Tears for Fears Album: “Elemental”

Tears for Fears were one of the rare pop groups whose music survived the 80's image and still sounds great today. After the classic "Seeds of Love", the duo broke up. Roland Orzabel recorded this follow up without Curt Smith. While the music is missing some of the vocal balance of their previous work, this CD contains one of their best songs: "Break It Down Again". Part of the song lyrics below show the introspection the band is famous for:

"It's in the way you're always hiding from the light, See for yourself you have been sitting on a time bomb, No revolution maybe someone somewhere else, Could show you something new about you and your inner song - And all the love and all the love in the world, Won't stop the rain from falling, Waste seeping underground - I want to break it down....Break it down again"

The rest of the CD has some great moments as well, and typical of the band, the lyrics and songwriting is well above the meaningless chatter of most pop songs.

The title track "Elemental" , and the driving "Dog's a Best Friends Dog" are on par with their previous work, while the smooth and moody "Gas Giants" sounds like an updated "Working Hour" intro. Of particular note is "Fish Out of Water" an obvious slam on his departed band mate.

While the music always takes me back to Virginia, and my grad school days, it still sounds up to date as well. A great addition to your collection.

Once free of the deadweight that the band carried with them through "Seeds of Love" and "Soul on Board" (Released only in England), Tears for Fears , now comprised of Roland Orzabal (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Alan Griffiths (keyboards, guitar), began producing truly creative music. "Elemental" is the beginning of the New Tears for Fears, and a daring start at that. Its general tone is one of ethereal keyboards and lyrical guitars, in the manner of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." Roland Orzabal has one of the best voices in current rock music, which can be anything from wistful and quiet to deep and powerful, and his compositional skill is no less admirable. Some highlights from the album are "Cold," a guitar-driven song about the desire for solitude, "Fish Out of Water," a scathing attack on former member Curt Smith ("With all your high class friends you think you've got it made / the only thing you made was that tanned look on your face"), and "Goodnight Song," a wistful recollection. Definitely worth the purchase.

"Elemental" is quite more than that, as a matter of fact. Not only does it introduce the band to a new decade, after the eighties during which they harvested one hit after another. It is the first TFF album after Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal parted ways, leaving the latter to produce arguably one of the best albums of the band... makes you wonder how much did Smith actually contribute to their sound, but that is just speculation, or maybe not?

As for the album specifically, though "Break it Down Again" is the track that made it famous, it's far from the best song. The opening track is fabulous. "Mr. Pessimist" and "Gas Giants" both remind of Talk Talk, which is to say a lot to me, considering they are one of my favorite acts. And "Brian Wilson Said" and the closing track leave you more than wanting more: they show the great musicianship and songwriting that will continue to make Roland Orzabal legendary.

Simply put, this is an album not to leave on the table. It belongs in the shelves of any serious music collector. Get it so you can "get it".

This is by far the best Tears For Fears album ever made, it's darker and edgier than their previous (jamming)fluff of the 80's. "Elemental" is musically, lyrically, meaningfully, sonically superior to almost anything the bowel of the 90's polluted us with. It's a shame most people don't like to be challenged a little musically. Boring, woe is me, all sound the same grunge knocked this brilliant gem off the airwaves along with (I.Q. of 70 degrees on a warm day) rap. This CD jams! every song! what more could you possibly want?

This is the first album done since Roland Orzabal's break-up with Curt Smith, however retaining the Tears for Fears name and Roland being the sole member of the band. After listening to this wonderful album, I see really who the driving force behind Tears for Fears really is and that there was no need to keep Curt Smith, eventhough he held his own very well during his years with Roland. Roland Orzabal proves in this album who the real leader of this band was all these years. I particularly liked the following songs: Cold, Fish out of water, and Goodnight song, perhaps some of the best songs made in 1993. The hit song, Break it down again is cool, but not as good as those others mentioned and with respect to the rest of the songs they are quite good. Hey I was about to give five stars, but Mr Pessimist and Dog's a Best Friend's Dog reforced me to go down a notch. Still an enthusiasic thumbs up here.