Tears for Fears

Saw the Tears for Fears concert last week. Brought back a lot of memories. I was introduced to TFF by my high school pal, Mike Tam (Mike, where ever you are, I hope you're well!). The Hurting had just come out the year before. The album oozed teenage angst, which matched our states of mind at the time. Me and Mike would discuss the Primal Scream theory and Jungian psychology while listening to songs like Pale Shelter and Memory Fades. The album, with its catchy synth-pop beats, gave voice to all my feelings about my childhood and my parents. Then Songs from the Big Chair came out, and catapulted the band to international fame. However I found most of the songs on that album were too middle of the road, and actually liked it less than The Hurting. When Sowing the Seeds of Love came out, I was thoroughly disappointed with its wannabe Beatles sound. So when the band announced its break-up in the early 90s, I was not too upset. The last TFF song I liked was Tears Roll Down from their Greatest Hit album that came out in '92, which was a throw-back to their earlier themes of childhood trauma, and sounded like it could have been a throw-away track from Songs from the Big Chair. Even though Roland continued to put out albums under the TFF name, none of its output matched those of the band's heyday. Not surprisingly, at the concert it was the older songs that got the biggest response. I was a little disappointed that the concert was so short, and the encore song of "Shout" a bit too predictable.