Roland has gone through tough times. Losing his wife of so many years has got to be brutal. I saw him six years ago and he is still looked very youthful. I think all of this has taken a toll on him and has aged him substantially. I do like that he embraces it instead of trying to fight it though.
Tears For Fears
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Roland has gone through tough times. Losing his wife of so many years has got to be brutal. I saw him six years ago and he is still looked very youthful. I think all of this has taken a toll on him and has aged him substantially. I do like that he embraces it instead of trying to fight it though.
As someone that has adored Tears for Fears since I was a 4-year old, I have to say this new single is great for Tears For Fears fans. It has all the swagger and bells and whistles of a Tears for Fears record but am I wrong in saying that it is unlikely to break ground with new audiences? I just find the melody quite pedestrian but absolutely LOVE the production. On headphones, it sounds great.
Yeah you can now understand partly why it has taken so long for this album to surface. Personal problems and trauma with the sad decline in his wife's health and her passing, along with difficulties with management companies and him and Curt reconnecting again. I wonder if this will be the final TFF album or whether they will now become more productive. Obviously can't wait another 17 years next time.
I don't think any 'heritage acts' new music is going to be allowed to reach a younger/newer audience these days anyway as there aren't the channels open to them anymore to get their music expose to them in the same way (eg radio 1 air play, TOTP exposure etc).
I imagine a more commercial single maybe released to radio in Jan/Feb before the album which may gain more interest from older fans or people who like Mad World and may tempt them in to buying or streaming the album. Guess its all about ticket sales but i'm sure they hope the album sales and chart position are more positive than Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, otherwise it really would be depressing.
It all makes sense now why it's taken so long for them to follow up the greatest hits, when the album was apparently ready to go, this is tragic, I had no idea.
I knew about the terrible stuff with Roland's wife passing, but that seems to be only part of it. Life is so shit.
Here is the weird thing though. I did not realize he and Curt fell out again or had some distance from each other. I saw the two of them together at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester (an hour north of New York City) a few years ago and they put on a dynamite performance together. Roland looked visibly younger. Coming to think of it, I have seem them twice in the last 5 years - the second was at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens (New York).
So your comment on heritage acts not being allowed to reach a younger/newer audience is a thought-provoking one. In fact, in an interview several years ago with the Guardian, Curt Smith said something along the lines of "making more music as Tears For Fears is a money-losing proposition" - and it was the exact reason that you mentioned - namely that music from legacy acts is dead on arrival. That being said, when this music is played alongside newer music by newer artists, it is fascinating to see the response. I manage an online radio station (that broadcasts globally) and am the playlist manager for it. The playlists are a juxtaposition of old and new as well as new music by legacy artists such as Tears For Fears - and the audience is as young as folks in their 20s up until those in their late 50s. It was quite interesting getting a reaction of younger listeners that gravitated to songs such as "I love you but I'm lost" by Tears for Fears and "Pressure Off" by Duran Duran - not realizing that these bands were still making music. The funniest message I got was from a listener in Scranton (Pennsylvania) saying she loved a new song called "Magnetized" by a "new band" called Johnny Hates Jazz. I think the medium matters. I don't see younger folks gravitating to a music video with aging dudes singing - but when you take the image out and just have the music featured alongside that of more familiar new artists, it is fascinating how people respond. That being said, while as a Tears For Fears fan, I like 'Tipping point", I don't see a younger listener with no concept of the band's legacy gravitating to this. This song benefits from the Tears For Fears halo and does not necessarily stand on its own. That works for me but is unlikely to work for a non-fan or casual fan.
From a chart perspective, I hope it does better than "Everybody loves a happy ending". That was actually quite a polarizing album. Besides "Secret world", I could not get into anything else from that album - and I am not one of those that cannot move past 80s Tears For Fears.
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Just before UK tour started, there were twitter posts from Curt indicating there was uncertainty that he would be joining the tour. He made it clear that he wanted to but it wasn’t his call. It could have been something visa related but from what they have said now, it was probably due to frosty relations between the pair.
I've just heard the radio edit and it starts with a line from the chorus and then goes into part where the song gets going after the minute build up, I need this for my play list.
Oh dear! Definitely the relationship could not have gotten as bad as it did after the Seeds of Love tour which is when Curt quit. The guy didn't talk until 2002 and it's not only because they had combined business assets in the UK that required sorting out that put them talking to each other again. Apparently Roland sorted it out and then Curt sent him an e-mail thanking him and asking him to call. This second bump could not have been that bad.
Does anyone know what happened to Tears For Fears keyboardist Ian Stanely? He was in Tears For Fears as a minor member for the first 2 albums and left during the recording of the 3rd. I know he produced the amazing album Octopus for the Human League in 1995. I'd love for him to be back with Tears For Fears.
"Stanley has produced such artists as Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, A-ha, The Pretenders, Howard Jones, Ultra, Republica, Naimee Coleman, Stephanie Kirkham, Natalie Imbruglia, Propaganda, The Human League and Tori Amos.[8][9][10][11] He also contributed to The Sisters of Mercy re-recording of "Temple of Love" and additional production on "Under The Gun".[1] Stanley also did A&R for Warners East West Records but left in 1998.[12]
Stanley's most recent work was producing The Beautiful South's album Superbi (2006), in part at his studio in Enniskerry, County Wicklow"
(Yes I used wiki). He did turn up on last year's "Classic Albums" doc for Big Chair, so obviously he's still alive and hopefully healthy!
New single! I really like it!
I think TFF are in quite an unusual position where they do appeal across the generations now, probably the only 80s originated act who have done that? I would wager it’s from a) lots of US touring, b) significant credibility from the first three albums still echoing through the years and c) some reasonably timeless new material?
yeah great new single. I think i prefer it to Tipping Point. Obviously neither are obvious singalong catchy singles but both within the context of an album I think will be quite epic. No Small Things doesn't sound like typical TFF either which I kind of like.
Yes, I like that it’s not the typical sound you expect from them. I like it when older artists take a chance out of their comfort zone. Sometimes they can get stuck in a rut just doing what people expect.
Love both the new tracks, excited for this album.
Great interview with them about the making of the album!
https://superdeluxeedition.com/interview/tears-for-fears-on-their-new-single-no-small-thing/
https://superdeluxeedition.com/interview/tears-for-fears-on-their-new-single-no-small-thing/