Tears For Fears Songs from the Big Chair Factory Sealed Vinyl LP Record Album Never Opened

Songs from the Big Chair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Songs from the Big Chair Studio album by Tears for Fears Released 25 February 1985 Recorded 1984 ("Broken" (live) recorded December 1983 at Hammersmith Odeon) Studio The Wool Hall, Beckington, Somerset, UK Genre

• New wave[1]
• progressive pop[2]

Length 41:19 Label Fontana/Mercury/Phonogram Producer Chris Hughes Tears for Fears chronology The Hurting
(1983) Songs from the Big Chair
(1985) The Seeds of Love
(1989) Singles from Songs from the Big Chair

1. "Mothers Talk"
   Released: 6 August 1984
2. "Shout"
   Released: 23 November 1984
3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
   Released: 22 March 1985
4. "Head over Heels"
   Released: 10 June 1985
5. "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)"
   Released: 30 September 1985

Songs from the Big Chair is the second studio album by the British rock/pop band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records. The album peaked at number two in the UK and number one in the US and Canada. It spawned the international hit singles "Mothers Talk", "Shout", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", "Head Over Heels", and "I Believe". It remains their best-selling album to date.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1Background
• 2Critical reception
• 3Re-issues
• 4Track listing
  • 4.1Original release
  • 4.2Deluxe Edition (2006)
  • 4.3Super Deluxe Edition (2014)
• 5Personnel
  • 5.1Tears for Fears
  • 5.2Additional personnel
  • 5.3Production
• 6Charts and certifications
  • 6.1Charts
  • 6.2Year-end charts
  • 6.3Certifications
  • 6.4Singles
• 7References

Background[edit]

"The title was my idea. It's a bit perverse but then you've got to understand our sense of humour. The 'Big Chair' idea is from this brilliant film called Sybil about a girl with 16 different personalities. She'd been tortured incredibly by her mother as a child and the only place she felt safe, the only time she could really be herself was when she was sitting in her analyst's chair. She felt safe, comfortable and wasn't using her different faces as a defence. It's kind of an 'up yours' to the English music press who really fucked us up for a while. This is us now – and they can't get at us anymore." —Curt Smith explains the album's title, March 1985[3]

The album title was derived from the 1976 television film Sybil about a woman with multiple personality disorder who only feels safe when she is sitting in her analyst's "big chair". A mostly-instrumental track called "The Big Chair" (which includes dialogue samples from the film) was released as the B-side of "Shout" in 1984, but was not included on the album.

The album peaked at no.2 in the UK Albums Chart and remained in the Top 10 for over six months. In the US, it reached number one for five weeks (non-consecutive), and in Canada it reached number one for nine weeks (non-consecutive) and spent six months in the Top 3. In all three countries, the album went multi-platinum. It also reached number one in Germany and The Netherlands and Top 10 positions in various other countries including Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Italy.

A companion video documentary entitled Scenes from the Big Chair was released in late 1985. Once the band had finished a lengthy touring and promotion schedule for the album, they took an extended hiatus from the music industry. In 1989, their third album, The Seeds of Love, marked their return.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [4] Consequence of Sound A+[5] Encyclopedia of Popular Music [6] The Guardian [7] Mojo [8] Pitchfork 8.9/10[9] Q [10] Record Collector [11] Smash Hits 8/10[12] The Village Voice B[13]

In his review of Songs from the Big Chair, Barry McIlheney of Melody Maker stated that "none of you should really be too surprised that Tears for Fears have made such an excellent album", calling it "an album that fully justifies the rather sneering, told-you-so looks adopted by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal on the sleeve", before concluding, "An awful lot of people will, of course, go on and on about overcoats, The Lotus Eaters and an alleged lack of depth. And an awful lot of people will have to eat an awful lot of words."[14] Ian Cranna of Smash Hits described it as "looser, more exploratory than before" in nature, and noted its "unflinching lyrical honesty".[12] Rolling Stone critic Don Shewey wrote that Tears for Fears "sounds a lot like a lot of other British bands" and observed traces of "U2's social conscience, the Bunnymen's echoing guitars and XTC's contorted pop wit" on the album, but commented that Chris Hughes' production "nudges Songs from the Big Chair slightly ahead of the pack."[15] Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic in his review for The Village Voice, observing some substantial lyrics, particularly on "The Working Hour", and musical elements such as an "uncommon command of guitar and piano, Baker Street sax, synthesizers more jagged than is deemed mete by the arbiters of dance-pop accessibility". However, he felt these are all beneath grandiloquent lamentations suggesting "a depth and drama English lads have been falling short on since the dawn of progressive rock."[13]

