Tears for Fears' Songs From the Big Chair: go on and scream, scream at me…
Written: Jul 10 '04 (Updated Aug 17 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: a marked improvement over their first album The Hurting
Cons: not incredible, as future album Seeds of Love would prove to be
The Bottom Line: #6 of the Top Ten Albums that molded my musical tastes. Heady topics for a pop band, reflective of my maturing concerns about coping with life in this world
bob_tomato's Full Review: Songs From the Big Chair [Remaster] by Tears For F...
If you've been following this series from the beginning, we've now arrived in the middle of my Top Ten list of the albums that molded my musical tastes, and we're also smack dab in the middle of the 1980s… 1985 was a good year for music that influenced me – it was the year that Howard Jones released Dream Into Action, a terrific example of the 2nd British Invasion, the new wave of synth fueled pop that took over much of pop radio and MTV in the middle years of the decade. In that same year, another album was released that was not only part of the new wave, but it was one of the more thought provoking, musically literate works that would come out during the next few years from several British artists, including Sting, Peter Gabriel and U2 among others.
As my tastes began to move away from the pop-rock artists of the early eighties, and towards the new wave groups of the mid-eighties, I found that I preferred music that included both of these genres intelligently, with a strong emphasis on insightful lyrics. I was also beginning to listen to older rock, blues and jazz – a direct result of my college classes and acquaintances – I searched for new artists that drew upon these sources for inspiration. Tears for Fears' Songs From the Big Chair was a transitional album for my musical tastes – while it can be considered part of the British new wave, it was not typical for the genre. The band wrote deeply introspective songs, strong lyrics wrapped in powerful sound, rhythm and melodies. Though the band was still rooted in the typical synthesizer sounds of the era, Songs From the Big Chair featured the band's growing interest in acoustic instrumentation, a slightly harder, more "rock" edge and an overarching conceptual style. This new sound matched the changes in my musical preferences very closely.
Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith are the duo that make up the core of the band – their shared fascination with Arthur Janov's primal therapy being the fairly esoteric source of the band's name, and of the permeating lyrical theme throughout all of their albums. Their most easily recognized hit, and the lead song of Songs From the Big Chair, Shout was the most obvious reference to the band's inspiration. Shout is a sprawling dance anthem to the healing virtues of emotional release, a percussive anesthetic for the mind and soul, a song to get lost in and give in to. It's one of those songs you turn up to full volume on the car stereo as you leave a particularly tough day at work – to sing along at the top of your voice is truly an exercise in Janov's theory, and for a little while at least, it really works. I know. There have been many times where I've deliberately lost myself in a song such as this one, and in 1985, I had plenty of teen angst to work through…
The continuity of Songs From the Big Chair, evidenced by it's musical flow and lyrical content, combined with the strong songwriting and musicians performances makes the album very satisfying. The styles swing from pensive (Listen, I Believe) to powerful (Shout, Mothers Talk), with themes touching on power and politics (The Working Hour, Everybody Wants to Rule the World) and a look at a desperate heart mercilessly controlled by the object of it's affection (Head Over Heels).
Head Over Heels is one of those catchy songs where you can miss the forest for the trees – it's easy to get caught up in the sound of the song and miss the real message of the song (much like all the misguided lovers slow dancing to Every Breath You Take at a Sting concert)…
…you keep your distance with a system of touch
And gentle persuasion
I'm lost in admiration could I need you this much
Oh, you're wasting my time
You're just wasting time
Dennis Miller pretty much claimed ownership of Everybody Wants to Rule the World by making it the theme song of his HBO series during it's run – before he transformed it into his personal soundtrack, Everybody was a pretty popular song for a time. The guitar and synth intro is instantly recognizable, the melody and instrumentations so very peppy, a pop-sicle of eighties synthesizer fun that actually has a strong message buried amongst all the sunshiney sounds.
One of my favorite tracks is Mothers Talk, a percussion heavy, synth fueled machine roaring along at a fast clip – this was a club favorite back in it's day (new versions of this CD include a remix version of Mothers Talk that is worth checking out). Another slice of the album I favor is the medley of sorts near the end. Broken is an interesting mix of sounds – it uses melodic themes from a few other songs on the album – and it segues directly into Head Over Heels. The radio edit of Head Over Heels fades out, but we true believers know that it actually moves into a live reprise of Broken (a ploy they'd use again – and to much better effect – in the album Seeds of Love)
While most of today's pop audience may only know the big hits from this recording, the entire album is worth a listen – it is one of those rare records that hangs together very well, moving from song to song with a sense of purpose. Tears for Fears would later manage to improve upon Songs From the Big Chair when they crafted Seeds of Love, but Songs is not an album to be ignored – how loud must I Shout to convince you to pick up a copy?
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Tears For Fears - Songs From the Big Chair
Originally released in March, 1985 by Polygram Records
Track listing
Shout / The Working Hour / Everybody Wants To Rule The World / Mothers Talk / I Believe / Broken / Head Over Heels - Broken (Live) / Listen
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My Top Ten List of albums that molded my musical tastes
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