Tears for Fears - New Greatest hits with 2 new songs

It was listening to the radio. I started to listen to pop radio when I wanted to hear all about the football WM, which got me into all kinds of bands (Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Dire Straits, etc.). And, ironically, at first I really didn't like them! But hearing "Sowing the Seeds of Love" a lot on a radio station that liked to heavily cut songs sort of put the hook in me (I started to have "earworms" from it), and then when I heard the full length album version on SWR1 again, it was a revelation. I started recording their songs off the radio - which were mostly only the usual four, so I picked up a compilation called "Sowing the Seeds of Love". Two CDs of nonchronological songs without much background information, and coming from a blues/jazz background many of the electronic and alternative rock tracks were at first impossible to get into. But this time, it was "Badman's Song" that did the trick. I then ordered the first three albums (deluxe SFTBC, other two 1999 remasters) and found ELAHE on the same day (!) in a bookstore (!) for 3 € (!). The rest is history...

So when I say that TFF songs have had to grow on me, I'm certainly talking from experience!!

 

I've been listening to the single a lot. I actually still really like the song. And I still love how uptempo it is fused with the melancholy lyrics. But the vocals so buried in the mix really is a disappointment to me, especially when I go back and listen to songs like Closest Thing to Heaven. That was my initial complaint and it hasn't changed. I love TFF for their strong vocals and great harmonies. That's my only complaint, but it's a sticking point for me.

 

Even "Closest Thing to Heaven" doesn't sound all that great IMO, though it's not a sonic disaster like the new one (and the version on Gold is actually quite listenable). But when there was a focus on TFF awhile ago and the radio played "Shout", "Break It Down Again" and "Closest Thing to Heaven", the last song sounded far weaker than the other two. Exaggerated compression does NOT work well on the radio...

This also makes me wonder about the compilation and how it's going to be mastered. I sincerely hope this won't be the case, but it's not unfathomable that the older songs will be massively compressed as to keep consistent volume levels. Otherwise, if the louder new tracks are level-shifted down, where's the point in making it "louder" in the first place when you could have used that headroom for some dynamics?

Interesting that you have mentioned "uptempo fused with melancholy lyrics", now that is really something that harkens back to the debut and tracks like "Pale Shelter"!

 

I listened to an interview with Roland from the summer. The guy interviewing him is a huge TFF fan. He was asked about the album. He said it was finished in April and had been set to be released October 13. He said they did the record with Warner Brothers, but that someone was trying to buy the record and stick it together with their back catalogue so it has more importance than it might have had as a "one-off." So I am assuming Mercury bought their new album. He's talking about that around the 30-minute mark.

Roland Orzabal of Tears For Fears Interview with SiriusXM

 

That reminds me of how RATKOS was bought by Sony US when Mercury didn't want the band anymore... history sometimes makes strange circles

But so far the promotion here in Germany has been non-existent. The only time the new single was played because I requested it. No doubt they wouldn't even have heard about it otherwise

 

I would dump "I Believe" in favor of "Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)". Other than that, it's got all my faves.

 

Interesting! Thanks for that. It looks like the new compilation is on Virgin/EMI in Europe (which is now owned by Warner), and Universal in the USA. So it's like they have a foot in both camps!

I'm listening to them live on the BBC player right now. Not bad. BBC - Radio 2 Radio 2 In Concert - Tears for Fears

Also, amazon.uk seems to offer more details on what versions are on the new greatest hits. It looks like the album version of "I Believe" (which was also on Tears Roll Down) rather than the "Soulful Re-Recording" version.

1. Everybody Wants to Rule the World
2. Shout (7" Edit)
3. I Love You But I'm Lost
4. Mad World
5. Sowing the Seeds of Love
6. Advice for the Young at Heart
7. Head Over Heels
8. Woman in Chains (feat. Oleta Adams)
9. Change (Radio Edit)
10. Stay
11. Pale Shelter (2nd Single Version)
12. Mothers Talk (U.S. Remix)
13. Break it Down Again
14. I Believe
15. Raoul and the Kings of Spain
16. Closest Thing to Heaven

 

Very enjoyable concert on BBC, highlight for me being Memories Fade. Touring next May apparently, details being announced tomorrow. So presumably new album out around that time too.

 

...perhaps with the BBC concert on a bonus disc?

I half-expected that already, given that the band didn't seem to speak too fondly of the live version in the recent SFTBC liner notes.

 

I think they should have played Closest Thing to Heaven in place of Everybody Loves a Happy Ending.

 

Agree.

 

I really enjoyed listening to that - thanks for posting it!

 

My guess is that the band had some say, and since "Laid So Low" is about (and without) Curt, it's probably not something they wanted to include.
Of course, it was a hit...

 

Thanks for that interview, that was interesting.

