Songs From The Big Chair

9/10 👌🏽

I often confuse TFF with depeche mode. fun 80s music! 4.0

Not my cup of tea.

Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule The World, and Head Over Heels are pretty foundational 80s songs for me. But I think it's a pretty objective truth that this is a very good album.

Ich habe gerade nach 10 Tagen work am Stück einfach nicht mehr die Energie jeden Songs bis ins kleinste Detail zu analysieren. Die Singles sind geil, Shout ist geil, everybody wants to rule the world ist geil und jetzt kenn ich endlich den interpreten davon haha, Head over heels auch geil und listen klingt gerade ziemlich nice. Sehr coole 80s synths sounds auf der Platte ok bye next

Очень хороший альбом. Shout / Everybody Wants To Rule The World прекрасны.

Sounded great, singer had an interesting voice, recognized some classic songs too! Now I can place some faces to the name 'Tears for Fears'

Really good pop album. Not usually my style but this is the gold standard

A good album. Really, really strong singles, unfortunately muddled by some lackluster deep cuts, but overall a great slice of 80s synth pop

Probably 3.5*. Much better than I expected. Very 80s, but huge sound.

Big bangers, classic nostalgia and interesting percussion. Some filler.

Was not expecting to really like this. It slaps.

Good fun 80's vibes

Peak 80's with some classics.

Nice

Nice 80's vibe, with an awesome opening number ;)

The Working Hour Everybody Wants to Rule the World I Believe

7.5 solid

Shout. Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Another great album.

Really good

Pretty good! I liked the sounds and instrumentation a lot but I felt like the songwriting had some weak moments

Biggest surprise was me liking _The Working Hour_, despite it having a sax

I used to think the 80s was crap. I was wrong

Well, Everybody Wants to Rule the World is good of course, and Shout has some nostalgic value for me that makes up for the fact I don't really like the song. Head Over Heels was good too, and most songs were at least pleasant to listen to passively.

Sound of the 80s. 2 temazos, buenas instrumentales. Shout!

Das war die erste Platte mit der ich meine Mutter „geschockt“ habe. Als Cassette ausgeliehen aus der Katholischen Öffentlichen Bücherei und dann mangels eigener Technik immer in der Küche gespielt. „Was ist das denn für schreckliche Musik, Guido? So unmelodisch!“. Über diese 36 Jahre alte Aussage/Einschätzung denke ich tatsächlich bis heute immer mal wieder nach, weil ich sie so komplett nicht nachvollziehen konnte/kann. Ich war Riesenfan von Shout und Everybody Wants To Rule The World, und was bitteschön ist denn an diesem Songs unmelodisch??? Da jetzt echt mal 3 (!!!) Fragezeichen dran. Jedenfalls: mit bombastigen Synthie-Arrangements krichse mich ja immer, luftige 80s-Drums dazu und dann noch so räudige Gitarren: Ja klar komm ich mit! Ach so, Stimmen von den beiden fand ich auch immer top, von mir aus auch in Balladen. Vom Sound her kaum deutlicher in den 80ern einzuordnen und trotzdem fresh wie Ulricke Jokiels Kühlschrank morgens um 6 - dieses Album hält für mich alles, was Depeche Mode letzte Woche versemmelt haben. Einmal mit Profis arbeiten! 4,2 Punkte.

I just knew one song from this band, but this album surprised me. It's very good.

Iconic song

Un 4 ... no me ha encantado el álbum del todo. Aunque está muy bien.

Aussie classic

Pop rock

I already knew I liked this album beforehand. Everybody Wants to Rule the World & Head Over Heels are classics. Honestly both Shout and Mothers Talk are a bit boring compared to the rest of them. Production is insanely clean as well.

3 good songs but they’re really good songs

The first song is amazing

Just "Shout" and "Everybody wants to rule the world" already make this album worth it. I liked it!

The album is short and stripped of filler, just how I like it. The opening track, "Shout", is a 10/10 masterpiece, but some others are a bit too singy for me.

Really cool album from the 80's, I'm normally more of a rock/metal guy, but the writing and mixing is fantastic

So many great songs, but I think the sequencing is kinda whack. You can’t follow “Shout” with “The Working Hour,” sorry. Total buzzkill. Pretty amazing sax solo on that one tune!

So so 80s

classic 80s new wave. some classic 80s cheesy sax in there too.

No sabía qué esperar de este disco y vaya que me sorprendió. Shout se me hace la mejor, inclusive arriba de Everyboyd Wants To Rule The World. Después el disco se cae un poco, Head Over Heels / Broken es la rescatable. No me encantaron las dos canciones casi instrumentales, The Working Hour y Listen. Creo que le restan al disco. 3.5 que subo a 4 porque en general sí es fácil de escuchar completo.

A damn classic. It even has their two most popular songs on it but don't let them distract form the rest of this bad boy

A few classics, forgettable others. Still a good listen

Great album top to bottom. Got to love that 80's synth pop sound.

