tears fans can safely steer clear of this hodgepodge

Casual tears fans can safely steer clear of this hodgepodge

anyone heard the three bonus tracks?

― Paul Ponzi, Saturday, February 26, 2022 1:05 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

they're good as anything on the album, albeit while listening to "secret location" i wondered when exactly i had put on a tame impala record

of all three i think i would want "shame" to be on the album most, just fits the desolate world-ending sophistipop mood of the rest of the material, though it wouldn't help anyone alienated by the sleepier tempos

I haven't heard this, but I did hear the two new songs they put on Rule the World: The Greatest Hits ("Stay" seems to be on this new record as well). I got the impression of a lot of highly effortful programming and manipulation of digital files, not a lot of strong songwriting.

xp ah, thanks, good to know. It doesn't sound like it's worth tracking down the special edition then, especially as I'm kinda meh on most of the record so far

I wonder what cultural shift have occurred to give this album so much more attention than Everybody Loves a Happy Ending in 2004. Were we not ready for the TFF revival yet?

Yeah, I was thinking how funny it is that this is being treated as a big reunion when, in fact, it's a second reunion, and even then a reunion of the principals, since the band itself remained more or less active.

I think time has just been very kind to their legacy, but that didn't stretch as far as the releasing of new music last time around

I wonder this sort of thing all the time but I just assume it's occult PR stuff rather than the result of any cultural shift. Like how that most recent Neil Young album was inescapable on my timeline for some reason despite the fact that previously no one ever seemed to talk about any of the guy's previous ten million albums since 2010. The Tipping Point feels like this, too.

Well, #christgau

A lot of highly effortful programming

I love this phrase.