August 15, 2022

1985 - January: Tears for Fears “Songs From the Big Chair”

46 minutes

Tears for Fears comes from Bath, England, and were formed by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Their first album, "The Hurting" was released in 1983 and was successful with songs like "Mad World" and "Pale Shelter." However, their second album entitled Songs from the Big Chair, a title taken from the motion picture "Sybil" would be the one to propel them to super-stardom. It peaked at number 2 in the UK and number 1 in the US. In addition to Orzabal and Smith, Ian Stanley is on keyboards, and Manny Elias is on drums and drum arrangement.

Orzabal and Smith were inspired by electronic and synth-pop bands like Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, and Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark. They started off as a duo initially called History of Headaches. The name Tears for Fears comes from primal therapy, a psychological treatment developed by Arthur Janov.

Shortly after their follow-up third album ”The Seeds of Love,” Orzabal and Smith had a big falling out, breaking up the band in 1991. They would get back together in 2000, and are still touring and releasing albums today.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

This is the signature song from the album. Bassist Curt Smith takes the lead vocals, and the lyrics are about the desire for power and about corruption. It was a last minute addition to the album and was recorded in two weeks as the final track to be laid down.

Shout

The lead-off track and second single to the album features Orzabal on lead vocals. While many think this is about primal scream theory, Orzabal has said it is actually more about political protest.

Broken

This is a short piece with lyrics that have an angst-ridden declaration that we are all broken. It is also commonly played in concert just in front of the next piece which also reprises Broken at the end.

Head Over Heels

This is your classic “boy obsesses over girl” song. It was released as the fourth single from the album, but it had been bouncing around for about 2 years along with Broken. Orzabal takes vocal lead on this one.

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Neutron Dance by The Pointer Sisters (from the motion picture "Beverly Hills Cop”)

Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop propelled both his career and this song originally appearing on a 1983 album to the top.

STAFF PICKS:

If I Had A Rocket Launcher by Bruce Cockburn

Wayne launches the staff picks with a protest song from Canada's own Bruce Cockburn. The song lyrics tell the story from the perspective of the villagers experiencing warfare but being powerless to do anything about it.

Valotte by Julian Lennon

Rob brings us the title track from Julian Lennon's debut studio album. The resemblance between Julian and his father are obvious. Many think the river referenced is the Tennessee River near Muscle Shoals where portions of the album were recorded.

I Can't Hold Back by Survivor

Brian demonstrates that Survivor wasn't a one-hit wonder after all. It starts with a nice acoustic guitar and builds quickly. This single reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is the first album with Jimi Jamison on lead vocals.

Sunset Grill by Don Henley

Bruce finishes off the staff picks with the ex Eagles’ single that hit number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Sunset Grill is a hamburger restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The Austrian restaurant owner didn't know that his frequent visitor was Don Henley until after the song came out, making their hole-in-the-wall burger joint famous.

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

Listen by the Tears for Fears

We do a little double-dipping with this (almost) instrumental from "Songs From the Big Chair."

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By Rob Marbury, Wayne Rowan, Bruce Fricks, John Lynch

4.9

4747 ratings