Great songs, great production.

Great album. Can’t believe Shout, Everybody..., and Head Over Heels are all from the same album. Some songs are forgettable, but the highs are so high. The transition from Broken to Head Over Heels is so smooth. Head over heels is my fave, followed by Shout.

Actually good

This album and duo made more of the 80s than you would think

Some solid classics here.

I really enjoyed this album, but I have really mixed feelings about this genre. I don’t like the vocal style, it’s just weird to me. On the other hand, the layers to the music is incredible, for being “pop” music there are a good amount of complex rhythms, instrumentation, and chords.

I thought this was gunna be hella shit and yes it was cheesy but so catchy and ‘everybody wants to rule the world’ is just a classic hit

Some good tracks and memories

No había escuchado el disco completo y que gusto haberlo hecho tiene coherencia entre canciones y te hace sentir en un solo track sin molestia EWTRTW es una de mis canciones favoritas y ahora mas con el plus de tener rolas tan buenas al lado a muy pocas bandas le ha funcionado tener sax en la mayoría de sus canciones

De todo el synth-pop ochentero que nos ha tocado en la lista, este es por mucho el que más me ha gustado. Quizá es porque tiene mucho menos énfasis en el lado synth, o porque es un disco corto y va al grano, o porque cada canción tiene su sonido propio, sin convertirse en una rola original y luego un montón de malas copias de ella.

Shout fucks.

This is one of the defining albums of 80s New Wave. This is a big budget record with a big budget sound. The layers of synths and drum machines provide good color while their voices are clearly the focus when they’re present. Overall, very solid record. Favorite song: Shout Least favorite song: Broken

Good songs but a lot of them sounded very similar.

Enjoyed that, blast from the very past.

Actually quite enjoyed, have never sat down with a Tears for Fears album before. Might listen again.

Mother's Talk is the best song, and I don't see how that can be argued. This album is a hit parade, and even someone who had never heard the name Tears for Fears would have recognized at least one song. Shout is far too long- it could have been cut down by two minutes. I enjoyed the jazz elements and the vocals were great.

The first part is the best

Am a Tears For Fears fan in general, but had never heard more than the singles from this album. They were definitely the strongest offerings, as it turns out. The album is still a good one though, and I'd easily listen to it again. 4 stars.

Has a few big hits, really enjoy this album.

Classic 80s. What's not to love?

Different start then I expected. Has a weird psychedelic sound meshed with the 80s. Shout has a real stadium sound. Working Hour has a weirdly George Michael feel but with more rock. Ok so Working Hour is SMOOTH. Everybody Wants To Rule The World is a classic for a reason and it sounds like a Full House opening. Mothers Talk took me off guard sounding like funky fight music. Mothers Talk is fine kinda funky but kind of a mess maybe i don't know. Was I Believe made by Joji? I Believe is actually one of the best jazz lounge sleep songs I've heard. Broken should not come after I Believe it took me way off guard. Broken was fine but Head Over Heels/Broken is a really awesome transition song. OH MY GOD IT'S THIS SONG. 🎶Something happens and I'm head over heels🎶 Best song on the album so far so triumphant and high energy. I adore the transition into Listen. Listen sort of sounds like OG vaporwave and I just wanna drift off to it. Listen was really strange but I also think it's one of my favorites on this album.

Classic New Wave. Curt Smith is an 80s god. Classic songs too.

Great album

its nice but i dont think its exceptional

progressive pop for the time. i loved shout and everybody wants to rule the world.

Absolutely slaps, closer to a 5 but not quite there for me. S/o Jake making this my 5th (?) Listen this year

Usually not a fan of new wave so I was surprised to find myself liking this so much. Great album

3.5. Not ideal listening for sitting on the beach, but a few of these songs are pretty great.

Enjoyed this far more than I expected. I was never that keen on them back when they were having hits, but I don’t think I had really paid attention to how good his voice was. The album tracks on here struggle against the big hits on here, and again with those hits, which were so ubiquitous in the 80s, I don’t think I stopped to properly listen to them until now.

Oo

JL: 3, Listen A : 3 ,Head Over Heels

Enjoyable synthy goodness. Lots of big 80s bangers on here. Good fun. I gather this was once serious music.

Mid

everybody wants to rule the worldddd head over heels liked some didn't like others

Some really experimental and vibey tracks make this one stand out for me. Extremely unique sound. I do find the singer's voice a bit grating in the popular songs like Shout or Everybody wants to Rule the World (although both are catchy). Fav tracks: Working Hours, Head Over Heels and Listen.

