Raoul and the Kings of Spain

Raoul and the Kings of Spain
Studio album by Tears for Fears
Released	16 October 1995
Recorded	1994–1995
Genre	New Wave, pop rock
Length	50:16
Label	Epic Cherry Pop (2009 reissue)
Producer	Tim Palmer Roland Orzabal Alan Griffiths
Tears for Fears chronology
Elemental (1993) Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995) Saturnine Martial & Lunatic (1996)
Singles from Raoul and the Kings of Spain
"Raoul and the Kings of Spain " Released: 25 September 1995 "God's Mistake" Released: October 1995 (US)/17 June 1996 (UK) "Secrets" Released: January 1996 (US) "Falling Down" Released: February 1996

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Raoul and the Kings of Spain is the fifth album by the British pop-rock band Tears for Fears. Like the previous album, Elemental, it is essentially a solo effort by Roland Orzabal, whose name was originally Raoul before being Anglicized.

The album was originally scheduled to be released by Mercury Records but the project was cancelled after Tears For Fears left the label to sign with Sony/Epic Records. A new version of the album featuring a different track listing and new cover art was released by Sony in 1995.

The album peaked at #41 in the UK and #79 in the US, but was more successful in continental Europe, reaching for example #23 in Italy, #13 in Belgium (Wallonia) and #5 in France.

The album features a return by Oleta Adams, who duets with Orzabal on the track "Me and My Big Ideas".

The album was re-released in August 2009 by Cherry Pop Records, complete with seven bonus tracks (see below).

Track listing

All songs written by Roland Orzabal and Alan Griffiths except where indicated.

1995 Promotional CD (Mercury/Polydor Records)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Notes	Length
1.	"Raoul and the Kings of Spain"			5:16
2.	"Falling Down"	Roland Orzabal		4:55
3.	"Secrets"			4:42
4.	"God's Mistake"			3:47
5.	"Sketches of Pain"	Roland Orzabal	Mislabeled on CD back insert as "Sketches of Spain"; the actual title of the track is a play on the Miles Davis album by that name	4:21
6.	"Los Reyes Catolicos"			1:48
7.	"Sorry"			4:48
8.	"Queen of Compromise"	Roland Orzabal, Alan Griffiths, Brian MacLeod, Jebin Bruni, Gail Ann Dorsey		3:52
9.	"Don't Drink the Water"			4:56
10.	"Me and My Big Ideas"			4:33
11.	"Los Reyes Catolicos"		Mislabeled on CD back insert as "Los Retes Catolicos"	3:43

1995 Release (Sony/Epic Records)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Raoul and the Kings of Spain"		5:16
2.	"Falling Down"	Roland Orzabal	4:56
3.	"Secrets"		4:42
4.	"God's Mistake"		3:47
5.	"Sketches of Pain"	Roland Orzabal	4:21
6.	"Los Reyes Católicos"		1:44
7.	"Sorry"		4:48
8.	"Humdrum and Humble"		4:11
9.	"I Choose You"	Roland Orzabal	3:26
10.	"Don't Drink the Water"		4:51
11.	"Me and My Big Ideas"		4:33
12.	"Los Reyes Católicos (Reprise)"		3:43

Bonus tracks (2009 Cherry Red Records Reissue)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"All of the Angels"		4:31
14.	"The Madness of Roland"		5:10
15.	"Queen of Compromise"	Roland Orzabal, Alan Griffiths, Brian MacLeod, Jebin Bruni, Gail Ann Dorsey	3:57
16.	"Until I Drown"		3:23
17.	"War of Attrition"		3:45
18.	"Raoul and the Kings of Spain (Acoustic)"		4:29
19.	"Break It Down Again (Acoustic)"		3:14

Due to the band's label switch to Sony in 1995, none of the B-sides from the album's singles (tracks 13-17 on the 2009 reissue) are included on the Tears for Fears B-sides collection Saturnine Martial & Lunatic, which was released in 1996 by PolyGram, the band's old record company.

Personnel

• Roland Orzabal: Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
• Jebin Bruni: Hammond Organ
• Gail Ann Dorsey: Bass Guitar
• Alan Griffiths: Guitar, Keyboards
• Brian MacLeod: Drums, Percussion
• Jeffrey Trott: Guitar
• Oleta Adams: Guest Vocalist on "Me and My Big Ideas"
• Mark O'Donoughue: Backing Vocals