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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seeds Of Love: Tears For Fears artistic pinnacle, August 14, 2002
Sure the excellent Songs From The Big Chair got better sales & more commercial success but one will definately agree with me that 1989 epic masterpiece The Seeds Of Love is TFF most creative & most consistant and is their masterpiece. To me there hasn't been a better period in music than mid to late 1989 with the Seeds Of Love & Janet Jacksons Rhythm Nation 1814 being the best music the best year for music. Sadly this would be the album that would tear apart the dynamic Orzabal/Smith duo for the next ten years after this. The edition I'm reviewing is the older version without the bonus tracks. Woman In Chains begins this CD with a heartbreaking melody and a more soulful sound with the then unknown Oleta Adams singing on backup vocals and what a singing duo! This is a song I think that is about the abuse of womens rights judging from reading the lyrics. Badmans Song brings us into more upbeat terrority with a far more upbeat track with lots of jazzy blues-rock influences which also features Oleta Adams on guest vocals. This track is 8 and a half minutes long. fans who are The Big Chair might find it difficult to enjoy this song but those who are open minded or more adventurous will definately love this song. The title track we've already heard before. It's a very beatle-esque song and is the most radio-friendly song on this CD and probably the only one that is. This is the only song that features Curt Smith on vocals. Advice For The Young At Heart is the winner on The Seeds Of Love. It's a very soulful song with deep lyrics and lots of organs and wash of guitar sways. The bridge in the middle of the song from 2:49 to 3:30 is my favorite part of the song with a much jazzier feel. Why this song failed to reach the top 40 is beyond me. Standing On The Corner Of The Third World starts off with Arab sounding flutes and strange sounding chimes and then becomes a mellow soul-oriented track. The song then blasts into a Gospel influenced track at the 2:48. The song mellows down but then speeds up again and kind of melts into a chaos of harmonicas and rock guitars before fading out. Swords & Knife starts off with wobbly keyboards and then becomes an upbeat track and finally morphs into an ambient rock track with awesome beats. The song ends with the wobbly keyboards and then ties us into the next track Year Of The Knife. Year Of The Knife is probably the closest the Seeds Of Love comes to sounding like The Big Chair but even then this is a far cry from that album. Year Of The Knife is similar to Sponges 1994 hit Plowed with an identical drum loop bur less grunge-influenced and has awesome chorus and incredible singing once again by Oleta Adams. After that we head into more melancholy territory with the eerie Famous Last Words. Famous Last Words starts off with a siren like intro and piano and then becomes a sort of classical oriented song. At the 2:24 mark the song blasts into a power ballad with incredible atmosphere. What awesome lyrics. Incredible emotions. Incredibly powerful song. The song calms down and with the siren like ambience returning and then the song ends with the air raid siren sounds fading out bringing this CD to a close. This CD is absolutely stunning on all fronts. Seeds Of Love is recommended but I say get the remastered edition with the four bonus tracks. The bonus tracks flow quite well with the original eight tracks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The album of 1980's, December 5, 2002
I will put it simply: this is by far the best pop album of (at least) the 1980's at all fronts. Many may disagree, many may doubt it, but that's all they can do about it. It's just a fact. TFF is not my no. 1 band (they were at a time), but this one even beats Simple Minds' Street Fighting Years and Michael Jackson's Thriller. A stunning musical achievement. A masterpiece. A must have. Go for it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Seeds Of Love., August 12, 2000
Don't you just love it when artists take risks with thier sound and image, and the listening public gets to reap the rewards? Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal are a prime example, when this duo took an eternity following up the multi-million selling "Songs From The Big Chair", fans were beginning to wonder if thier success was a one time fluke. But from the first time "Sowing The Seeds Of Love" was played on the radio, and the million dollar video (one of the best ever produced) began airing on MTV, they effectively blew everyone away! Instead of following the safe path and producing a remake of the last album, they took 4 years, wrote some deeply personal songs, set them to ambitious, sprawling musical arrangements and became true ARTISTS. Opening with "Woman In Chains" is a bold move in itself, a slow meandering, soul drenched ballad featuring the wonderfully emotive vocals of Oleta Adams, the group chooses not to knock you over the head with a fast, hook laden pop number, but rather they make you pay attention, listen and relax. "Badman's Song" is a lengthy, rave-up with some of Roland Orzabal's best singing, a backing choir, and very tight playing from a crack backing band. The title track is without question the band's greatest recorded triumph combining much of The Beatles late period music into one brilliant 6:15 song, an accomplishment that remains untouched by imitators to this day. This masterpiece was justifiably a hit and the group's creative peak. "Advice For The Young At Heart" is the most overtly hook-ey song on the album and a great showcase for Curt Smith's gentle, soaring voice (check out his falsetto on the bridge), and sports an elegant, jazzy arrangement that leaves the listener floating on a cloud. "Standing On The Corner Of The Third World" is a languid ballad that continues in the same classy vein as "Advice...", but slows the tempo down considerably, cradling you in it's warmth. "Swords And Knives" starts the same way, but immediately picks up the pace and houses one of the prettiest melodies you'll ever hear on a pop record, it will remain in your brain for quite sometime. "Year Of The Knife" is introduced by the sound of a loud, cheering audience and dives into a blistering, hard rock/progressive jazz sound that fits in perfectly with the rest of this program. Again, Roland Orzabal strethes his voice to new dimensions on this selection, the presence of Oleta seems to bring him newfound soul and inspiration. "Famous Last Words" is simply a heartbreaking vision of the apocalypse set to even more haunting music, and closes the album on a note that is both saddening and thought provoking. 8 songs, spread out over nearly 50 minutes, and not a single note is wasted. Tears For Fears were obviously not interested in just releasing 'product' and the effort they put into this kaleidescope of sounds, images and textures is evident. This is simply brilliant music, made for people with intellect and an attention span. It also gets my vote for "Best Album Cover of 1989". The creativity shown in assembling this "Sgt. Pepper" inspired sleeve spills over into the music, and the listener is rewarded. Buy this LP immediately, and it will become an indespensible part of your collection.
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