Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Tears for Fears
Label: Virgin EMI Records
Release: 2017
Running time: 74:14
Rating: 4.5/5
Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, better known as the legendary English new wave duo Tears for Fears, have racked up a whole string of unforgettable hits over their career, songs that left a big mark on the eighties, all while the band walked the thin line between art rock and pop rock the entire time, which is why the best label for their music might just be art pop rock. These days Tears for Fears are a bit more active live again than they used to be. Their (or rather, their two-man) shows are usually sold out, and the closest they’ll get to us is Milan in May 2018, which Slovenian fans of their life and work absolutely cannot miss.
»Rule the World – Greatest Hits« is the latest collection of the best of Tears for Fears, and it also includes two new songs, »Stay« and »I Love You But I’m Lost«. The latter also came out as a digital single in 2017. Both new tracks sound pretty promising, and they’re really a warm-up for the seventh studio album, which Orzabal and Smith have been working on for thirteen years, the time that has passed since »Everybody Loves a Happy Ending« (2004), their last album of new studio material.
»Rule the World« has all the biggest hits from the eighties, led by »Pale Shelter«, »Change«, »Mad World«, »Shout«, »Everybody Wants to Rule the World«, »Head Over Heels«, »Mothers Talk«, »I Believe«, »Woman in Chains«, »Sowing the Seeds of Love« and »Advice for the Young at Heart«. On top of that there are »Break It Down« and »Raoul and the Kings of Spain«, two songs from the nineties, i.e. from the period when Tears for Fears were more or less Orzabal’s solo project. From the aforementioned »Everybody Loves a Happy Ending«, »Rule the World« includes the ethereal »Closest Thing to Heaven«, which proves that even though the Tears for Fears songs from the eighties remain a chapter of their own when it comes to musical perfection, Orzabal and Smith haven’t lost, over the years, their outstanding knack for crafting superb vocal harmonies, hypnotic arrangements and infectious melodies.
»Rule the World« is a great send-off ahead of the upcoming new studio album and the 2018 European tour, on which Tears for Fears will play all their biggest hits. Both new songs are worthy of their famous legacy and bode well for the cult duo’s studio future. One of the most respected bands of the new wave that shook up the eighties so thoroughly celebrated thirty-five years in existence back in 2016, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a few more pleasant surprises up their sleeves, and a new studio project is certainly one of them.
Line-up
Roland Orzabal – vocals, rhythm guitar
Curt Smith – vocals, bass guitar
FORMER MEMBERS:
Ian Stanley – keyboards, backing vocals
Manny Elias – drums, percussion
Production
Tears for Fears
Track list
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
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
