Songs from the Big Chair

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Songs From the Big Chair
Studio album by Tears for Fears
Released 25 February 1985
Recorded 1983–1984
Genre Rock, New Wave
Length 41:19
Label Phonogram Records (UK)
Mercury Records (U.S.)
Producer Chris Hughes
Tears for Fears chronology
The Hurting
(1983)		 Songs From the Big Chair
(1985)		 The Seeds of Love
(1989)
Singles from Songs From the Big Chair
  1. "Mothers Talk"
    Released: August 1984
  2. "Shout"
    Released: November 1984
  3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
    Released: March 1985
  4. "Head Over Heels"
    Released: June 1985
  5. "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)"
    Released: September 1985

Songs from the Big Chair is the second album by the British rock band Tears for Fears. It was released in 1985 on Phonogram Records, and remains their highest selling album to date. The album peaked at no.2 in the UK (where it remained in the Top 10 for over six months and in the Top 40 for over a year) and reached no.1 (for five weeks) in the US. It contained a string of international hit singles, including: "Mothers Talk", "Shout", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Head Over Heels".

Contents

[edit] Background and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars [1]
Robert Christgau (B) [2]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [3]

The album title was derived from the 1976 television film Sybil about a woman with multiple personality disorder who only feels safe when she is sitting in her analyst's "big chair".

The record remains highly regarded:

In the loping, percolating "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", Tears for Fears perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-'80s while impossibly managing to also create a dreamy, timeless pop classic. Songs From the Big Chair is one of the finest statements of the decade.[4]

Once the band had finished a lengthy touring and promotion schedule for the album, they took an extended hiatus from the music industry. In 1989, their third album, The Seeds of Love, marked their return. A companion video documentary entitled "Scenes from the Big Chair" was released in late 1985.

The album has been included in the book compilation 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

[edit] Re-issues

In 1998, MFSL remastered and re-issued the album with two bonus tracks ("Shout" [Extended Mix] and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" [Extended Mix]).

The album was remastered and re-issued on CD in 1999 with bonus tracks, including b-sides and remixes. Three of the tracks ("The Conflict", "The Marauders" and "Broken Revisited") are actually from the The Hurting period.

The album was re-released again in a Deluxe Edition 2-disc format in 2006 with the full collection of B-sides and many alternate versions and remixes of the album's tracks.

[edit] Track listings

[edit] Original release

  1. "Shout" (Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley) – 6:33
  2. "The Working Hour" (Orzabal, Stanley, Manny Elias) – 6:31
  3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (Orzabal, Stanley, Chris Hughes) – 4:11
  4. "Mothers Talk" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 5:06
  5. "I Believe" (Orzabal) – 4:54
  6. "Broken" (Orzabal) – 2:38
  7. "Head over Heels/Broken (live)" (Orzabal, Curt Smith) – 4:32
  8. "Listen" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 6:54

1999 remastered CD bonus tracks:

  1. "The Big Chair" (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes) – 3:21
  2. "Empire Building" (Smith, Orzabal, Stanley) – 2:52
  3. "The Marauders" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 4:16
  4. "Broken Revisited" (Orzabal) – 5:16
  5. "The Conflict" (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley) – 4:05
  6. "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix) – 4:13
  7. "Shout" (U.S. remix) – 8:02
  • "Head over Heels/Broken (live)" is erroneously listed as "Head over Heals/Broken (Live)" on the remastered CD.
  • "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix) on the remastered CD is the correct version of this remix, but has had additional reverb applied to it. The 1999 remaster is the only CD on which this "extra reverb" version can be found.

[edit] Deluxe edition (2006)

[edit] Disc one

  1. "Shout" – 6:33
  2. "The Working Hour" – 6:31
  3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" – 4:11
  4. "Mothers Talk" – 5:06
  5. "I Believe" – 4:54
  6. "Broken" – 2:38
  7. "Head over Heels/Broken (live)" – 5:02
  8. "Listen" – 6:54
  9. "The Working Hour" (piano version) – 2:08
  10. "The Marauders" – 4:16
  11. "Empire Building" – 2:52
  12. "The Big Chair" – 3:21
  13. "Pharaohs" (single version) (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes) – 3:43
  14. "When in Love with a Blind Man" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 2:22
  15. "Sea Song" (Robert Wyatt) – 3:51
  16. "Broken Revisited" – 5:16

[edit] Disc two

  1. "The Way You Are" (7" version) (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley ,Elias) – 4:49
  2. "Mothers Talk" (short version) – 3:53
  3. "Shout" (edit) – 4:03
  4. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (7" version) – 4:08
  5. "Head over Heels" (Dave Bascombe 7" Mix) – 4:15
  6. "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" – 4:41
  7. "Mothers Talk" (remix) – 4:13
  8. "Shout" (U.S. remix) – 8:02
  9. "Shout" (Dub remix) – 6:49
  10. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (Urban Mix) – 6:06
  11. "Mothers Talk" (Beat of the Drum Mix) – 8:54
  12. "Broken/Head over Heels/Broken" (Preacher Mix) – 8:00
  • Track 4 was intended to be "Everybody Wants to Run the World" but was mistakenly replaced by a repetition of the album version (incorrectly labeled as the '7" version', but such a version does not exist); the album's liner notes confirm this.
  • Track 7 is labeled "U.S. remix" on the packaging but is in fact a different version from the real "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix) on the original vinyl singles. On CD, the real "U.S. remix" can be found on the compilations The Millennium Collection: The Best of Tears for Fears and Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Additional personnel