I mean it was okay, that's kind of as much as I can say. It felt like a greatest hits compilation. Every song has a very similar feel, 2.5 (3) stars

Obvs the popular songs are good but the rest kinda meh

gross

Probably like a 2.5/5, I liked 2 songs

Every song goes on like a minute too long but otherwise a nice time

Starts off really strong with Shout, Working Hour, Rule The World. Then drops off into the sound that I hated from the 80s style music. Not sure what it is, but that pop rock sound doesn't do it for me. The first three tracks are great though and for that I have to give some credit

probably wouldnt listen it again but i liked it, especially the first track

Shout is a great song and Everybody wants to rule the world is a classic, but honestly i did not love it.

I had heard everybody wants to rule the world before but not the rest of the album; and I quite enjoyed it. Their vocals are great, and the variety of the album was enjoyable. While nothing in it blew me away, I’m glad I could listen to the rest of it

Classic 80s, a couple of good songs in there but a bit too 80s for me

Progressive pop Shout Everybody wants to rule the world Head over heels

The good kind of 80s cheese. Had fun with this but my car speakers definitely struggled with the maximalist approach to synths on some of these songs. Some of the songs also got a bit repetitive and could've been cut down in my opinion.

This had some real classics on it but just a mediocre album as a whole. 3 side of a 3.5.

3/4

This album was a big deal mid 80's. Still good but hasn't aged a well as others.

nice 3/5

Classic Tears for Fears album

3.5 the two or three big hits on this are very good, it’s not my style, too earnest and emo I guess.

Nothing to write home about.

Love me some sax

3 all time hits, but the rest is filler

Classic 80s jams. Good stuff.

To my millennial brain, this is another band that wrote the soundtrack to the decade they belonged to. Another album that plays like a greatest hits, glad to go on the journey

Very 80's, nice mediocre

i can't even hate on the 80s stench because everyone wants to rule the world fills me with so much whimsy it's insane Would I listen again: yeah, fine Deserves to be on this list: yep. 3.4

Such a strong start followed by a slow, gentle decline into pleasant but forgettable background music

Probably the most 80s album ever made

Not sure how this has been rated so highly! Its inoffensive, and pleasant enough but nothing revolutionary and hella dated.

I liked the two most popular songs but besides that I wasn’t super into it

Not fearing tears was a major requirement if you wanted to be a wife of Len Houmous. 3.4 7/8 Head Over Heels

Synth-pop de los 80 siempre serás enorme! Everybody wants to rule the world, Shout y Head over heels son temas que conocía de antes (gracias a la herencia musical de mi padre y su pasión por la música de los 80) y me gustan mucho. El resto de canciones no me pareció para tanto tbh, pero está ok.

Friday, 22 May, 2026 The hits are great! The rest is…eh?

Real Genius

Lacking energetic choir refrain makes it unsuitable for listening during a gym workout.

Really interesting listen better the second time through starts strong

A few hits with some uneven 80s fare in between

Not bad at all

I'm surprised to find that I like this album. The style/genre of music is not among my favorites, but Tears For Fears have crafted some great melodies, and they didn't take synth-pop too far, a problem I have with many 80s pop bands.

Quitando a de "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" o resto non me chama moito. Non son moi fan da musica dos 80.

This is the quintessential 80's music I think of. Every instrument and melody is peak. I want to pop my color and wear short shorts.

The transition from slow ballad to fast poppy synth is where it’s at. Slow songs are boring but all the others are fun. Unfortunately missed out on growing up with 80s music but I could totally see myself in a roller blading arena with fishnet fingerless gloves on, too much hairspray in my teased hair and disco ball lighting up the rink while listening to this

This was fine.

It’s a good album, not my style

Not a terrible album and boast two of their biggest hits. However, it does seem a bit dated now

Nice Nostalgia hit from my teenage years

Drömmer ibland om att få vara bög i New York på 80-talet och gå på klubbarna. Att höra Shout i högtalarna samtidigt som man nycklar i sig en buse och hittar någon välbyggd man att dra in på toaletten. Hade absolut kunnat dö i AIDS för att fått uppleva en sån kväll. Skivan då? Blev så glad att få detta men det är ojämnt med ett par trist ballader. Everybody wants to rule the world är en av världens bästa låtar att åka bil till. Älskade Broken.

Det finns ändå ett par bangers, men mycket är medelmåtta. Stark trea

Kanonhits men lite väl mycket avslappningsband-synth-pop däremellan. Trea rakt av

Fick mig att dansa stel synthdans. Stark trea!

