Reviews (page 4 of 16)
Quintessentially 80s, but this time in a way I enjoy.
I imagine this big chair is like the Big Comfy Couch but more serious.
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
First impressions: Oh it's that one album yea ik it Shout - I swear I've heard a parody of this song before without ever actually listening to it, lmao The Working Hour- Funky beginning Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Still good Mothers Talk - Ok this might be my favorite, very dramatic OKAY THE ENDDD I Believe - Mellow Broken - head over heels but SCARY Head Over Heels - Still good Listen - Nothing too crazy, good vibes tho Overall: P good
classics nun groundbreaking
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
Rating: 3.8/5 Gimme that sax! Listen again?: maybe, I hear those hits enough to last me Listen if: I want to live in a John Hughes movie for 45 minutes Sound: 80s jazz club in the jungle with a keyboardist
holy nostalgia
i liked the popular songs but not my favourite
Great album
We all know them from "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" - but everything else has been great so far. The album has the same vibe as that song, but adds different details so it doesn't just feel like a copy and paste of that song with a different tempo like some of these older albums do. I think this is a 4 for me. I am pleasantly enjoying the album and have found myself listening to it without really thinking about it. Vibes are 80's synth rock.
for 80s chart music quite interesting.
Loved this record since ‘85!
comfort music, most of it anyway. good soft rock from some of my more formative years
This album for me is sheer brilliance and paved the way for their masterpiece sowing the seeds of love. Thank God for WLIR, that radio station formed me and was a constant source of new, interesting and fabulous music - I was I think in 8th grade when I 1st heard them, Change and Pale Shelter / the Hurting started it and my appreciation only grew from there. Getting older and realizing how good Roland and Kurt really are, listening to 40yr old albums and thinking, wait are you even better now, how is that possible. The songs on this album are like old friends, always so happy to hear from them.
It’s an album that takes me back to a specific moment in time. Comforting.
A towering achievement. As likely as any album of it era to make it to 2085 and beyond. It manages to be both big yet spare. Excellently crafted songs that continue to offer something new around every corner. Endlessly listenable. Blending man and machine - and saxophone - into a delectable stew. Perfection.
Great production. Love the vocals and the synths sound fresh and not dated. These songs are so catchy and get stuck in my head for days. This is what pop music should be.
A genuine masterpiece. I never get bored of this album.
2+ Stars (6/15)
Fav- everyone wants to rule the world 5/5
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 would have loved to be a young adult in the New Waves 80s. It’s a bit daggy but so optimistic and expansive and GOOD. I love the echoey bounce sound of it all that make you feel like you’re in the room with them life (albeit an empty warehouse), particularly on show in The Working Hour. I also didn’t read the song list pre listening and generally never know who sings famous songs so was SHOOK when Everybody Wants to Rule the World came on! 4 stars
I love Tears for Fears!!! This sound is just so quintessentially 80s to me and I never want to part with it. The hits really hit, and the transition between Broken and Head Over Heels/Broken is just SO GOOD. I did immediately follow it up with In Love Again by the Rogue Traders, which perfectly samples Head Over Heels, and I recommend you do the same! This is a begrudging 4 stars because they did lose my interest at Mothers Talk - I Believe
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.
Completito
Love it, classic 80s sound
Obviously have heard the hits before. Not much substance asides from them, but decent album
Great album. Just wish shout wasn’t turned into an English football song. But overall this was a great listen. I mean it pretty much speaks for itself. Everybody wants to rule the world is the obvious belter. What you want from an 80s band, pure gold
5 before listening songs that were ahead of there time just brilliant imagery and vocal Melody galore
Very nice listen to this to start the week nicely. Love Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Head over Heels, just great and classy songwriting. I also really enjoy the singers voice! The Steven Wilson remixes sound amazing too.
'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.
mmmmm
the 2 song is beautiful n da other ones r good heared some classic
amazing
Yes! Such a great album. I somehow feel nostalgic for it even though it came out before I was born.
7/10 shout is overrated
London teenage dirtbag vibes with a side of beetles
est ce que j'ai besoin de le réécouter pour le noter ? non mais est ce que je vais le faire quand même ? oui été 2024 en boucle
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.
I had dismissed this band because I've heard the song Shout so many times and never thought it was good. But, I hadn't actually listened to it. This whole album has a really cool sound and is New Wave that is complex and musically satisfying.
surprisingly enjoyable. 3.75
Absolute top-notch production, combined with the Tears of Fears flair. What’s not to love?
More enjoyable than expected
In my minds eye, one little boy - one little man. Funny how tiiiiiime fliiiiiies. An album that contains three of their most hit singles and instantly takes you back to a place in your memories every time that piano melody hits. (You mess with the bull, you get the horns; October 2, 1988)
muy buen disco
Great easy listening start to finish with some memorable hits.
