Retro Spins: Tears For Fears - The Seeds Of Love

I feel like people made a bigger deal about Tears For Fears in the 80's than they really deserved. I mean, they're okay. Their prior album, Songs From The Big Chair, was pretty good, but it didn't blow my mind by any means.

As I fired up their 1989 entry, Sowing The Seeds Of Love, it didn't poise itself to grab my either. It started out with the ballad, Woman In Chains, which derailed it pretty much from the start for me. One, I'm not a big fan of ballads. Two, you should start your album on a high note and then work your way into the ballads. At least that's my opinion.

By song two, I was already checked out. The album simply wasn't interesting to me. I left it run in the background while I fiddled around my toy room, hoping something would divert my attention back to it. This never happened.

The album continued to drone on in the background until it finally ended. Sowing The Seeds Of Love was somewhere in there, but it was never one of my favorites from Tears For Fears, so I really paid it no mind.

Overall, that's a hard pass for me.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Retro Spins: Tears For Fears - The Tipping Point

 

Tears For Fears has always been hit or miss for me. I never really bought into their anti-establishment, blame the parents vibe. They had a few hits that I dug, and it was enough for me to track down their three albums from the 80's for my own collection.

There's no doubt that the duo were on the top of their game from 1983 to 1989. However, when they broke up in 1991, fans probably didn't expect co-founder Roland Orzabal to carry on without Curt Smith. Regardless, this is exactly what he did for two new Tears For Fears albums in 1993 (Elemental) and 1995 (Raoul and the Kings of Spain).

After nine years of not speaking, Orzabal and Smith would bury the hatchet, and reunite to release an all new Tears For Fears album, Everybody Loves A Happy Ending. It would be eighteen long years before they would come back together for their latest album, The Tipping Point.

It seems the norm in 2021 and 2022 for bands of the seventies and eighties to come out of nowhere with an all new album. Duran Duran, ABBA, and Prince (posthumously) had great success with their recent releases, and with Def Leppard on the horizon, why not spend that time waiting by diving into Tears For Fear's latest work?

I wasn't honestly expecting much. Like I said, the duo never really impacted me all that hard as a kid. However, The Tipping Point certainly poised itself to change all of that. Track after track delivers in a big way.

Sure, there are standouts, such as No Small Thing, the title track, The Tipping Point, Break The Man, and Rivers Of Mercy.  But, there is also not a bad track to be found among the rest of the tunes. This album packs a punch, and it makes sure to leave a welt when it's done.

Orzabal and Smith have crafted an album that may truly be a masterpiece for fans who have waited almost two decades to hear new material from them. I dare say, it was worth the wait. While most singers tend to falter in their vocals as they grow older, these two seem to have gotten stronger. The songs are full of passion, and feel like each and every one of them has a special meaning to the duo.

The Tipping Point is one that is definitely worth checking out!

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below. 

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

 

Retro Spins: Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair

Tears for Fears
Songs From the Big Chair
1985

Songs From the Big Chair remains Tears For Fears biggest selling album of all time. It features the international success's Shout, Mother's Talk, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Head Over Heals and I Believe...And I've never heard it until today.

Yeah, sure. I know Tears For Fears. Who doesn't know Shout? Who doesn't know Everybody Wants to Rule the World? Those are great tracks and staples from the 80's. However, beyond that the group never really made that big of an impact on me. Their hits were hits and those were good enough for me - Well, some of them anyway.

After hearing the full album I can see why it's their most popular. It's pretty darn good. Out of the eight songs on the album I have four now on my IPOD; Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Mother's Talk and Head Over Heals. Sorry, not a fan of I Believe or the rest of the tracks.

Overall though, it didn't leave me chomping at the bit to hear more Tears For Fears. When it ended I just kind of said, "Okay," and moved on to something else. Think back to my post on Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam where the album hit me so hard I immediately took to ebay to find others. That's the kind of albums I like hearing. Ones that make me say, "Whoa, what else has this person done?" Unfortunately not the case here...Although, I suppose it's an irrelevant argument considering I already own their follow up album, The Seeds of Love.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.