I wish I could give half stars. With such a capability I would rate it a 3.5. Certainly a magnum opus that sends me drifting through the cyberspace like Homer Simpson , thumped occasionally by an unwieldy joystick or a stray Atari fighter, with nostalgia for something I never experienced. Story of my life. Ta ta

3.5/5. The good tracks were good but the rest was largely forgettable

I feel like i'm in an 80's movie playing a keytar and am taking a girl with big poofy hair from hairspray and then go on an adventure to return an alien home.

its okay its not bad but bad at the same time.. imo most of the songs that are 6 minutes is just them repeating the same lyrics over and over again n I dont really like it. I only liked a few songs but the one I like the most is I Believe bc it reminds me of sade a lil

"Something happens and I'm head over heels,I never find out till I'm head over heels" Esse álbum conseguiu me transportar para os anos 80, para os filmes de John Hughes, para Breakfast Club, A garota de Rosa Choque, a batida synth... esse álbum me toca muito! Não me parece que será um álbum para escutar todo sempre, mas tem faixas que irão estar sempre no repeat. Apenas conhecia "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" que já gostava, e ao ouvir agora "Head Over Heels", essa me pegou de primeira! 3 músicas principais: Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World e Head Over Heels (a qual citei dois versos acima).

Classic.

Buen album, solido con algunos temas muy conocidos, Shout y Everybody wants. Tengo dudas sobre el tono de la batería, funciona bien para la parte más dance, pero resulta invasiva en el resto de los momentos, muy saturada y de la epoca. Listen es la revelación del album, lento y medido, con sonido amplio, la batería está bastante más atras que en el resto del album, lo que ayuda. Curiosamente es la canción con menos reproducciones.

good group, good album.

3.5/5

Mothers Talk

Su canción más famosa: "Everybody wants to rule the World" viene de este álbum, por eso imaginé que quizás iba a ser más creativo y mejor... Solo me gustó esa canción...

Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Listen - two thumbs up The rest of the album - it's fine

welcome to your life <3

Got some absolute classics. Other songs are alright. It's a good album. The songs outside of the hits are pretty forgettable, but the hits are so good it carries.

Alright

A lot of hits came from this album. I thought it was decent overall.

Liked it a lot.

Very 80s. Second half dragged a bit.

3.7

super uneven, 3 great songs, the rest is meh

Очень восьмидесято Приятно звучит, есть хиты Короткий 3.6

This was an album where I was reminded of the songs I like "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" but it didn't move the needle on the other tracks on the album.

Hard not to love the bangers on this one.

Hm ok bon en vrai j'ai jamais réellement exploré tears for fears donc c'est peut-être le moment ! C'était grv cool bcp de bons solos de sax et guitare. Vraie ambiance cohérente à essayer de recréer !

album carino con canzoni iconiche come everybody wants to ruke the world e shout. suoni piacevoli

Iconic songs. This makes me appreciate albums with less than 10 songs.

Best of the shit pop

Pretty good. I understand why most of the songs on this album aren't radio popular, even the ones I really liked could feel like they dragged on a bit. That said Tears for Fears has a sound I really love.

Listen has some fun Spanish interludes. Hits on the album rock.

Wasn’t a big fan at the time, still not really my thing. The singles are decent enough and the sax is pretty cool but don’t think I’ll be revisiting any time soon

Mouth gang once again

7/10 Buen album, tiene dos temas muy buenos, el resto no decepcionan pero tampoco son una locura, bien los ritmos y divertidos para escuchar

i liked the popular songs but not my favourite

for 80s chart music quite interesting.

This album triggered quite a powerful sense of dread. Some great songs but i don’t know that i could say i enjoyed listening to any of them. Undeniably evocative…

I actually had quite high expectations for this which were sadly not met. It sounded very 80s not necessarily in a good way, the songs felt a bit hollow? Considering there were three quite big and familiar singles on here i thought it might sound more exciting. I've heard their debut is a lot better?

Meh…2 good songs.

'You shouldn't have to jump for joy'; 'Find out, find out / What this fear is about'; 'We can, we can work it out.' Unjustifiably repetitious, Songs From The Big Chair is dark but soft, emotional but small, & not as good as other eighties releases that do more w/ similar stocks of sounds & rhythms, e.g., The Blue Nile. I'm not even sure we can count this as sincere, which would be its saving grace, since the lyrics are mostly uninspired & uninspiring, the saxophonic moments are sterile, & Orzabal bitches faintly, especially when he's louder than he ought to be. This is indeed a record that has one great song, the ubiquitous 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World,' & another one that's at least notable, 'Head Over Heels.' The rest? Drabber than G Ford.

7/10 shout is overrated

Intelligent, progressive synth-pop. And out of all those syllables it’s the prefix “synth” that drags this down to a 3/5 for me. Even when I recognize the lyrical quality it leaves me cold. Or bored. I think I could appreciate a live, acoustic performance…

Solid pop album, but time has proved that much of their battle of relevance and sophistication waged against their peers (Wham and George Michaels, specifically) were unfounded. Sure the may have been slightly more heady than Wham, but in the long run, they are just a solid pop band.

As a piece, it's good. Starts off weak with Shout but then every other song is a 3 or 4. Lightly carried by Everybody Wants to Rule the World, but Mothers Talk and Head Over Heels

Muy buen disco. Logra equilibrar hits comerciales con momentos más experimentales. Los sintetizadores envejecieron muy bien y se siente como un álbum importante en la discografía de la banda. ¡Vale la pena la escucha completa!

