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The Seeds of Love

Tears for Fears - The Seeds of Love Audio CD

A fair review of the Tears for Fears "The Seeds of Love" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Tears for Fears reviews here, or go back to the Tears for Fears tabs.

Band: Tears for Fears
Title: The Seeds of Love
Rating:

Release Date: 1989-09-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Woman in Chains 2: Badman's Song - Tears for Fears, Tears for Fears 3: Sowing the Seeds of Love - Tears for Fears, Tears for Fears 4: Advice for the Young at Heart 5: Standing on the Corner of the Third World 6: Swords and Knives 7: Year of the Knife 8: Famous Last Words

GOOD TIMES, GOOD SONGS

BY FAR THE BEST ERA OF TEARS FOR FEARS, WITH EXCELLENT MUSICIANS
AND PRODUCERS RECORDING. I LOVE THIS GUY'S, AND THOUSE MUSIC BECAME PART OF MY LIFE.

.

Sowing the Seeds of Love!
Usually compilations from audio cassetts and LP albums were about 10. I was surprised to learn that there were only 8 tracks on this compact disc. Each song is long and has a message. I think the bands and groups of the 1980s always sang with a message. The British duo, Tears for Fears, with Roland Orzabel and Curt Smith maintain the seriousness of the world with their music. Sowing the Seeds of Love is my favorite in this collection but I do like Women in Chains with Oleta Adams as backup vocals. She has an incredible voice and the song has an important message about discrimination and abuse against women. I also liked the song, Advice for the Young at Heart, which I thought was more playful and light in comparison to the other songs.

When you listen to Tears for Fears, you are expected to hear about politics, international relations, disenfranschised populations, etc. without it being so obvious. They made and probably still make music for people to hear the messages and hopefully act upon them. Has the world changed since this album debuted in 1989? Probably not as much maybe we got worse or maybe we got better but groups like Tears for Fears and others made us think about the lyrics and the music and it's relation to the world. .

...listen to the band that made us cry
Gone are the pulsating synths, replaced by live classic instrumentation. From the first thirty seconds of this rich, organic, aural feast, it is evident that Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith have taken huge steps forward musically. Gone is the angst ridden electro-gothic sound of their early work, replaced by huge, jazzy, soulful, slightly psychedelic melodies. The spare, haunting instrumentation gives Orzabal's evocative tenor room to breathe, and breathe he does, with a resonance and range only hinted at on their first two records. A then unknown Oleta Adams (best known for her memorable cover of "Get Here"), lends her unforgettably husky voice to the first two tracks, perfectly complementing Orzabal's.

The cover and title song are obvious Beatles homages, but nothing else on this record sounds remotely like Lennon-McCartney. While these salutes invite comparison, that's where it ends in my book. Orzabal and Smith are coming from somewhere else musically: equal parts arena rock, philly soul, jazz melancholia, and artful, restrained piano balladry. One doesn't have to listen hard to detect in early form the tasteful guitar driven britpop template most popularized by Coldplay.

As good and occasionally great as "The Hurting" and "Songs from the Big Chair" are, this one eclipses them both, because it is timeless. It has aged exceedingly well, unlike most of the hair metal so popular at that time. "The Seeds of Love" sounds as if it could have been released forty years ago. Or for that matter, four months ago.

It's hard not to wax nostalgic about this record, so I'll just indulge myself. Uplifting yet mournful, life-affirming yet heartbreaking, this record more than any other soundtracks my coming of age with all its contradictions, tensions, and emotional dissonance. It captures equally the ecstasy and alienation of my late-teen rites of passage. To this day, its layers of melody instantly evoke the relationships so important to me then- the ones that made that alienation bearable.

Highlights? Where to begin: the sunny, texured shuffle and gorgeous harmonies of "Woman in Chains", the nostalgic, Philly-soul tinged idealism of "Advice for the Young at Heart" (my own personal Senior class song), the darkly layered, minor key driven dirge "Swords and Knives", or the heartbreaking closer, the cathartic, apocalyptic love song "Famous Last Words", featuring the line, "Hand in hand, we'll do and die, listening to the band that made us cry. . . " Indeed. Thank you, Tears for Fears. .

All Gems
I saw a cassette in a discount bin while on vacation in New Zealand and picked it up for some music in my rental car. I found this album by accident. I did not know who Tears for Fears was.

I was astonished to find out how good this group is. From the beginning to the end, it is a consistent collection of powerful, punchy ballads, colorful arrangements, and memorable lyrics. 'Advice for the Young at Heart' can still give me goosebumps and 'Famous Last Words' bring a tear to my eye. And I love the energy of 'Year of The Knife'. The songs are written with talent and insight and performed to a high standard.

The mark of a good recording is that one doesn't tire of it. This one seems almost as fresh as the day I bought it.

A Remarkable Album
The underlying theme of this album is society issues and attitudes - using music as a healing balm for humanity - a very deliberate attempt. which succeeds remarkably well. In true 'Tears for Fears' style.

'Woman in chains' is a brilliant beginning. Very soothing, it sets a pace which is ideal, and gets you thirsting for more.

'Look at your self/See all your life/your hands start shaking/and you dont know why' is a line from 'Badman's Song' which got my hands trembling, shaking all over. Oleta Adams is amazing and the piano is superb.

'Advice for the young at heart' sounds more commercial, but the theme meshes well and gives the album variety.

'Sowing the seeds of love' the title song has an energetic and racy feel, full of enthusiasm and light-hearted goodness.

Third world sentiments are discussed in 'Standing on the corner of the third world'. I was transported, endorphins flowing fast through my veins. Same story with 'Swords and Knives' with lyrics like - 'When life begins/ with needles and pins / it ends with swords and knives'. Very satisfying.

'Famous last words' ends the album on a tender note.

The music is top class, a mixture of everything. It truly deserves every one of the five stars I have granted it.

You can see a complete list of all Tears for Fears discography, or go back to the Tears for Fears tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.