  • Dave Bascombe – engineer
  • "Shout": Sandy McLelland – backing vocals, Chris Hughes – drums
  • "The Working Hour": Jerry Marotta – percussion, William Gregory – saxophone solos, Mel Collins – saxophone, Andy Davis – grand piano
  • "Everybody Wants to Rule the World": Neil Taylor – second guitar solo
  • "Mothers Talk": Stevie Lange – backing vocals
  • "I Believe": William Gregory – saxophone
  • "Broken": Neil Taylor – guitar solo
  • "Head Over Heels": Sandy McLelland – backing vocals, Andy Davis – grand piano, Annie McCaig – backing vocals, Marilyn Davis – backing vocals
  • "Listen": Marilyn Davis – operatic vocal

[edit] Charts and certifications

[edit] Album

Chart Country Provider(s) Peak
position		 Certification Sales
UK Albums Chart[5] United Kingdom BPI 2 3x Platinum[6] 900,000+
Austrian Albums Chart[7] Austria IFPI Austria 22
Canadian Albums Chart[8] Canada CRIA 1 7x Platinum[9] 700,000+
French Albums Chart[citation needed] France SNEP 12
Media Control Charts[citation needed] Germany IFPI Germany 1 Gold[10] 250,000+
MegaCharts[citation needed] Netherlands NVPI 2 Platinum[11] 50,000+
New Zealand Albums Chart[12] New Zealand RIANZ 2
Norwegian Albums Chart[13] Norway IFPI Norway 17
Swedish Albums Chart[14] Sweden IFPI Sweden 25
Swiss Albums Chart[15] Switzerland IFPI Switzerland 5
US Billboard 200[16] United States RIAA 1 5x Platinum[17] 5,000,000+

[edit] Singles

Year Single Chart Peak
1984 "Mother's Talk" UK Singles Chart 14
Irish Singles Chart 23
1985 New Zealand Singles Chart 50
1984 "Shout" UK Singles Chart 4
1985 Austria Top 40 6
Canadian Singles Chart 1
Dutch Mega Single Top 100 1
French Singles Chart 21
German Media Control Charts 1
Irish Singles Chart 5
Norwegian VG-lista 5
New Zealand Singles Chart 1
Swedish Singles Chart 16
Swiss Albums Chart 1
US Billboard Hot 100 1
Year Single Chart Peak
1985 "Everybody Wants
to Rule the World"		 UK Singles Chart 2
Austria Top 40 19
Canadian Singles Chart 1
Dutch Mega Single Top 100 2
French Singles Chart 18
German Media Control Charts 11
Irish Singles Chart 2
New Zealand Singles Chart 1
Swiss Charts 13
US Billboard Hot 100 1
1985 "Head Over Heels" UK Singles Chart 12
Canadian Singles Chart 8
Dutch Mega Single Top 100 29
German Media Control Charts 55
Irish Singles Chart 5
New Zealand Singles Chart 12
US Billboard' Hot 100 3
Year Single Chart Peak
1985 "I Believe (A Soulful
Re-Recording)"		 UK Singles Chart 23
Irish Singles Chart 10
New Zealand Singles Chart 28
1986 "Mother's Talk" Canadian Singles Chart 87
US Billboard Hot 100 27
Preceded by
No Jacket Required by Phil Collins
"Reckless" by Bryan Adams		 Billboard 200 number-one album
13 July 1985 – 3 August 1985
24 August 1985		 Succeeded by
Reckless by Bryan Adams
"Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits

[edit] References

  1. ^ Swihart, Stanton. "Songs f=From the Big Chair review - Tears for Fears". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r19757. Retrieved 23 October 2009. 
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (28 May 1985). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (Village Voice Media). http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv5-85.php. Retrieved 9 January 2012. 
  3. ^ Shewey, Don. "Songs From the Big Chair review - Tears for Fears". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/tearsforfears/albums/album/104567/review/6067723/songs_from_the_big_chair. Retrieved 23 October 2009. 
  4. ^ Swihart, Stanton (17 February 1985). "((( Songs from the Big Chair > Overview )))". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r19757. Retrieved 15 June 2010. 
  5. ^ "British Tears for Fears chart positions". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=520. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  6. ^ "British certificates: searchable database". BPI. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  7. ^ "Austrian Tears for Fears chart positions". austriancharts.at. http://austriancharts.at/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tears+For+Fears. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  8. ^ "Canadian Songs from the Big Chair chart positions". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5&q1=%22Songs+from+the+Big%22&q2=Top++Albums%2FCDs&interval=36&x=53&y=7. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  9. ^ "Canadian certificates: searchable database". CRIA. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  10. ^ AT LEAST ONE OF artist or title MUST BE PROVIDED for GERMAN CERTIFICATION.
  11. ^ "Dutch certificates: searchable database". NVPI. http://www.nvpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60461. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  12. ^ "New Zealand Tears for Fears chart positions". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tears+For+Fears. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  13. ^ "Norwegian Tears for Fears chart positions". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tears+For+Fears. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  14. ^ "Swedish Tears for Fears chart positions". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tears+For+Fears. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  15. ^ "Swiss Tears for Fears chart positions". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tears+For+Fears. Retrieved 23 December 2009. 
  16. ^ "American Tears for Fears album positions". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/tears-for-fears/chart-history/5826?f=305&g=Albums. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  17. ^ "American certificates: searchable database". RIAA. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
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