The good songs are really good, the rest sound like poor imitation of the good songs

Decent enough album, with 2 bangers, shout, and rule the world, the band passed me by in 1985, as other Indie bands took over my airwaves.

Did not hate this album. Some slightly slower songs that didn't relate with me, but also some really good tracks

There I was thinking Shout was the absolute pinnacle of human achievement when Everybody Wants to Rule the World came on... Anyway, that debate ended in 1985. Shout is incredible.

The two most well known tracks "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" are well known for a reason. They could find a place in my collection. There are maybe a couple of others that deserve more plays.

It was my first listen of this album, made by popular British new wave/synth pop band. Pros: it is very nicely made, there are two very famous hits, the album sounds fresh despite of the mid-80s sound. Similar to Depeche Mode. Cons: all the other songs apart from the hits are not that interesting although these songs work well as an album. I don't like synth pop in general and most of the 80s sounding albums. I would give it 3.5 stars if there were half stars but I will stick to 3 stars.

Favorite songs: Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Broken, Head Over Heels 3.5

Las canciones son muy largas, pero me gustaron dos de las que las guardé en fav. Buen sonido, me hizo acordar a soda o a cerati más bien

All songs everyone definitely knows however it hits harder as an album.

Álbum solido con clásicos de toda la vida

Majority decent songs, but many had an awful sound to them that almost forced me to skip half the album. The band has a nice sound, but it's a bit synth heavy

Love the 2 big classics on here- brought back memories of these years from my youth, they sort of passed me by

Very, very 80s. A 42 minute album that could be 24 minutes.

The hits hit. The A Side is pretty good, even if track 2 sounds like interstitial music from a Miami Vice episode. I Believe lags in the middle of side 2, and the rest of it is mostly a long version of Head Over Heels. I didn't appreciate this when it was released. My loss.

I prefer Depeche Mode

I didn't know recognize Tears For Fears at first till I saw Everybody wants to rule the world and head over heels. Although these two are some of the most iconic and popular, there are many contenders such as the Working Hour, I believe, and Broken for standout songs. The album is overall solid but even after a listen through I'd give it a 5/10 for replayability as there are only 2 songs that have become the most popular that carry the album and a 7/10 for enjoyability as the ablum had many standout songs.

I tried it. But most songs of the album is not really interesting or unforgettable to me

Overall a decent effort. Musically interesting but I Believe is a bit of a dirge in the middle of the album and brings the mood down. Still there’s something about the timbre of the vocal that grates with me and doesn’t quite sit right, although I’m sure others would disagree. 3

Surprisingly dark industrial sounds on the bonus tracks

This is hard to rate for me. On the one hand, I don't like the genre. On the other hand, I think they perform it so well that I have to give them credit for it. I also love the song Head Over Heels.

Couple good ones but mostly meh

The hits are great. The rest of it is good.

I liked this one more than I thought I would, but it is no more than three stars for me.

Shout would be a better song if it stopped about two and a half, maybe three minutes earlier. The rest is ok righties pop.

Saved? ✅ Would listen again? ✅ Would recommend to anyone? 🤔 Would buy on Vinyl? 🤔

Mid with one banger

Expected better

Great album Some songs weren’t THAT good tho

Two classic new wave hits on one album? And then a bunch of okay filler? Sure. It’s better than a generic album but really doesn’t cross into great. 3.5

Great !

Not too bad as far as 80’s pop goes.

On the face of it this is 80s synth pop with no redeeming features. Most of the album is true to form and the sax thrown in is really bad. However, I think there is some songwriting talent there and in particular shout and the excellent Head Over Heals save the day.

Pretty solid!

