Tears For Fears

The Hurting (Reviewed by Wavemeister):

Tears For Fears 'The Hurting', released in 1983 on Phonogram UK, Synthpop
Tracklist:

The Hurting
Mad World
Pale Shelter
Ideas As Opiates
Memories Fades
Suffer The Children
Watch Me Bleed
Change
The Prisoner
Start Of The Breakdown

Tears For Fears are among the groups which needed only a few records to become icons of the 80s.
The first release 'The Hurting' spawned two massive worldwide hits, 'Mad World' and 'Pale Shelter', setting the stage for a long awaited second album which became also a great success - 'Songs From The Big Chair' (1985).
The music on 'The Hurting' was infectious Synthpop with dark and gloomy lyrics, the single outtakes are the best examples. The vocal works of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were pretty variable, from the common style which was simply expected to accompany the sound of this genre to the almost 'souly' outbreak on 'Ideas As Opiates'.

With 'Songs From The Big Chair', they changed their sounds towards a more mainstream and soulful style, peaking at the top spot with the single 'Shout' as well as with the album. Labouring about four years on the next album, 'The Seeds Of Love' featured another massive beatlesque hit 'Sowing The Seeds Of Love', but this release was rather seen as the end of an era instead of starting a new one. Orzabal and Smith parted soon after it, and the following releases of both artists failed to succeed at the critics and sales.

Though 'Songs From The Big Chair' was recognized as their most successful album, 'The Hurting' is the one which contains the essence of an era that promised to be packed with new sounds and styles.

Response to this review by DarkWave): This album is one of the finest of it's kind! Love all the songs on it. A definitive must have.