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
The hits are hits for a reason. This album is one of those cases of "we can't make it anymore, we don't know how." Like I don't know if it's something to do with the guitars or the vocals or the old 80s synths or the way everything layers up on every song. 40 seconds into Broken you feel like 2 different songs are playing in each ear. Not every song is super memorable and most of the songs are 5/6 minutes so it's not perfect the full way through but there's real magic in there.
this album is interesting to me because i love it but it has properties of albums i hate - in fact the reasons i dislike them (long and repetitive songs). It is also an interesting combo of instant hits and songs you have to kinda get into idk. Great album. mothers talk gets that white boy groovin i have cried listening to head over heels before and i actually cant remember what i was associating it with to make me cry anymore which is an interesting personal thing
Carried hard by the main 3 the people know But still synthy and beautiful.
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.
This album is a lot o fun
Ethereal, some well known tunes but even the ones I didn't know slapped. COME ON
SOMETHING HAPPENS AND I'M HEAD OVER HEELS
Already listened to that album before
Did not hate this album. Some slightly slower songs that didn't relate with me, but also some really good tracks
Best pop album of the 80s? Definitely up there.
I was not a huge fan of Tears For Fears back in the day, so I wasn’t thrilled when this one popped up. But I was pleasantly surprised. Even though I’ve heard many of these songs 100 times, I was able to pick up layers that I had not heard before. Especially with the Dolby Atmos mix. This is a great example of how Atmos adds to listening experience!
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.
exelente para la oche
Peak 80s vibes. This album has a couple of the best songs of the decade.
Amazing production, something that still feels completely new
8/10 80s pop bangs
Da hani kei Tears for Fears verschwendet für die Songs from the big chair. Eigentlich all Bangers vo Tears For Fears uf dem Album. sehr fest gnosse
Yeah mal was vibigs und abwechselnds. Guete 80ies disco flair wo da vo de rear boyzs transportiert wird. Hend irgendwie ihre eigeni style ohni zu fest nach standard gedöns z töne.
spass ahgseid spass gha differenz 0 head over heels isch und bliebt eine vo de beste songs ever written! tears for fears isch wüki immer eh wahri freud – han grad no es zweits album müesse nahdopple für d'höchtspunktzahl längeds aber leider knapp nöd bruche aber glich grad 4 nastüechli zum mini tränli tröchne
This sounds like pure awesomeness!
I really like the 80s pop vibe of this album, I'd say it's quite dynamic as songs like I Believe will feel mellow whereas a song like Head Over Heels will be more uplifting and energetic. It feels quite experimental in a good way, is it my era? No. Do I like the vibe? Yes. I did enjoy the retro vibe to this album.
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.
muuuy bueno. Mix entre lentos, rock y sintetizadores muy bailables. Se siente como estar en los 80
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.
Really enjoyed this one. Love a bit of a jazz influence Favourite song is ‘head over heels/ broken’
Favorite songs: Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Broken, Head Over Heels 3.5
The hits on this album are iconic, generational classics. The other tracks were not quite as catchy as Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Still, the haunting chamber pop rock sound was enticing! 7/10
3.5/5
Not sure if this is a great album, but it certainly has quite a few great tracks.
The hits are great. Some of the other songs on this album are okay, and the last one is way too long. Solid 4/5
The '80s seem like a fun time, but it did seem like Shout was never going to end
I was surprised to find out that the name of the band and a big lyrical influence was primal scream therapy. The two hits are great and there were a couple of other points that caught my attention. Overall a lovely sound.
This is excellent: very 80s, done very well. I was pleasantly reminded that I knew a couple of the hit songs ("Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule The World"), and I had a great time getting to know the rest, especially the quasi-ambient tour de force "Listen," which ends the album.
(2/7) songs feel long and arduous
As soon as and I mean AS SOON AS I saw this album I screamed because I LOVE EWTRTW and to listen to it again would be my absolute fucking pleasure!!! It’s giving Depeche Mode so far The working hour beginning is MAJESTIC !!! That little harp mmmm EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD U WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS
Very 80's, but I won't pretend like I don't love it. So many iconic songs on here that I've heard over and over but will never tire of. Favorite Songs: Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Head Over Heels
One of my favorite 80’s albums
No puedo ponerle menos, tiene canciones muy memorables.
At first I wasn't digging it too much, so I took a break from it after the first song. But then I came back to it and it all clicked. I think it's probably the quintessential 80s album. It's got it all. Its most popular songs are incredibly solid and not only are they really catchy but they also have a very tight production. The big surprises for me were the tracks that had extended instrumental sections. "The Working Hour" is wonderful and I also really love how "Broken" fits as a sort of extended intro to "Head Over Heels / Broken", turning both songs into a suite of sorts. "I Believe" has some wonderful chords. Really captures that nostalgic 80s vibe (does it make sense to speak of nostalgia? either way, that specific timbre of the keyboard is very reminiscent of 80s arrangements). Also I really liked the outro track: "Listen", until I actually read the lyrics and found out that the lyrics in the choir are meant to be in spanish? but it's a very broken spanish and also they spell it out weird so it ends up sounding as if I was listening to some African chant. I'm not sure on how to feel about the track now
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
Me pareció un álbum muy ochentoso con muy buenos temas que no conocía. Juegan con distintos ritmos y pasan de temas melancólicos a más rápidos. Me gustó la conexión de sonido entre la canción Broken y Head Over Heels.
