Songs From the Big Chair

Nie ma co oceniać, genialna płyta, nawet poza głównymi singlami, perełka roku 1985, nie zestarzała się ani o sekundę.

Such a belter. Amuses me no end that this has become a must have for burgeoning record collections. I'm sure I remember it at one time being the punchline of various gags.

Solid pop album slightly let down by a lacklustre closing track. I’ve never heard the album version of Head Over Heels before. Really enjoy the instrumental ending of that.

No es mi estilo favorito, pero honestamente tiene unas canciones muy buenas y una vibra oscura que me gusta. De todas formas no es algo que escucharía.

I was looking forward to this and the songs Shout, Head over Heels and Everybody Wants to Rule the World are iconic but the other album tracks while well written and produced didn’t enthral me.

Three songs. That's the case for this record and it's a strong enough case to win the argument. "Shout," "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," and "Head Over Heels" are three of the defining singles of 1985 — enormous, melodically generous, built on layered keyboards and processed drums that fill every available sonic space without quite tipping into the schmaltz that sinks lesser records of the era. Forty years later they still hit with an immediacy that separates genuine pop achievement from mere period artifact.
The honest accounting of everything else is brief: forgettable. The back half of Songs from the Big Chair does the work of existing between the peaks without generating any pull of its own, which is a significant gap between the record's best moments and its filler. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith built something genuinely ambitious here — the conceptual foundation in primal scream therapy, the maximalist production, the sheer sonic scale of the whole enterprise — and the singles justify every bit of that ambition. The album tracks around them do not.
What tips it to four rather than three is simply the quality of the peaks. Three exceptional singles constitutes a real achievement regardless of what surrounds them, and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" alone has earned its place in the permanent rotation of songs that sound like a specific moment in time without being diminished by it.
A four carried entirely by its highs, which is sometimes exactly enough.

Perfect album. 10/10, no notes. Everybody Wants to Rule the World is the greatest song of the ‘80s, and one of the best in general, period.

Favorite track(s): Shout, The Working Hour, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Mothers Talk, Broken, Head Over Heels

Hating this album for being too 80s is like hating a sundae for having too much ice cream.

Heard before
Previous rating: 9/10

One of my favorite albums of all time. Usually ends up in the top ten when I put together a list. Yes, it’s ridiculously 80s. Yes, it’s emotionally overwrought. But for this 80s kid it’s like a pure prism of emotions emanating from our infant selves.

The hits were background music for my childhood, but I didn’t actually pick up the album until my 30s. It was in a transitional time of life when I was driving around a lot listening to Jack-FM hoping for a few favorite songs to come on. And eventually I realized that all I wanted to hear was “Head Over Heels” and it was time to get the record.

Now the hits and the other tracks blend together into an organic whole to me. I have the strongest feelings in the quietest parts, as if they were purposefully written for reflection. For me it contains just about every emotion and experience.

Other random note: in my top albums, this is probably the poppiest and most popular

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

This album's one of the best new wave albums to come out of the 80s, and that's a genre I'm very fond of so you can imagine how much I love it. Moody synths and surging drum machines, vocals that are somehow equal parts booming and ethereal, plus exquisitely crafted hooks all combine to make a hell of an addictive experience. Seriously, whenever I listen to this album I get Head Over Heels stuck in my head for days. It's no wonder some of these tracks are remembered as some of the most iconic songs of the 80s. The only one I didn't really care for was I Believe. Besides that it's more or less hit after hit.

Favourite tracks: The Working Hour, Head Over Heels, Shout, Mothers Talk

Great 80s pop. Underrated band beyond their big hits.

I think "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" are great songs. "The Working Hour", "I Believe", "Head Over Heels" or "Listen" are also very good (and that already makes 75% of the album). So yes, this is a solid 4-star album for me.

this thing gets better everytime i hear it

Still sounds pretty unique. It’s clearly from the 80s, but it’s got a sound all of its own as well.

Wonderful pop album. Up there as one of the greatest the 80s had.

Solid 4 for me.

I've been waiting for some 80s New Wave on this list!! Vocal power and a voice that flies on the wings of an angel and then lingers long afterwards.

I was never a massive fan of TFF but three huge hits and a very listenable album pull this easily into 4+ territory.
4½

Very cool. You can see why they're still selling out arenas today.

Big first half, ok second half.

Here is how old I am:

When I finally started asking for my own collection of music my mom got me hooked up with the Columbia House special where you order 1 record full price and get like 8 more for a penny each. This album was on my first order. I still own this copy, on vinyl!

10 year old me had real hit or miss musical taste but this one is still fantastic.
There are NO skippers on this album and maybe its youthful emotional connection but this is one of the albums I will award 5 stars until the day I die.

I fully understand why this album is on the list, but I cannot stand this band.