Songs From the Big Chair

I just don't get this genre at all. I don't like the tones of the instruments, the overall sound, the singing...it's just not for me, I guess.

2/5

This is a tough one. There are some incredible, 5-star bangers on this album, like Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and Head Over Heels. Those songs stand the test of time, and are Exhibit A as to why New Wave hit so big in 80s pop culture. Then there are songs like I Believe and Listen that sound a bit dated

I think this is a very good CD. Even songs like The Working Hour (which starts slow but grows into itself) and Mother's Talk are pretty decent. I've never identified myself as a person who likes 80s music - in fact, quite the opposite - but I like this album.

So here, again, is the limitation of the 5 star system with no half stars. This album is miles better than some of the recent albums that I've given 3 stars, like Jerry Lee Lewis Live, Genesis The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, or They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, by Liars. On the flip side, I'm not sure I can say it's close to as good as any of the albums I've gives 4 stars, Like Public Enemy Fear of A Black Planet, DJ Shadow Endtroducing, or The Sugarcubes Life's Too Good. Where does that leave me, when I want to rank it 3.5 stars?

Ultimately, I've decided to give it 4 stars. Not because it's an album that I'm going to put in my normal rotation, but because it was a phenomenal album in its time, it's an excellent time capsule of the best the New Wave movement had to offer, and, overall, the songs hold up pretty well 40 years later.

Songs From the Big Chair
Simple Minds, Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, Tears for Fears. They have always been pretty interchangeable. Rightly or wrongly thye live in the same big echoey 80s drum pop rock bucket in my mind - I sometimes have to stop and think which band sang Don’t You Forget About Me, Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Alive & Kicking and Seeds of Love.

Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World are rightly ubiquitous, they are both well crafted ‘big’ sounding 80s classics. EWTRTW in particular is great and still sounds good.

The Working Hour also sounds big and 80s but not in a good way. That AO jazzy sax does not sound good and melodically it feels very strained. Mother’s Talk I wasn’t keen on either, the slightly frantic and slightly jazzy synth in combination with the brass and guitar isn’t a particularly pleasant sound.
I Believe feels like a second rate Style Council knock off. I can imagine Sade rejecting this for being too insipid and dull.
Broken perks things up a bit, a bit of drive to it and no overt jazziness, segueing nicely in Head over Heels, which is another bit of classic 80s pop rock. Listen is ok, some of the backing vocals, synth and guitar elements as it builds are quite nice but there’s more of that dull jazziness to it, giving a slight sense of inertia.

Generally I’m a fan of a lot of these types of 80s bands, songs and sounds but aside from Shout, EWTRTW and Head over Heels I didn’t find this very enjoyable at all. There’s too much insipid jazz to it and I struggled with a lot of the melodies too. Maybe Don’t You Forget About Me is actually their best song.
⭐️⭐️

Very 80's... but better than I expected!

4.5

There were some good songs on here, but the second half seemed to blue together, and not necessarily in a good way. The good stuff on here was good enough to pull this up to a 3/5

Man oh man, Songs From The Big Chair was actually a pretty dang great album. I like how the rock and pop elements melded together to create some massive ear candy. The singing and lyrics were great too. I would complain about the length of some of the songs but they sounded so good that it didn't become too much of an issue for me. Its a great album that will please anyone who listens to it
Best Song: Shout
Worst Song: I Believe

It’s an easy 5.

I’ve never listened to the other tracks on this album besides the big 3 of Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and Head Over Heels, but almost every other track here really perfectly complements those 3. The one song on this album I wasn’t really feeling was Listen, but I’m going to treat that as kind of an epilogue track, because it sure feels like this album should have ended on Head Over Heels and that applause-filled outro.

Obviously, my opinion might be a bit skewed because we just did a Kid Rock album, but I felt quite literally spiritually cleansed of the stench of Devil Without a Cause by the fantastic saxophone in The Working Hour, and the album just stayed at pure bliss for me after that. I cannot believe that one-two punch of the outro to The Working Hour & the intro to Everybody Wants To Rule The World, because it sent me into the damn stratosphere. Super deserved 5, and a fantastic album.

The hits are fun, the rest of the album is up and down.

This is peak 80s. The hits are wonderful but the rest of the songs don’t really stand out.

Liked this a lot more than I thought. 3.25

Nice! Adding to the short list of new wave acts that actually could maintain quality for an album

Big time '80s teenage nostalgia

Some monster hits, and surprisingly strong outside of "Shout" and "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", such as "Mother's Talk" and "Head Over Heels". I was really into this, it has a bit of everything for everyone.

I recognize that this album is good, but I do not like the singer’s voice.

I wasn't really a huge Tears For Fears fan back when this came out, but I really quite enjoyed it now - it has aged quite well. Best track; Head Over Heels.

Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World and Head Over Heels are great, the rest were a bit hit and miss.

I have no idea why I'm drawn so much to this album, but I just am. It's 80s synth-pop at it's best, with some banger singles. I've listened to this album countless times and will continue to do so.

The two most popular tracks are bangers but all together it's just not for me :(

TEARS FOR FEARS É FODA