Could grow to a 5. Really good, very big sound.
All songs everyone definitely knows however it hits harder as an album.
Álbum solido con clásicos de toda la vida
During my great Tears For Fears phase of 2015 my friend once asked me to turn this album off because 'they are whining'. Still not over it.
Overall quite good album. Nothing mind blowing but also definitely nothing to complain about.
Shout- such a fun song and the music video is so 80s. Those kids are all probably older than I am. lol I love, Everybody want to Rule the World. For such a short album, there are some real classics on it. I had never heard of Tears for Fears before and it is probably because I barely remember the 80s.
Boring, I just don't get it...
Kind of the epitome of 80s albums. And Head Over Heels is an absolute banger (outside of the major singles “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Tule the World”).
Gotta love some 80s cheese. This is a perfect example of an album that should definitely be on this list: it so perfectly captures the style and feeling of a decade, and it's a damn good example of it too. Lord almighty this is an 80s album, and while it doesn't always work, the good songs are so freaking good. Also for some reason, Orzabal's voice just scratches that itch in my brain so perfectly. Fave tracks: - Shout - Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Mothers Talk - Broken - Head Over Heels
Top tier 80s album. Banger after Banger
Owned A solid gold masterpiece
Knocked it out of the park with the first song, followed it up with some absolute crackers. The rest of the album was a bit of a fizzle for me, but mostly it shone.
Good compositions, liked the order of songs
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
7/10 yay
Head Over Heels clears
Finally! One of my favourite albums that I still listen to regularly. Besides the obvious bangers and all-time classics, this is such a well-executed production, and, along with the songwriting and excellent instrumentation, it forms a true gem in pop music history. Although intended to be commercially successful (which it definitely was), they still managed to be more explorative musically and honest and direct lyrically. They were able to reproduce this quality even live, which can be heard at the end of Head over Heels/Broken (one of my favourites!). They used a live recording with a cheering crowd (this is no simple studio overdub!), and you do not notice the transition from the studio recording to the live band.
Multiple great songs
Love the 2 big classics on here- brought back memories of these years from my youth, they sort of passed me by
Like it or hate it, this album and its massive hits were everywhere in 1985 and into 1986. Its success was outdone only by its ambition. These guys were talented and clearly aiming to make bigger and deeper music than their contemporaries. In only 8 songs, they cover a huge range -- the sing-a-long anthem Shout contrasts with the inscrutable Mothers Talk. In retrospect, though, did Tears For Fears make a lasting impact? These songs still sound so distinctive. Maybe no one even bothered to try to imitate them.
good fuckin' album
One of the greatest albums of all time. Starting with Shout and The Working Hour, you already have two of the best songs of the 80s and haven't even hit Everybody Wants To Rule The World yet. This might be the best three-song opening ever. Mothers Talk is a brilliant track in its own right, full of studio experimentation. I Believe slows things down... leading into one of my favorite combinations on any album -- the Broken/Head Over Heels suite. I love the way Broken hints at Head Over Heels and then explodes back in after the conclusion ending with thunderous applause. Concluding with the contemplative and atmospheric Listen works so well too. I don't think I'd change a thing. Other notes -- I think The Working Hour has the best sax performance in a pop/rock song. The Dave Bascombe production is top notch. His work on this album attracted the attention of Depeche Mode for Music For The Masses, giving us another of the greatest 80s albums. All this said, I might reach for The Hurting slightly more these days, but drawing Songs From The Big Chair over a weekend and playing through it a few times, I'm sure it's Tears For Fears' best. It just might be the best album of the decade.
This has some absolutely insane songs on it. "Shout", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", and "Head Over Heels" were already in my rotation. I assume I've listened to the full album previously, but not in a while if ever. "Mothers Talk" is really sweet too. Great record overall. Would probably give it like a 4.25 or 4.5 if the ratings were more flexible.
7/10… new wave / sophisti pop / *1985
7/10
Fantastic album. I liked it much more than I thought I would.
Very, very 80s. A 42 minute album that could be 24 minutes.
Good album. Notable tracks include Shout, The Working Hour, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Head Over Heels. Every song on the album is pretty good though.
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.
easy listening pop rock
Classic 80's music. Not originally a huge fan. Too "pop" and not alternative enough for me at the time. Pitchfork: 8.9 (2017 review - seems like cheating - posthumous rating) Rolling Stone: n/a Best Songs Shout Everybody Wants To Rule The World Mothers Talk I Believe Head Over Heals / Broken
The hits hit... hard. The Working Hour and Broken I like in the context of the album, but I just can't get into Mothers Talk, I Believe, nor Listen. I Believe and Listen so much so that it takes me out from the rest of the album.