Take any individual moment from this record and it would be the epitome of cringy 80s pop: frictionless synth, overwrought lyrics, vocals sung with clenched fists. There is a saxophone on The Working Hour for goodness sake. But that would be a terrible way to evaluate or enjoy a record. Better than any moment is the totality: the intricate arrangements that balance juddering synth bass, with clean percussion, with bright guitar, and the interplay of the two voices. The voices of Roland and Curt are a case in point. Neither voice is exceptional, both have this peculiar, strained banality. Yet, unlike the trio from last week, they rarely sing in harmony and they rarely adopt of protagonist role in the song: rather they assume positions within the song, within the lyric, that complement and enhance the music itself. A similar role that Michael Stipe and Mike Mills play in REM. Or Black Francis and Kim Deal. The song itself is an entity that the group brings to life, rather than a performance by a lead singer that the others frame. Everybody Wants to Rule the World is a fair example of this attention to detail. The pedalling chords of the verse are banal. The guitar arpeggio like something from a BBC travel show. The solos painfully twangy. Yet, somehow, it all works. And it works especially when they subtract: the two chord vamp is scaled back just before the vocal enters; on one chorus, the concluding ‘world’ is excised, replaced with a guitar bend. Every element, whether present or absent, is calibrated to ensure totality of form and, more important, dramatic tension. The song is always moving forward. It’s how they manage to make so many of the songs five minute or greater without significant drag. This unifity of effect doesn’t extend totally to the macro-level. The hits outshine the rest of the album, although there is nothing truly rotten - Mothers Talk could have been a single, if not a hit. And those hits cause the album - the band even - to be a victim of their success, instances, like the individual moments of the record, that become emblematic of the time, of the production choices, of the Smash Hits image. There is more to Tears for Fears than the surface, but whether there is more than the integrate craft, I’m not sure. 3 ‘Shout is six and a half minutes long!’ is the headline for me. I like Shout but I have always thought of it as a small song, regardless of the size of chair from which it comes. I have the Greatest Hits in the house (somewhere). It’s probably 6 1/2 minutes long on that as well but why haven’t I noticed before? Perhaps it isn’t built for scrutiny; being 90% chorus it could be easy to misunderstand as a brainless pop song, by rights no more than 3 1/2 minutes, rather than the mood piece it was intended to be? Anyway I still find it small. This is an album of surface impressions I think. Good long running times denoting seriousness. Big drum hits denoting drama. Plenty of grand posture in the lyrics and the reverbed richness of the top line throwing sevenths and ninths all over the place. That intro to Head Over Heels; teased in Broken and then fanfared into your speakers like a spaceship has just arrived to teach us a new tonal language. Alas, you get to the end of the album and no aliens have come out. Nothing memorable has been said. Nothing profound has happened - not even in the ponderous nothingness of ‘Listen’s seven minutes. Tears for Fears are good all the same - just not as good as they think they are. 2.5/5

Very good, very 80s. Shout and Head Over Heels were my favorites, and Everybody Wants To Rule The World is a classic. 6.6/10

Some classic bangers, but also some very drawn out instrumentals following the big hits. Good listen overall!

Not bad, wouldn't choose those songs if I were alone

Not my kind of music but rythm was relaxing

Ja classic ofc, maar ik word gewoon nooit zo warm van die intense jaren '80 sound. Het laatste nummer (Listen) is wel echt sick tho

(3) at one time I loved this album, now it sounds dated…

Must have sounded like a great idea at the time 3.4

A very '80s album, with toms and synth sounds very much of it's time. Very anthemic and ambitious in it's way, in contrast to most of the same type of music of the period. It's fine, certainly not a bad listen, and I've always appreciated the rhythmic undercurrent of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World."

Pre Listening: Very excited! I know "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", so hoping to find some more bops like that on here. I haven't listened to a lot of Tears for Fears in the past. Didn't realize they were from the 1980s, I would have guessed newer based on the one song I know from them. After listening: I didn't like this one as much as I thought I would? There were some fun songs in here, but I also felt like some were kinda bizarre. The overall listening experience, for me, wasn't it.

It sounds like the 80s. Didn't do it for me, wasn't even that swept up by the (heard many times) singles. Inoffensive.

I can't understand why this gets such high marks. The singles are fine..but everything else is pure filler and even unlistenable, particularly the one with the sax

Some good-great singles from this, wasn't too much into the rest . Not generally into sax on pop/Rock stuff and thought this had great examples of how to sax - I Believe - and how not to sax - The Working Hour.

The songs I already knew hit very well and those that I didn’t…didn’t. I was rocking along to Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule The World, and to some degree Head Over Heels but I felt like I should have been crying in my coffee with the other tracks. The music itself is good, but I’ll listen to this band as it finds me and I won’t be seeking it out.

Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World I don't think there's any doubt about the absolute staying power of Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and to a lesser extent, Shout. Even as someone who largely despises the new wave genre, I find these songs to be catchy, melodic, culturally impactful, and I recognize the incredible popularity of them. They're just plain old good songs. Maybe even nostalgic, though I wasn't even alive in 1985. But man, is the rest of the album a chore to get though. It's just not my style. Tears for Fears and pretty much every other new wave band that's come up on the List. I give it a 2.5 rounded up because of the two extremely popular songs.

Everybody wants to rule the world!!

Head over heels saves it

More like songs from the cuck chair

Es ist okay, nur head over heels und everybody wants to rule the world zu kennen

Lowkey grandiose.

I liked that better than I expected. New Wave was never really my jam, but the first half of this album was quite enjoyable. I like the overall mood and style basically aside from the vocals.

Standard 80s rubbish really. Like so many 80s albums trying to be political & deep but not really my thing. Love Donnie Darko though so was disappointed by the rest.

its solid, but its mostly based on “everybody wants to rule the world” and “head over heels”.

