It really just dawned on me that this record is going to be 30 years old this year. For me, it's probably the most listened to record over the past 30 years, coming out a few weeks after I went to college for my freshman year. I remember listening to this in from a CD boombox in October 1989 at 4 AM making coffee and working on essays or writing short stories in my dorm room... and tonight I'm listening to it through a $25K sound system with Manu Katche's incredible drum intro to "Badman's Song" coming through at 100 dB and watching that kick drum shake my paper-thin OLED tv. Will this be the year we finally get that Steven Wilson remix? Will we finally see the long-lost CD that has supposedly been in the can for so many years? Will Tears for Fears survive their UK tour and last long enough to see the 30th anniversary of this CD? For me it's the definitive TFF album, and one of the best-produced albums of the past 30 years. Feel free to share any thoughts or observations...
can't think of many albums that have stuck with me as long as this one. the live tour to support it with oleta and nicky was amazing. i check almost monthly to see if the 5.1 issue is in the works and your post got me excited again. we wait and wait
I’d like to hear Wilson’s 5.1 mix! It’s already done, why not release it... As much as I love the track “Seeds of Love” it’s not very indicative of the rest of the music. It’s rather more soulful than psychedelic. There aren’t many albums like it...
I suspect TFF has other current product they don't want to take attention away from. Perhaps once their most recent album runs out of gas in the marketplace, they'll put the Wilson project into the pipeline. Nobody wants to be overwhelmingly known for something they did decades ago, to the exclusion of what they're interested in selling now.
Yeah, the title track is kind of an oddball in the entire tracklisting. I love listening to it, it's still a great song... but if I'm building a playlist, it's usually going to be Woman in Chains, Swords and Knives, Advice, Badman's Song... not usually the weird psychedelic Beatles track. Oddly enough so many years after Elemental, about the only track I still listen to (and it's weekly at least) is Brian Wilson Said; a song that much more eloquently embraces its influence than STSOL.
Well it is their 30th anniversary of this record... And that "current" product has been in the can and handed off between record companies for 2 years at least. Hopefully we see "The Tipping Point" this year as well. Also... hopefully TFF is aware enough to know that they will ALWAYS be overwhelmingly known for what they did decades ago. But it would be nice to give the new record the attention it deserves.
I probably listen to it 5 or 6 times a month and have for years and years. It is one of those perfectly mastered, thought out, put together albums that sets a mood. There is no fluff. The vocals are just incredible... I could go on and on...
Great album. In my top 3 albums by TFF. Rotates to number 1 depending on my mood. Like the jazziness of a lot of the tracks.
I wouldn't say it's the "definitive" TFF album, that is always going to be Big Chair to 99% of the population, but man, Seeds Of Love is such a brilliant record. Not to mention the audacity of taking so damn long to follow up your biggest success, and then that follow-up being a record like TSOL. I know this doesn't make sense, but I think that album (and it's prolonged gestation) eventually killed TFF's mainstream career yet is simultaneously the reason TFF is still talked about in revered tones 30 years later.
Thank you for alerting me to this tour- just got two tickets for the O2 gig on the wife’s birthday! Anyone know who is in the touring band?
I now feel like I've been waiting as long for the Super Deluxe as I did for the original album back then!
"Famous Last Words". Damn good. As are "Sowing The Seeds Of Love" and "Advice For The Young At Heart". Some of the other songs I never quite managed to get into. Maybe it's time for a reassessment.
You got me excited thinking it was finally coming...... I was under the impression that they were still not finished the new album. Roland was as usual meticulously crafting his music still and they had a deal with Warner Music. They were suggesting a dark dramatic album. The two songs released on the greatest hits would not be included. I listen to TSOL about once every two years, when I do it still sounds incredible to me. I listen to Everybody Loves a Happy Ending about once every two years as well. Initially it was in heavy rotation for me, very underrated album in my opinion. I also pull out the big box sets and listen to them from start to finish every know and then. Songs From the Big Chair is an album I purchased six times (The White Album and St Pepper are now tied with it): Original LP (I also bought all the 12" singles) Extended cassette with bonus tracks and book CD CD with Bonus tracks 2CD Deluxe edition Box set
Since it is only an 8 song album, maybe we could get one of those Album "front to back" tours this fall for the 30th anniversary.
Objectively, "Sewing the Seeds of Love" is epic. My personal favorite is "Woman in Chains." I don't think it has ever gotten the love from the public that it deserves. It's good musically, and it makes a very difficult subject feel real and not melodramatic.
It's done and ready to ship since, what, 2015? It's just been held for a release after the new album which obviously never sww the light of day. When out boys finally decide to put it out, I hope they include all that it promised. I want not only "Rhythm of Life" and "Advice" sung by Roland, but also a deep dive into the Seeds sessions, which I imagine to be a treasure trove of dozens of hours worth of material. The album will then be reassessed by the press and the critics and deservedly so hailed as one of the greatest of all time. The Seeds of Love ship will sail again and it will be glorious.
Oleta was a huge highlight on this tour. "I Believe" (with her on lead) into "Head Over Heals" was a fantastic way to open the show. I don't believe Nicky (Holland) was part of the tour, at least she's not playing on the Santa Barbara show. Did she play at others? I've only seen the officially released stuff (that and the 3 songs from Knebworth). She is on the album of course though.