Favorite Song: Head Over Heels
This album got such heavy airtime during my senior year of high school, but it never really resonated with me. A bit to pop for my tastes. I like Head Over Heels and think Everybody Wants to Rule The World is ok, but Shout is banal and the rest just seems like filler.
La transición de Broken, Head Over Heels y Listen está bien sabrosa 😫
I prefer Depeche Mode
1. Shout (6:33): blank song for me, like NOT bad, but I won't actually listen to it again I fear. 3.5/5 2. The Working Hour (6:31): The sax is so beautifully added omg, it's the perfect emotional or giddy scene, full of emotion but tender at the same time, love it. 5/5 song 3. Everybody Wants To Rule The World (4:11): I love this song, as a society, it's impossible to be bored, the strings, the piano, the vocals, the percussion, the length, everything is amazing. 5/5 4. Mothers Talk (5:06): this doesn't sound as dreamy as the others, more fierce. I do love that chorus, it's catchier than the other ones. Loved the last phrases, really reminded me of head over heels, I wish the instrumental outro part was shorter though- 4.3/5 5. I Believe (4:55): There's something as gentle like something sensual, slow pace dance and intimacy as a whole. I'm not really paying attention to the lyrics though, usually for an album they're not updated entirely. OMG THEY ADDED A SAX 5/5 6. Broken (2:39): this one is the shortest one in the album and it's giving interlude. Sums up the energy of the whole album actually, such full instrumental, the guitar makes me NUTS. 5/5 should be a complete song IMO. 7. Head Over Heels (5:02): wait now I get it, the OG tittle was /broken, makes so fucking sense, also, this one's better, the instrumental is just a little less full. Love this fucking song so much, it slaps over and over again, not so fan of the outro though and I fucking hate those claps... 4.9/5 8. Listen (6:53): angelic ass intro I love it also it feels like an outro from the album, with the soft synths and all. Great outro but won't listen as a song like the others. 4/5 Final score: 4.6/5 ⭐
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
I think it is a love or hate band. I like their music very much. The cover of this album...
I don't know why but I have just always loved Head Over Heels. Could've done without "Listen" and its repetitiveness. So some great songs but also some duds.
this is one of my rare 80s exceptions. I've never listened to Tears for Fears in full album! I also didn't know they looked like such babies with such low voices. fascinating. So much fun.
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
I would be remiss if I didn’t commemorate this album by posting about the Weird Al–inspired parody I wrote in high school. Trout, trout, swimming about Fish in the water going in and out Come on! I’m angling for you. Come on!
1 all time great song.
LMFAO i listened to this last night …. one of my favourite albums ever and a landmark of the 80s. nothing is more freeing than “everybody wants to rule the world” which i consider to be one of the best songs of all time. the track run from shout to mothers talk is INSANE.
Finally an 80s pop album that is actually good. Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World are all time classics.
It has not aged well
A stone cold classic. Underestimated this one most of my life as just a typical '80s synth pop confection, but it turns out this is one of the defining records of the decade. It's near perfect, every song adds a piece to the puzzle, from the big singles to the more subtle bits. Head Over Heels is the absolute peak for me, such genius. No longer underestimated, true greats
Surprisingly dark industrial sounds on the bonus tracks
very unique and distinct sound. Has a few classic hits, and a few I haven’t heard but are also great like head over heels. worth a listen.
A couple of these were definitely “filler”. But those three big hits more than pull their weight.
When you think of the 80s these guys are definitely it. Something about his voice with progression of the instruments.
Brill. Loved the lead singers voice and the drama of th music
7.0/10
Riktigt bra 80-tals sound. Albumet är väldigt enhetligt. Favoritlåt: Head over heels
I’m
The first half of the album - specifically the first 3 songs - are very fun, very evocative and very moody, in a great way. The latter half of the album is a bit more esoteric, with the short track Broken working well for me, yet the last one Listen being a bit of "nothing". Despite that, entire album holds a consistent quality with no real drastic dips, and it works well as pleasant ambient music if nothing else, with just enough odd and fanciful tones to be interesting and inspiring. Although I'd usually reserve it for something in my primary genres (heavier, more modern takes on metal and its related genres), I think this album was just pleasant and "beautiful" enough to leave a mark. Objectively I don't think it's quite a 5-star album, even subjectively, but it is very good and I happened to enjoy it very much on this day.
from one album where I only know the main single to another the first track becomes funky outta nowhere what is that saxophone jezus EWTRTW still sounds futuristic and yet so very eighties 40 years later Ironically I don't really want to listen to Listen the last album should have been a 3, this is a solid 4
Massive pop architecture with real emotional weight underneath. The singles soar, and even the deeper cuts carry that dramatic, widescreen feel. A touch glossy, sure, but the songwriting earns the scale.
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
An album that perfectly captures the vibe of its decade.
What a perfect time chamber of the 80s. So good.
Yeah, this is a masterpiece. Pinnacle of 80s synth-driven musique concrete that charted well. Listen to the whole thing.