Interesting sounds and good musicality. 3.5/5

3.5, surprising for such an 80s album

A really strong start then it sort of blends into more of the same in the second half. If I could rate the two halves it would be 4.5 followed by 2.5

enthusiastic, energetically young, smooth and “new”? fading outros and repetitive choruses, but that doesn’t take the beauty out of it. 80s sound for sure. Very fresh sonically, atmospheric and crackly. The feeling of being in an arcade. If I had to choose one pop rock album, it would be this. (even if I don’t dig pop rock too much.)

能听出年代感，还是挺舒服的

I can’t tell if they invented the sound of the 80s or they ripped it off for 40 minutes. Best to play it down on the middle on this one.

Hadn't listened to this entire album since its initial release. After almost 4 decades I find that the singles from it are still amazing, but the rest of the album isn't as nostalgia inducing. It was nice to have on while I was working though

Stylish pop music that mostly satisfies

It’s Ella, so it’s good, but it’s just too long.

Everybody wants to rule the world is one of my favorite songs ever, but the rest of this album was just fine! Enjoyed it, but no new favs.

Hadn't ever listened to anything else from this other than the 3 that everyone knows! I get why those are the standouts, they are by far the standout tracks on this album, but I enjoyed the others too. 'The Working Hour' was really interesting, why do so many 80s songs loooove that type of drum... Good album!

Great album. Not perfect, but great.

Two hits ("Shout", "Everybody Wants To Rule The World") and an almost forgettable rest. 2,5

I used to think of Tears for Fears as a typical example of that very specific 80s pop sound, without really listening closely. But once I paid attention, I realized the music isn’t light at all. The rhythm section is solid, and at times the grooves even feel slightly funky, which I didn’t expect. That subtle depth is what makes the band more interesting than I had assumed.

Some massive hits on this one

Aged pretty poorly given synth pop falling out of favor in the 90s. In general the album feels pretty jumbled and disjointed, the thing that prevents it from being 1 or 2 stars is the staying power of the hits included on this album, especially considering many different groups (Weezer, Lorde) covering everybody wants to rule the world in the 2010s

day 1, immediate banger. shout - such a bop, tho feels a bit repetitive towards the end. the solo is nice. the working hour - cool sax intro, i kinda like the instrumental parts, rest doesnt really catch me. everybody wants to rule the world - wrong, i dont. banger tho. mothers talk - dont have muchto say for this one. pretty decent ig i believe - pretty. instrumentals and vocals compliment eachother nicely. the clapping in the last quarter was a bit irritating broken - banger, maybe my favorite of the album head over heels - pretty decent listen - pretty mid, not a bad outro to the album but not strong either. overall its ok, very 80s. not the biggest fan, shout and broken are my favotrite songs on the record.

Pleasantly surprised by the non-single tracks here, moody and experimental.

I really wanted to love this but I just didn’t. It’s a shame because Everybody Wants To Rule The World is genuinely a perfect song in my mind and I liked Shout and Head Over Heels but everything else fell flat for me.

Classic album

A very solid 3 but I didn’t love it enough for more. Everybody Wants To Rule The World is a great song and the production throughout was good, albeit very 80s.

This was certainly their pop moment . . . and it was a big one! The songs are as ear-wormy as you probably remember them. If you're too young to remember 1985 and have somehow managed to avoid hearing this album your entire life, be warned. You WILL get these songs stuck in your head!!

bit of a lull in the middle but solid album. Shout is an absolutely cracking opener

Heard

The Singles are classic, but there was redundancy in the rest that took the edge away. Will listen to the classics forever, but the filler brings it down as an overall.

Excelent album!

6.5/10

Solid

I enjoyed this album; the background was pretty cool. It got pretty repetitive, though, and I can’t say I loved the songs. This was a high 3.

I am pretty sure every Tears for Fear song I know is on this album. While I struggle with most 80s stuff I can see the roots of some music I listen to daily in this album. Rating this much higher than I would have thought when it first came up. Another surprising listen.

Decent. Not my thing but not bad.

80s pop is somewhat of a blind-spot for me. The 80s nostalgia bait slop that has shoved down our throats since I've been born has soured me to lots of stuff that sounds like this. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Head Over Heels" are fun, and some of the other tracks are spacey and texturally cool, but I don't think I'd check them out again. Still a decent record.

Missed the boat on this. Was okay

Probably could have been recorded at no other time than the 80s. Production that glows, it's so highly polished. Linn drums and synth along with a male voice that's filled with emotion to the point of melodrama. On the surface these are bangers. Shout is a magnificent opener and there are tracks that sound amazing - Head Over Heels and Everybody Wants to Rule the World in particular. The problem is, once you get past the surface, they're not really a lot of fun. Deadly serious young men talking about pop psychology and the troubles of the world. And as deadly serious young men do they expect to be taken seriously, without a whiff of irony or humour. Best enjoyed as a sort of darker Human League and don't think about it too much.

better than the album cover

Didn't bang as hard as I thought it would. Couple of donkey kongers so it gets a 3

classic 80s, didn't realize all their hits are on that album

Not my thing, but it was alright I guess.