They talked a lot about the Seeds of Love, including the new Steve Wilson version, almost as if it had come out already. It must be just a matter of time for the boxset to be released. I can't wait for this one. It's interesting to hear that Roland says it is improved because it takes away some of the contemporary late '80s sounds. It sounds like Steve took a different approach to this album versus basically just doing a 5.1 mix for SFTBC.

I'm still not sure of the timeline regarding Oleta Adams. The story is Roland and Curt met her in 1985 in Kansas City during the SFTBC tour, when she was performing at a hotel bar . Roland says in the above interview that they called her 3 years later in 1988 and asked her to fly to England to give some back-to-basics inspiration and help on the Seeds Of Love sessions that were getting bogged down. Does this mean that there are versions of "Woman In Chains" and "Badman's Song" without her, before she was called in? If there was really zero contact with Oleta during those 3 years, I wonder if she even remembered who they were! And for all of the talk of trashing the whole Seeds album and starting from scratch, Roland says that for the title track "Sowing The Seeds Of Love", that is the first version! So maybe there are takes of it later in the sessions with Oleta as well, but were not used.

Fascinating stuff, and hopefully some of this gets cleared up with the Seeds box set.

 

Oleta in an interview on TFF tracking her down for the SOL album.

Q: How were you discovered?

A: Well, in 1985, Tears for Fears was huge. They were touring the States, and they were staying at the Hyatt, where I was performing. I vaguely knew they were out in the audience, but I thought, "What is a British pop group going to do for me?

" Later, a long time after I left the Hyatt, they tracked me down and said they were so moved by the performance, they had remembered me all that time. They asked me to sing with them on "Woman in Chains," on the "Seeds of Love" album. The rest is history. That's how I ended up getting a record deal.

Q: What was your reaction to working with Tears for Fears?

A: I thought it was a joke at first. I was listening to the phone to hear if it was really a transatlantic call. In my eyes, they were at the top, and I was still climbing up the side. It all seemed pretty insurmountable at that point, and I was happy to take anything they would give me. When I did the song, I expected them to erase the tape and get someone else to sing. But they were ecstatic.

 

Thanks for that quote JannL! The way I read it, it sounds like they didn't speak or meet at all during the 1985 encounter, it was just Roland and Curt attending her performance at the hotel. Somehow I imagined them chatting after she finished playing.

If that's indeed the case, I can see why she initially thought it was a joke. It's pretty amazing how that all worked out, especially as her contributions to the Seeds Of Love albums are so great.

 

TFF’s Cover was designed by Terry Ringler (trashriot) on instagram. Weezer’s artwork was designed by Fran Rodriguez Fran Rodríguez (@lacabezaenlasnubes) • Instagram photos and videos

 

Now they've announced the first leg of the "Rule the World" Tour for May 2018. So even next summer, they'll be promoting the greatest hits and not a new album. Ok then.

 

Ugh. I was hoping for a physical release of the new single. I'm not going to purchase a more than likely (sq) destroyed comp to get it. Oh well, I'll wait till 2020 when the new album is out, till then---> YT

 

Hey Tears for Fears, since you're spending at least the next six months promoting a Greatest Hits, NOW WOULD BE AN IDEAL TIME TO RELEASE THE SEEDS OF LOVE BOX!!!!!!!!!!

 

, You tell em Morgan!

 

They had better be releasing it by the spring. This has been going on for how many years now with this album since they announced they were working on it? Since 2013. It's tough being a Tears for Fears fan. They should have packaged the GH album with the new album and put it out in November. Get Christmas sales. People love a deal. Then the long-tortured fans could at least have the new music they have been waiting for, and casual fans or non-fans can be coaxed into buying it with the GH album attached.

 

As I've said before, packaging an album with live versions of the old hits is even better
And with the BBC concert being recorded, maybe that's what will happen...

The timeline is indeed quite convoluted. "Sowing the Seeds of Love" is the last song that was written but the oldest recording on the album (since it still features Ian Stanley on organ and Chris Hughes on drums). It's confusing. And the 1999 liner notes mention that they had been working for ten months on new material before Oleta was called, so there will probably be interesting stuff on the box set from the different recording periods:

- Demos
- Langer/Winstanley sessions
- Chris Hughes sessions
- TFF-produced sessions without Oleta
- TFF-produced sessions with Oleta

And probably all kinds of alternate mixes.

 

I always wondered how Curt felt about her singing leads on more songs than he did.

 

And "Advice for the Young at Heart" was originally also sung by Roland!

Actually, Curt sings lead on "Advice" and co-lead on "Sowing the Seeds" plus one line each in "Woman in Chains" and "Badman's Song". Oleta sings duet with Roland on "Woman in Chains" and "Badman's Song". So it's almost equal...