Perfection. I will always love this band
The hits are great. The rest of it is good.
Singles are strong as hell but not super into the rest unfortunately.
Heard Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World before but didn’t know it was them. Just meh to me. Not a fan of their sound
I liked this one more than I thought I would, but it is no more than three stars for me.
Astonishingly fresh and good album.
Love!!
8/10
Masterpiece
I'm really not into 80s new-wavey, synth heavy albums, but this has gotta be the best of the bunch.
Shout would be a better song if it stopped about two and a half, maybe three minutes earlier. The rest is ok righties pop.
Album 129. Songs From The Big Chair (https://open.spotify.com/album/4yaypP8ytl2ghM2kiNSD8a?si=viJlKHeuS--hBNqqw6bKRg) — Tears For Fears (1985) Classic great album. I still freshly associate Everybody Wants To Rule The World with the Marty Supreme movie 5/5 Liked: — Shout — The Working Hour — Everybody Wants To Rule The World — Broken — Head Over Heels / Broken
Saved? ✅ Would listen again? ✅ Would recommend to anyone? 🤔 Would buy on Vinyl? 🤔
Shout - 5 The working hour - 3 Everybody wants to rule the world - 5 Mothers talk - 4 I believe - 3 Broken - 4 Head over heals - 5 Listen - 3
Listened driving to and from work. Really great record. I knew a couple of the big hits but the rest sounded great too. Not sure if put them in my daily rotation, it's not the kind of music I typically reach for to be honest. Enjoyed my time with it.
This is really good. Putting aside the two I knew (tracks 1 and 3) this is a really strong album. The Working Hour, Mothers Talk, Broken and Head Over Heels are all great tracks. Loved the mixture of styles and synth. Solid 4/5.
Some memorable songs. About half the album was too slow for my taste, and some of the songs were a bit long. The last song was slow but a cool and unique sound.
Mid with one banger
Expected better
Great album Some songs weren’t THAT good tho
I didn’t even realized I’ve heard at least one song from these guys (Everyone wants to rule the World). I think this is a good recommendation.
A pretty perfect 80s pop album and very cool to hear the extended versions of all these songs.
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
This album is full to bursting with great songs, and is one of my favourites. Can’t give it anything less than a 5. 9/10
salvo everybody wants to rule the world e butto le altre nel letto di spine
The mixing is undeniably professional and detailed, but the dated 80s "patina" and that constant reverb are just too much to handle. While the musical quality is clear in tracks like The Working Hour or Broken, the lack of internal evolution in these long songs makes the overall experience feel repetitive and tiring.
Some memorable songs. About half the album was too slow for my taste, and some of the songs were a bit long. The last song was slow but a cool and unique sound.
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.
I was trying to think of some clever metaphor for this album, rose amongst thorns etc, but that’s too corny. Let’s call it out for what it is, a truly terribly typical peak 80s album, with all the synth wankery and sax and guitar solos lobbed in you could ever dream of. If you like that sort of thing that is. Personally I bloody hate it. ‘Shout’ is the only saving grace, awful fake tin pan banging rhythm aside, it is a bangin tune.
This album is amazing. Back in the 80s, when I heard TFF on the radio, I was never really into them. Across time, I learned to like them more, really becoming more of a fan starting with the Elemental album. Certainly, there have always been a few really big songs on this record in Shout, Head Over Heels, and Everybody Wants to Rule the World. I was always partial to Shout, personally, though a buddy of mine recently said he thought the last of these was one of the top 10 songs of the 90s. As I think about it more, I think he is really right. That song just hits differently, even if Shout was more appealing to my ear across the years. Either way, these two tracks in particular are iconic songs from the 80s, which elevates this album to one of the most important of the decade. Beyond these three, there's more to like on the album. Broken, both separately and connected with Head Over Heels, is excellent. Mother's Milk is a nice bridge from who TFF were prior to this record and what they had become at that point. The Working Hour was a track I had not heard before, but I found myself instantly enjoying it. Listen was a unique way to close the record. Just very different. The sole song I didn't think was at least really good was I Believe, and even that has some value to it, especially in how the vocals play out. It strikes me as something very similar to what you might find on a George Michael record. All summed up, given that it is basically a cover-to-cover listen and has two of the best songs of the decade, this rightfully is a 5-star record.
I had high hopes for this as i've pushed through my 80's-phobia and know 'Everybody wants to rule the world' is a banger. Alas it was not to be. A quick high point and then disappearing up their own arse with songs lacking hook or rhythm and being drowned in 80's production like puppies in a canal.
All of the worst 80s pop stereotypes in one place. Everybody Wants To Rule The World is the best thing here
This is quite odd…. Some tracks far too long and take themselves too seriously, a move into live recordings? It’s not great but I quite like some of it…
Are you properly joking me? Worse than I. Maiden. Tom.
Pretty solid!
