Product Description

Although the opening track, "Shout", takes on the theme of catharsis that dominated THE HURTING two years earlier, the progression evident from that debut to SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR is manifest in every other facet. While many of the band's synth-pop peers continued to develop along a linear route, Tears For Fears vaulted into the potentially insipid worldof '80s MOR.
Curt Smith sings on the radio-friendly "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", but Roland Orzabal's stronger voice takes centre-stage for much of the album, includingthe spirited single "Mother's Talk" and a falsetto on the stadium-sized "Head Over Heels". "The Working Hour" is the perfect realisation of the new sound: a smooth six-minute arrangement of saxophone, piano, and guitar that's marked by a restrained sense of drama. SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR is an excellent album and, shading Simple Minds' ONCE UPON A TIME, arguably the finest example of epic '80s pop. The 1998 remastered edition includes seven bonus tracks.

Track Listing

1. Shout
2. The Working Hour
3. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
4. Mothers Talk
5. I Believe
6. Broken
7. Head Over Heels / Broken
8. Listen
9. The Big Chair
10. Empire Building
11. The Marauders
12. Broken Revisited
13. The Conflict
14. Mothers Talk
15. Shout

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2066 in Music
• Released on: 1999-06-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Running time: 73 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Considering that Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, the English duo known as Tears for Fears, were avid followers of Arthur Janov, father of the Primal Scream form of mental therapy, it wasn't surprising that one of their biggest hits was titled "Shout". What was surprising was how the two managed to take all their deep- rooted inner turmoil and make such positively buoyant music. Case in point: their other Songs From the Big Chair-spawned, No. 1 hit, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", was a meditative contemplation of the struggle for power within interpersonal relationships as a metaphor for global supremacy--which, thank god, had a good beat so you could at least dance to it. --Billy Altman

Customer Reviews

Good memories but>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I'm at it again replacing my stolen record collection. This CD would have got five stars if it had just been the tracks from the original vinyl recording. There are bonus tracks but I couldn't help feeling they were slightly pretentious. I couldn't put my finger on it, but they sounded like the group thought they were so good they could get away with anything! I really enjoyed the first tracks and I can't fault those, but it was hard to concentrate on the bonus tracks - sorry Tears for Fears but why couldn't you just keep writing excellent lyrics!

TEARS FOR FEARS - SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR
Pedazo de álbum, probablemente el mejor de su carrera, aunque The Seeds Of Love fuera el más caro y grandioso.
Impresionante las variaciones de las secciones rítmicas, las melodías profundas y directas como esa entrada de "Head Over Heels" al teclado y guitarra o el tempo como "giratorio" de Everybody Wants to Rule The World con un bridge subiendo y bajando en la escala, "girando".
Instrumentos que ejecutan frases jazzísticas, la frialdad de Shout... En definitiva, impresionante, que manera de inventar genialidades. Por qué ya nadie hace algo así.

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Great album, probably the best of the TFF career,although the biggest and expensive album was The Seed Of Love

Arguably The Best Album Of The 80`s
This album had a huge impact on the music scene apon its release in the early part of the 80`s. The 1st single "Shout" was simply an audio assault of the ears with its relentless build up. All the while having you singing along before leaping around playing air guitar. The big single was "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" This is for me imho one of the greatest ever pop songs. Certainly it takes its place alongside The Police "Every Breath You Take". The great thing about this album is how good the songs really are. It was the 2 singles that pulled you in but the rest of the album floored you. Brilliantly crafted songs with intelligent lyrics, catchy melodies, outstanding musicianship, crisp production & lots of little nuances that kept you interested as a listener. Its also worth noting that this album had a big crossover of fans from Rock fans to outright pop fans, everybody rated this album. The tracks speak for themselves & you`ll be hard pressed to come up with a favourite, there all that good. "Shout" "Everybody...." "The Working Hour" "I Believe" "Head Over Heals" "Listen" all outstanding & beyond any doubt some of the finest songs written not just in the 80`s but in any decade. If you are a music fan who believes in real musicians who write & play there own instruments then this album is a must buy. If you want to hear one of the greatest ever albums then this is a must buy. You now also get some bonus tracks as well. My only gripe with the bonus tracks is the excellent "Pharaohs" that was the B side of "Everybody Wants..." is not included here. It is available on TFF Collection also available at Amazon, but it should have been included here. "Marauders" is the one stand out track here from the bonus tracks. An album that in many ways is still unsupassed. No serious record collection should be without it.