TEARS FOR FEARS - THE HURTING

1983 was a crazy year for 80's music.  So many huge albums coming out.  And Tears For Fears appeared on a radio show I used to listen to called Rock Over London.  The first song I heard from them was 'Suffer The Children' and I heard it shortly after seeing "The Lost Boys".  For some reason, the two kinda merged in my mind.  Even now, it's hard to separate the movie from the song.

But it wasn't until many years later I actually picked up this disc.  By the time I got it, I was already exposed to their later albums.  At first, this album seemed a bit amateurish compared to later efforts.  However, as I listened to it, I was enamored by the complexity of the lyrical content and the music.

'The Hurting' is not only the title track, but also the opening song.  It seems to me, the song is about discovering how complicated and unexpected life can be.  And painful.  There's an unusual breakdown in the song and it leaves me feeling rather odd.  It's followed by 'Mad World', another song lamenting the ambivalence of modern life and how nothing really has value.  So far, both tracks are enjoyable and I'm feeling the music.  But I'm not prepared for the radical difference about to jump out at me from track 3!

And that's 'Pale Shelter'!  Easily my favorite song on the record.  The vocals on this song are extremely powerful.  There's such an odd mixture of vocal technique.  He moves from a falsetto to his normal singing voice virtually flawlessly.  Very dramatic.

'Ideas As Opiates' is an interesting tune.  It slows the pace of the record down to a funeral march.  However, it expresses an interesting idea.  This song could be the early poster child of the Critical Thinking method of modern Western philosophy.  The next number, 'Memories Fade' starts off in a rather dismal way and when the song finally starts to gain some traction, the music get pulled back in the mix and the only forward movement occurs in the drum track punctuated from time to time by some power chords on the guitar.

'Suffer The Children' is the track I first heard and as such, it's the song that reminds me most of the band.  I quite like it even though it's not their strongest tune.  'Watch Me Bleed' comes in next and although it's a great song, it doesn't do much for me.  However, 'Change' is remarkable and succeeds in drawing the listener back into the disc.  It's got an interesting build and it's well worth checking out.  It's followed by 'The Prisoner'.  This song, more than any other on the disc demonstrates the progression of the writing.  These chords will turn up again on the next album and in a big way.

'Start Of The Breakdown' rounds out the album and in many ways, it's the appropriate closing to the record.  It stays relatively together in theme and sound.  There's not a huge change happening.  Although the keyboard motifs can sometimes sound a little off kilter, it's a strong finish to a strong introduction record.

My final words:  I WISH I'D HEARD IT BEFORE LATER MATERIAL.  I PROBABLY WOULD'VE LISTENED TO IT MORE.

TEARS FOR FEARS - THE HURTING
01. The Hurting
02. Mad World
03. Pale Shelter
04. Ideas As Opiates
05. Memories Fade
06. Suffer The Children
07. Watch Me Bleed
08. Change
09. The Prisoner
10. Start Of The Breakdown