Banger
Superb synth pop. Play it, love it, remind yourself that Head Over Heels is one of the best songs ever made, listen again
I've listened to this album so many times and yet I never tired of it. Every song is enjoyable, and somehow they all work together as an album. This is probably my favorite synth pop album, and it's close to Peter Gabriel's So, U2's Joshua Tree, and R.E.M.'s Document for my favorite albums of the decade.
Ахуенный альбом, от начала и до конца погружает в свою атмосферу. Очень интересно и насыщенно звучит
first time listening to this, amazing album. between 4 and 5
Shout ,everybody wants to rules the world and head over heals are fine songs but theyve been overplayed to death on radio and they annoy me so much now. I really dont like the singer's voice. I not a big fan of how the album sounds but theirs some cool things here and there. A lot of fillers...
gostei da fotografia da capa, no começo achei que ia ser uma merda mas ao decorrer do album se mostrou ser uma grande masterpiece, instrumentais maravilhosos
Great album. Three big hits and no filler.
Absolute must listen from the 80s synth pop movement.
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
Songs are too long. I remember the singles.
Not my thing. Just not for me.
9 / 10
absolutely nothing special about this album. I only liked 3/4 songs. They are other great albums that define the 80s. I'm sure it was peak during the 80s, but now i find it blant.
Excuse me. Excuse me. Why is there a man who looks exactly like Curt Smith from Tears for Fears playing an acoustic set next to that tree and your swimming pool? - Shawn (Psych) Overall very vibey experience. Obviously some absolute classics. It was a good thing to put on in the background studying for mid-terms. I think my favorite discovery was Mothers Talk, which was a song I had heard but didn't have any connection that it was tears for fears. I also listened to the Everybody wants to Rule the World Song Exploder.
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
I don't get why everyone likes this garbage so much. Annoying vocals over synths and a drum machine. This is the kind of music my mom likes. This album was a traumatic experience for me. Realistically it's a 2 but I'm a man of principles.
This is a legendary album. I knew three of the songs already and loved the ones I didn't know. I was not prepared for Broken, but that is an excellent track. It flows perfectly with Head Over Heels. The whole album is an experience. I would gladly put this on again.
I was very surprised by the level of production and how many layers there are on every track. I thought this was my moms music but it’s my music too now. Love the synths and guitars. la lala la la la lala la la lah lah lah lah la la
The working hour is great underrated
It's 80s music
Some classic bangers, but also some very drawn out instrumentals following the big hits. Good listen overall!
I love the 80's
This is a classic album. I wasn't alive yet but it is absolutely nostalgic sounding. It has great production and catchy interesting hooks, and some of the best 80s hits in one album. Everybody Wants to Rule the World remains my favourite song here.
Not bad, wouldn't choose those songs if I were alone
4.5
shout - great intro to the album, very pop-esque, great nostalgic type feel the working hour - i absolutely love this song's instrumental, it reminds me of japanese city pop, just an overall good feel especially with the saxophone melody everybody wants to rule the world - love itttt, a classic, listening to it all the way through makes me notice all the parts more, the bridge compliments the rest of the song so well while bringing something new to the melody mothers talk - insanely 80s pop rock intro, i love the melodies in this song and their singing voices it adds so much personality i believe - much more chill, laid back feel with simple snare drums, vocals, and a piano broken - back to upbeat, they were going crazy on that guitar solo ughhh, can be a bit disorienting but it has the same melody as head over heels, transitions into head over heels head over heels - nostalgic melodyyyy classic, i love it, i think the vocals are perfect and compliment the instrumentals so well, also just a classic in general, reminds me of a coming of age movie, such a feel good song :) listen - THE END OF HEAD OVER HEELS TRANSITIONED TO THIS, oh my goodness the intro instrumental is magical, it caught all of my attention oh, i'm listening, alright. it's so good you don't even realize it's 6 minutes. the overlapping vocals sound ethereal, the composition is splendid overall: no skips, they cooked. maybe i'm biased because i like pop-rock but i don't care. this makes me appreciate the variety of pop-rock even more now. 9/10
Not my kind of music but rythm was relaxing
À primeira vista, Songs From the Big Chair (85) é daqueles discos que facilmente consideramos entre os melhores de todos os tempos. Afinal, temos aqui uma seleção de músicas que se tornaram fundamentais para a indústria musical dos anos 80," sendo Everybody Wants To Rule The World" e "Head Over Heels" exemplos perfeitos desse legado. No entanto, depois de tantas audições, acabei saturando. É um movimento parecido com o que sinto ao escutar Queen: reconheço a grandiosidade, mas não suporto mais a maior parte. E olha que seria muito injusto, para não dizer absurdo, classificar este disco como ruim. Talvez seja o preço de músicas tão icônicas: elas se desgastam justamente por serem grandes demais. O que não tira o mérito de Tears For Fears ter entregado um dos álbuns mais influentes de sua década.