In a retrospective review published in AllMusic, Stanton Swihart wrote: "In the loping, percolating 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World', Tears for Fears perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-'80s while impossibly managing to also create a dreamy, timeless pop classic. Songs from the Big Chair is one of the finest statements of the decade."[4] Mark Elliott of Record Collector agreed, while adding that it contained the band's "most consistently interesting material".[11] Q remarked that the album "zeroed in on every angsty adolescent's desire to feel heroic, with a sound of spotlit, spacious sophistication plus anthemic choruses you'd bet your house on."[10] In Stylus Magazine, Andrew Unterberger concluded that "even today, when all rock musicians seem to be able to do is be emotional and honest, the brutality and power of Songs from the Big Chair's catharsis is still quite shocking."[16] Songs from the Big Chair has been included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[17] Slant Magazine listed the album at number 95 on its list of the best albums of the 1980s.[18]

Re-issues[edit]

In 1998, MFSL remastered and re-issued the album with an extended "Head over Heels" (running 5:24) and two bonus tracks (extended mixes of "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World").

The album was remastered and re-issued on CD in 1999 with bonus tracks, including B-sides and remixes. The track listing is based on the Special Edition cassette version of the album, which featured five B-sides as bonus tracks—including three tracks ("The Conflict", "The Marauders" and "Broken Revisited") from The Hurting period. In addition to these tracks, it includes two remixes.

The album was re-released again in a deluxe edition 2-disc format in 2006 with the full collection of B-sides and many alternate versions and remixes of the album's tracks.

In 2014, the album was released by Universal Music Japan on SHM-SACD.

To mark the album's 30th anniversary, Universal Music released the album in five different formats on 10 November 2014, including a 6-disc Super Deluxe Edition which includes four CDs and two DVDs (1 audio, 1 video).[19] This edition also includes a 30-page replica 1985 tour programme and a 32-page booklet. Additional formats released simultaneously include another 2-disc Deluxe Edition, a single disc remastered edition, a 180-gram heavyweight vinyl album, and a "Pure Audio" Blu-Ray edition. The 5.1 surround sound mix is done by renowned remixer and progressive rock musician Steven Wilson.

Track listing[edit]

Original release[edit]

Side A No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Shout" Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley 6:32 2. "The Working Hour" Orzabal, Stanley, Manny Elias 6:30 3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" Orzabal, Stanley, Chris Hughes 4:10 4. "Mothers Talk" Orzabal, Stanley 5:09 Side B No. Title Writer(s) Length 5. "I Believe" Orzabal 4:53 6. "Broken" Orzabal 2:38 7. "Head over Heels/Broken (Live)" Orzabal, Curt Smith 5:01 8. "Listen" Orzabal, Stanley 6:48

Notes

• "I Believe" is dedicated to 'Robert Wyatt (if he's listening)'[20]
• In some US editions, the live reprise of "Broken" was omitted, and the end of "Head over Heels" led directly into "Listen". On these same US editions, the full 5:09 version of "Mothers Talk" was replaced with the 3:53 short version.
• In some later Canadian editions, "Head over Heels" and the live reprise of "Broken" was split into two separate tracks creating a nine-track release; the booklet and other CD artwork still had the original track list however.
• A limited edition UK cassette[21] version of the album contained many bonus tracks ("The Big Chair", "Empire Building", "The Marauders", "Broken Revisited", "The Conflict") as well as a short version of "The Working Hour" (titled "Piano Version", although there is none); the configuration was recreated on CD for the 30th anniversary with even more additional tracks appended.

1999 remastered CD bonus tracks No. Title Writer(s) Length 9. "The Big Chair" Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes 3:21 10. "Empire Building" Smith, Orzabal, Stanley 2:52 11. "The Marauders" Orzabal, Stanley 4:16 12. "Broken Revisited" Orzabal 5:16 13. "The Conflict" Orzabal, Smith, Stanley 4:05 14. "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix)   4:13 15. "Shout" (U.S. remix)   8:02

Note

• "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix) on the remastered CD is the correct version of this remix, but has had additional reverb applied to it. The 1999 remaster is the only CD on which this "extra reverb" version can be found.

