Everybody Loves a Happy Ending

Tears For Fears

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 2004)
• Original Release Date: September 14, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New Door Records
• ASIN: B0002M5T34
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (230 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,221 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Among the benefits of picking up the new Tears for Fears album--the band's first since 1989--maybe the least obvious is looking cool in front of friends. Flick it on over cocktails, say, and brows will furrow: Few would think to match the heaving, synth-heavy boys who lit up the '80s with "Head Over Heels" to this new material. Which is mostly a good thing. The vocals of lead singer Roland Orzabal, powered by some all-cylinders thing, still squash all traces of irony in their path, and there's a moodiness to the music, minus a lot of the old broodiness, that borders on the masterly. Yet the sound has changed completely. Old-school overproduction has fallen away in favor of real guitars, pounding pianos, and a melody-driven, Beatle-y sensibility. It's there on the title track and first single "Call Me Mellow," and only slightly eclipsed by something pleasantly Bacharach-ish on "Secret World." Everybody who loves a happy ending will find one here: Tears for Fears skirts the has-been trap impressively, translating years of experience into play-it-again, sophisticated modern pop worth paying attention to. --Tammy La Gorce

Product Description

UK version of 2004 album contains 2 bonus tracks 'Pullin' A Cloud' & 'Out Of Control'. Chrysalis. 2005. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's been a long time coming, but worth the wait., September 14, 2004

By	Michael Erisman (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is pop music as it was meant to be. If you are tired of over produced and generic pop music like American Idol "stars" or the every growing and all sound the same releases from hip hop artists and young female singers, then check this out.

Tears for Fears first came on the scene in the early 1980's with "The Hurting". They followed that up with the multi-platinum selling "Songs From the Big Chair". After a long gap, they released "Seeds of Love" in 1989 before splitting up. Roland stayed with the name for a while, but it wasn't the same. Now, some 15 years after "Seeds of Love" they are back together again. The addition of Curt gives the sound the balance missing from Roland's solo work.

The CD starts out with a classic ballad in "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending" and then grooves into the best song on the CD, the (original) first single "Closest Thing to Heaven". The sound is again something in between modern pop and the Beatles. It is reminiscent of "Sowing the Seeds of Love", the last big hit, with horns and a chorus that will have you singing along. With the new label, the first single release, "Call Me Mellow" is more organic than their early 80's work, and is catchy enough to garner interest. All the tracks are great, but my other favorite is the closing track, a smooth R&B number called "Last Days on Earth".

They always had lyrics a mile deep, and flew in the face of whatever pop genre was in at the moment. This release is yet another chapter in a string of great music. This one may not get the exposure some of their other music did, which is too bad, as it is some of the best new music out there. Check it out!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely Baffled, September 14, 2004

By	Michael D. Abernethy (Chapel Hill, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The self-professed, life-long Tears For Fears fan has had doubts these last few months. He has bitten his nails. He has paced the floor. He has become squeamish at the mere mention of "radio single" and "TFF" in the same sentence.

I went into "Everybody Loves A Happy Ending" expecting the worst. Over and over again, I told myself - and forced myself to believe - that there was no way in Hell that Roland and Curt were going to recapture the spirit of what they once had. "Come on, Mike, these are 40-somethings with wives and kids and gray hairs. This is not, cannot be, their time."

So today finally came, and I rushed with bated breath to jam my copy into my car's CD player. I winced at the cymbal roll and shimmering-keyboard fuzz that kicks off the title track. I gritted my teeth. And suddenly something happened...

I loved every single note that was coming from my speakers.

This album is as fresh and vital as anything TFF have ever recorded. It's full of pop hooks ("Call Me Mellow," "Closest Thing to Heaven"), artful genre experiments ("Who Killed Tangerine?," "Secret World"), and lots of what many have called "magic."

There's a sweetness that has crept back into Roland's work here - most notably on "Size of Sorrow" and "Secret World" - but there's also a much more playfully adventurous spirit at work. "Call Me Mellow" and the title track burst with everything good about pop music in the last 40 years. The guys were even willing to throw in some R&B riffs - via David Bowie - on the amazing closer, "Last Days on Earth."

"Everybody Loves A Happy Ending" is my pick for Album of the Year. It's a multi-textural, exuberant pop album in the finest sense of the words.

So, I'm eating my words. And all that worry was for nothing. They've done it again, and time will probably prove that they've done it better than ever. I can't wait to begin peeling back the layers of this magical pop blessing.

A flabberghasted, whole-hearted 5 stars.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best ever by TFF, September 16, 2004

By	Carl Mack (Palm Springs, CA United States) - See all my reviews

First off may I say that TFF are like XTC. They borrow from the Beatles but the sound they create is all thier own. It is very distinct and yet very different from even XTC's take on the Beatles. They are using instrumentation that fits in the context of thier songs (like XTC) to create magical music that is Beatle like in nature but would never be mistaken for an out and out Beatle rip off.

Secondly this is thier strongest most cohesive set ever. Honestly there is not a weak song among the bunch, not one! In this day and age of c.d's with a few good songs and the rest filler what a delightful surprise to have a c.d. you can listen to from start to finish without having to skip any tracks.

There is plenty of variety here too. The title cut is like a musical tour de force. It starts with a dreamy sequence then flows into power pop in a kind of ELO style. Then there is a softly sung portion that is kind of folky before the grand climax.

"Closest Thing to Heaven" is a great song, kind of a mellower Sowing the Seeds but with a distinct style all its own. Very atmospheric and moving.

""Call Me Mellow" is the song Andy Partridge had wished he wrote. It is kind of Boo Radleys meets the La's meets XTC. Pure power pop for the new millienium.

"Size of Sorrow" and "Who You Are" are great moving ballads that will hook you on repeated listens.

"Who killed Tangerine" does evoke the fab 4 quite. It is brilliant with it's "Hey Jude" meets "Shout" chorus.

"The Quiet Ones" is a nice rocker that sounds like it would have fit in on Rolands solo c.d.

"The Devil" is a haunting ballad that will send shivers down your spine.

"Secret World" is an absolute brilliant piece of work. Perfect soft pop with a melody that never quits.

"Killing With Kindness" is classic TFF. Slower song with a killer chorus.

"Ladybird" is classic pastoral pop.

"Last Days On Earth" is an R & B romp smooth as silk.

All these songs possess beatiful melodies and the playing is flawless yet it is not overdone like many TFF efforts of the past. TFF are comfortable in thier own skin and if this is the ending then so be it, you couldn't ask for a grander finale.