Poucos são os álbuns que eu posso realmente afirmar que estiveram presentes na minha vida desde a minha infância e realmente ter memória das vezes em que escutei, mas um deles é certamente o Songs From The Big Chair. Toda vez que o escuto, automaticamente lembro da minha infância por conta de que a minha mãe sempre amou as músicas que compõem e formam o disco. Dado esse contexto, é um pouco difícil atribuir uma nota sem pensar no lado emocional que todas as músicas deste disco representaram/representam na minha vida - muitas vezes, quando eu estou triste, é em Songs From The Big Chair que a minha mente vai visitar e pensar em outras mil coisas. De alguma forma, eu relaciono esse álbum com conforto e com viagens - então ele sempre faz parte da trilha sonora das minhas viagens (e em 2025 isso aconteceu diversas vezes). Sou encantado por todos os momentos deste álbum, mas seria uma enorme injustiça se eu fugisse do clichê e não falasse que Head Over Heels e Everybody Wants to Rule the World são as minhas músicas favoritas - elas são isso e, ademais, também são músicas que moldaram a minha personalidade. Jamais irei cansar de escutá-las. Eu queria poder atribuir 4,5/5, mas fecharei com 4/5 imbuído da sensação de que estou sendo injusto.
Classico. Não é facil um album produzir 3 musicas tao memoráveis, um grande album. 4.25/5
I once saw this cassette at a flea market and for some reason the regret of not buying it stuck in my mind (probably because it was the only actual album there, all the others were "greatest hits" that no one has interest in.) I can now proudly say, after listening to the entire album, that I don't regret not buying it. An 80s synth pop cassette is as bad as a greatest hits cassette.
I've a soft spot for 80s new wave pop rock like Tears for Fears. 'Guilty pleasure' might get banded around, but I don't think you should feel guilty for enjoying this. Terrible cover and album title, but beautifully crafted tracks and catchy ear worms galore.
Perfect from start to end. A masterpiece. Love the production. Could listen to it forever. Best: Head Over Heels, Mothers Talk Worst: (no bad songs)
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
Heb maar een paar liedjes geluisterd, maar love tears for fears!
A lot went wrong in Thatcherite Britain, but my word was it good for music quality. This album has all the best of British prog/pop rock: a political consciousness, darker atmosphere, and varied sounds. I'd heard the big hits (Everybody Wants to Rule the World, and Head Over Heels) on this album before, but the rest of the album was equally good. Mothers Talk is a new favourite of mine!
geweldige plaat. fave blijft Head Over Heels
een van de meest intens jaren 80 albums ooit gemaakt. favoriet is en blijft mothers talk
No notes, all bangers
Noen bangers Repetitive sanger Mangler spfaz
Not for me, too aggressively 80’s
Perfect. No notes.
Muy ochentoso, me gustó
So many hits. So many tunes. Absolutely love it.
Classic
Interesting to start this project off with this album! I actually did listen to the extended? deluxe? version for the first time recently after walking out of the theater high off the needle drop at the end of MARTY SUPREME. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is obviously one of the greatest songs of all time, but "Head Over Heels" might be more of my personal favorite. Listening to the latter with really great headphones feels euphoric. It's so very 80s which is why I feel like I should like it more than I do, but the slower songs don't really do it for me. But my god — when it hits, it hits! Other highlights: Shout, Mothers Talk
Great one
I like Evb wants to rule makes me sad but happy cuz that one ride on Disney Liked most songs, but the first and last were eh
Mid I did enjoy the song everybody wants to rule the world
I was 7 years when this album came out. I never listened to it then, but I heard the most known songs on the radio and kind of liked them. Then many years later I saw the movie Donnie Darko and really fell in love with that soundtrack. Head Over Heels was on that soundtrack as well as Gary Jules’ cover of Mad World (from their first record The Hurting). But anyways I started going more back to Tears for Fears’ songs, though through their most common songs on mp3 and later Spotify - still not listening to their full albums. That’s why I’m really glad this «challenge» gives me the push to go more in the depth of the artists I should know better. So, Songs From The Big Chair. I had to give it a second listen to give the lesser known songs another chance. At first listen I thought they were a little to anonymous compared to the big hits, but now I like it a lot better. A really good listening point is the buildup from Broken to Head Over Heels/Broken. Favourite songs I already knew and was a fan of: Head Over Heels, Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Favourite «new» songs: Listen, Broken, The Working Hour.
(3) at one time I loved this album, now it sounds dated…
(Hey internet, why’d you tell the algorithm that I listened to this two nights earlier?) I always felt guilty liking this because I thought there was something a bit soft about them, turns out trying to process your feelings is okay.
Solid album. Quintessential 80s sound.
fav songs: shout everybody wants to rule the world mothers talk i believe wide, polished, poppy 70/100
Must have sounded like a great idea at the time 3.4
3.5 stars
3.9 I feel bad, I always dismissed these guys as overly camp(?) generic synth/new wave music - having only known Pale Shelter and Everybody... (although now I think about it, I actually really like those songs so why did I dismiss them..) Hands up, I was wrong. This is dark, moody, nihilistic. I now get why they Gary Numan and Joy Division are referenced in their early years wiki bio, as it's more along those lines rather than a lot of the forgettable 80s acts that appeared at a similar time. Shout is a great tune, mercilessly destroyed by Disturbed which is the main form I knew it in. Everybody is obviously fantastic. But there are lots of other good moments here, the latter half of the album is generally pretty solid, with no real weak points throughout.