I like the 3 over played radio hits but not much else

so so so overly 80s but not like that horrendous

Cool album, I was only really familiar with the singles but the whole thing is worth it

Pretty good overall. Obviously "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" is a mega hit but I found "Shout" and "Head over Heels / Broken" great as well. I don't think I will be returning much to this album but it wasn't bad.

Het album bevatte een paar hits die ik kende, het had behoorlijk jaren 80 achtige sounds die ik tof vond, shout is een goed nummer maar wel lang, er komen ook heel veel verschillende instrumenten en partijen bij kijken, dat is echt meer iets van die tijd maar in het huidige tijdbeeld duren nummers wat korter en zijn ze minder langdradig, ik vond het leuk om naar te luisteren maar ik zal het niet nog eens op zetten.

I always lumped Tears for Fears in with the likes of Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, Human League, etc., and never really paid much attention to them, although it was impossible to ignore their massive pair of hits from this album ("Shout" and "Everybody wants to rule the world"), both of which seemed to play constantly on the radio for years. I was a bit disappointed that the rest of the album didn't really live up to the legacy of those singles, but I'm glad to have gotten a chance to hear something else by them (and to revisit "Head over heels"), and I thought it was more interesting than I expected, albeit marred by a very 80s production quality and style. I was surprised to read that one the tracks was included in the "Donnie Darko" soundtrack ("Head over heels"), as I thought the only Tears for Fears song in that movie was the amazing cover of "Mad world" by Gary Jules (in contention for the best cover song ever, I'd say). And I'm sorry for them that they chose a very Hall & Oates-style album cover; I'm guessing they've regretted that cover for many decades now.

Good but maybe not my taste Especially liked: Broken

Good album. I really like the singing 6/10

Bangers in the first disc then it becomes very experimental and remakes of the good songs.

Liker det her ganske godt egentlig, deilig 80s vibes.

Likte det overraskande godt. Nokre bangers.

generally good songs but nothing major stood out to me! head over heels is great but ends up being a bit overplayed in my opinion

Interesting. Love the extended bouts of music with no speech.

Ya no le pondré mucho color con esta reseña. Song from the big chair es un álbum ochentero con un sonido synth pop bien característico, muy new wave, tiene buenos clásicas, tengo que reconocer que los 80 debe ser mi década menos favorita en la música, por su sonido que muchas veces me suena sobre producido, donde se dejo de lado el bajo y la guitarra y porque tiene algo muy estético que impacta no solo en la música sino que también en la forma de vestir o peinarse y que creo que tiene una intención muy comercial. Los teclados y producción es muy característica, algo como espacial, harto efecto en voz y baterías. Conociendo la portada pero nunca habiéndolo escuchado, reconozco que esperaba bastante menos. Me sorprendieron las canciones, más allá de everybody wants the rule the world que me dejaron chato de lo viral que se hizo, tiene cosas interesantes melodicamente y termina siendo un álbum no tan synth pop como pensaba, añade elementos análogos como piano, vientos y alguna que otra guitarra. Creo que se gana bien el 3, sin ser sobresaliente, creo que es de los mejores del género y así lo confirma la crítica. Canción favorita: head over heels

80s classics. But I was never a huge fan. Too serious, too self-important.

The sequencing of this album is really interesting to me because the first half feels so iconic, with creative applications of 80s pop music trends-really driven and exciting- but by the second half the songs start to feel a little formulaic and tired. Favorite Song: Shout

80s pop duo with two huge hits on this album, 'Shout' and 'Everybody wants to rule the world's. The second half of this album was more instrumental.

Pretty good, didn’t finish though

It’s hard to get around just how EIGHTIES this sounds. Not something I would listen to again but not bad. This album is like a food with a very strong and specific flavor.

Innovative but low energy

i bought this on vinyl because it has two incredible songs. haven't listened to it as a whole more than once before and after listening again i know why cause this is boring. i like how all the songs are connected.

not as many bangers as expected

Feels classic 80s but I feel like their songs work better individually vs as a whole album

An album of big hit songs that you know, but maybe didn't realize were on the same album. Yes, some of the sentiments and sounds are a little dated, but the tunes are catchy and it works. I enjoy it for what it is...3.5 with a round down because I feel like I'm getting too generous lately.

i feel like id have to listen to this more to get it but 3 for now

A few bangers but the fillers let it down

Vividly recall putting ne hair up into a pony tail on the top of my head and dancing to Shout in my grandparents' home office. Do do do do, do do. -Head Over Heels

Wanted better bangers from the songs I hadn’t heard.

need to listen to more of the songs better but i see myself liking some of these

its okay

not as good as the hurting but still good stuff

Not for me.

6/10

Too 80s for me. Couple standout tracks.

I knew the radio songs, some of the others were not great - and sometimes the switch between songs was jarring. Overall, it is fine.