Deluxe Edition (2006)[edit]

[show]Disc one [show]Disc two

Notes

• Track 4 was intended to be "Everybody Wants to Run the World" but was mistakenly replaced by a repetition of the album version (incorrectly labeled as the '7" version', but such a version does not exist); the album's liner notes confirm this.
• Track 7 is labeled "U.S. remix" on the packaging but is in fact a different version from the real U.S. remix of "Mothers Talk" on the original vinyl singles. On CD, the real "U.S. remix" can be found on the compilations The Millennium Collection: The Best of Tears for Fears and Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears, as well as the 30th anniversary edition.

Super Deluxe Edition (2014)[edit]

[show]Disc one [show]Disc two: Edited Songs from the Big Chair [show]Disc three: Remixed Songs from the Big Chair [show]Disc four: Unreleased Songs from the Big Chair [show]Disc five: DVD Audio 5.1 Mix [show]Disc six: DVD Video

Personnel[edit]

Tears for Fears[edit]

• Roland Orzabal – guitar, keyboards, lead vocals, grand piano on 5, vocal styling on 8, bass synth and LinnDrum programming on 1
• Curt Smith – bass guitar, vocals (lead vocals on 3 and 8)
• Ian Stanley – keyboards, LinnDrum programming, arrangements on "Listen"
• Manny Elias – drums (all except track 1), drum arrangement on "The Working Hour"

Additional personnel[edit]

• "Shout": Sandy McLelland – backing vocals, Chris Hughes – drums
• "The Working Hour": Jerry Marotta – percussion and saxophone arrangement, Will Gregory – saxophone solos, Mel Collins – saxophone, Andy Davis – grand piano
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World": Neil Taylor – second guitar solo, Chris Hughes (record producer), MIDI programming
• "Mothers Talk": Stevie Lange – backing vocals
• "I Believe": Will Gregory – saxophone
• "Broken": Neil Taylor – guitar solo
• "Head Over Heels": Sandy McLelland – backing vocals, Andy Davis – grand piano, Annie McCaig – backing vocals, Marilyn Davis – backing vocals
• "Listen": Marilyn Davis – operatic vocal

Production[edit]

• Chris Hughes – producer
• Dave Bascombe – engineer
• Paul King – management
• Tim O'Sullivan – cover photography

Charts and certifications[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1985) Peak
position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[22] 5 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 22 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 1 French Albums (SNEP)[25] 12 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 1 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[27] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] 2 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29] 17 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 25 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 5 UK Albums (OCC)[32] 2 US Billboard 200[33] 1

30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Chart (2014) Peak
position UK Albums (OCC)[34] 95

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (1985) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[35] 6 Canadian Albums (RPM)[36] 2 UK Albums (Gallup)[37] 5 US Billboard 200 Albums[38] 10

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/Sales Canada (Music Canada)[39] 7× Platinum 700,000^ Netherlands (NVPI)[40] Platinum 100,000^ Germany (BVMI)[41] Gold 250,000^ United Kingdom (BPI)[42] 3× Platinum 900,000^ United States (RIAA)[43] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^

Singles[edit]

Year Single Chart Peak 1984 "Mothers Talk" UK Singles Chart 14 Irish Singles Chart 23 1985 New Zealand Singles Chart 50 1984 "Shout" UK Singles Chart 4 1985 Austrian Singles Chart 6 Canadian Singles Chart 1 Dutch Singles Chart 1 French Singles Chart 21 German Singles Chart 1 Irish Singles Chart 5 Norwegian Singles Chart 5 New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Swedish Singles Chart 16 Swiss Singles Chart 1 US Billboard Hot 100 1 1985 "Everybody Wants to
Rule the World" UK Singles Chart 2 Austrian Singles Chart 19 Canadian Singles Chart 1 Dutch Singles Chart 2 French Singles Chart 18 German Singles Chart 11 Irish Singles Chart 2 New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Swiss Singles Chart 13 US Billboard Hot 100 1