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.
Such a great album
80s jams !!!!
Classic 80s hits w/out sounding too 80s
Deep atmospheric tones and catchy pop tracks.
Didn't think it was anything special in 1985, still don't.
It sounds like the 80s. Didn't do it for me, wasn't even that swept up by the (heard many times) singles. Inoffensive.
Nothing interesting
Peak 80s. It sounds SO FREAKING GOOD. I'll ignore the ubiquitous 80s saxophone thing here. :-)
It’s a decent 80’s pop album. No real duff songs, nice and lean. Thought of Robert Wyatt straight away at start of I Believe and then saw it was written for him sort of. 3.7
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.
I’m not generally a fan of 80’s pop, but TFF bring it big here. Solid throughout, the hits are hit worthy and its production stands the test of time. I prefer the sound of their next album which layers more sophistication to my ear, but this is as good as mid 80s pop gets for me
money
Incredibly mid.. completely unremarkable
A positively avant-garde 80’s pop Goliath that is always on the attack, blasting your senses with massive waves of sound. Hard to understate how modern and futuristic it sounds even now, 40 years later.
80er Synthiepop. Ein paar bekannte (z.B. Shout). Hat mir aber damals schon nicht wirklich gefallen.
very good, a couple of amazing songs
I have a soft spot for Tear for Fears. I saw them about 20ish years ago doing an acoustic cafe type of show at the Brickyard in Hartford of all places. It was part of a series of concerts that were hosted by a radio station back then. My friend’s dad worked in radio and got us tickets. There were only around 250 people there and it was just Curt and Roland and acoustic guitars and they absolutely nailed it. Their voices were amazing and their energy and passion were outstanding. The three hits on this album are some of the best songs of the 80’s and the rest are enough to keep it a 4.
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.
This is classic 80s … tight roll those acid-washed jeans, break out the aqua-net and let’s party. The highs are legendary and the rest is fairly typical, if not better than average, pop fair. It’s a living, breathing time capsule.
The hits on this album are some of the best of the era. The rest of the album is good enough.
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
Something happened and i‘m head over heals🕺🕺 Wir acten mal an unserem best behavior also 8/10
3.5
Liked: Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Head Over Heels, Broken Added: Broken
Classic song after classic song, quintessential 80s.
Great album with an iconic 80s sound. Some absolute classics that take you to that era of music
Of course I knew the hit singles. I lived through them the first time. The rest of the album was a revelation. The orchestration was fantastic, and Curt & Roland's vocals are fantastic. Favorite song is still "Head Over Heels"
This is gonna date me. There was a time before this when the only entertainment I could muster for the frequent long drives I took was a box of old cassettes whose contents seldom changed or grew. In this box was Tears Roll Down, the first Tears For Fears greatest hits compilation, that I bought from a gas station checkout line. I knew and loved the well known singles (most of which come from the album being reviewed here). But I found the other songs at times challenging to like. Given time though and infinite replays, I came to cherish all of the songs. What I didn’t know at the time was that over half the songs from Songs from the Big Chair were on there. This is a nearly flawless album. All of the songs are it could be hits. There is thematic cohesion, incredible production, and tons of songwriting nuance. Love it.
Whaaaat, trodde inte jag skulle gilla albumet eftersom det kom ut 1985 men det va typ bra wtf. Beaten var jätte najs skulle ändå ratea en 4/5 för det var två låtar ja inte gilla så mycket listen och broken.
Amazing album, I've heard these songs a lot and always enjoy them.
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.
this is what i think the 80's sounds like. great album. everybody wants to rule the world is one of the best songs ever written.
track 1: off the bat, im very interested in this. i've heard a lot about this group and the love they get from their following, and admittedly i've only ever heard THE track from this album. but honestly, this one has me more gripped right now. track 2: the opening doesn't immediately grab me as hard as track 1 did, but as the drums start to come in it grabs my interest quickly. track 3: good song, would maybe be a great song but i tend to have a problem with very overplayed songs. still not bad track 4: good track track 1: great, favorite so far track 2: good track 3: good track 4:
#3 Already knew some songs. I planned to listen to this album for ages but never got around to actually do it. It's really great, the kind of clever pop-rock from the '80s that I really love, complex and sophisticated, yet very accessible. Shout and Head over Heels are absolute bangers.
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.
Ugh. Is my first reaction. There is no need for every song on this to be over 6 minutes long (and I am a jam band fan). I really dislike hating music, which is why I will rarely ever give an album a 1. And I would be surprised if I think there are any one's in this guys top 1001 albums of all time. 2.5
3,8/5 Pop atmosférico de qualidade. Os singles, no entanto, carregam o álbum.