The Hurting

Tears For Fears first album, The Hurting, has only grown in its reputation over the years. At first misunderstood and dismissed, mostly by the critics, as whiny teenage angst, it’s now considered a daring and influential album, especially for a first release. At least some of the critics caught on to the fact that there were some good songwriters here. The morose lyrics were accompanied by strong melodies and intricately detailed synthesizer and instrumental mixes. This would be the strength of Tears For Fears, an uncanny ability to make serious and complex albums within which were some of the catchiest pop tunes of the 80’s.Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith had formed Tears For Fears after leaving their first group, Graduate. Graduate wore dark suits and played pop with a beat a little like Elvis Costello or XTC. Roland was the lead vocal, front and center, wearing eyeliner and occasionally pogoing as he sang, seemingly having a great time. It was clear he was the star. Curt was very much to the side on bass and was generally ignored by the TV cameras, which focused on Roland and drummer Andrew Marsden. After signing with Mercury as Tears For Fears, the label apparently changed that dynamic with Curt being the frontman in their videos and Roland relegated to a background presence until Shout. The back and forths of this dynamic would eventually lead to the breakup of the duo.Their rapid ascent had been aided by Ian Stanley, a local Somerset musician who had an eight-track studio in his home, and later added drummer Manny Elias and producer Chris Hughes. During their big years of 1985-86, all four musicians were considered bandmates in Tears For Fears though it was understood that Roland and Curt were the major members. They were a real band from the beginning, able to reproduce any song live and have it sound just like the studio version. I mention this only because the intricacy of the tracks could suggest that the music was strictly a studio creation. Depressed after unhappy childhoods in council estates (public housing), Orzabal and Smith had latched onto the ideas of Arthur Janov,after Roland was introduced to his writings by a guitar teacher. Janov’s primal scream therapy had at one time greatly influenced John Lennon and resulted in his John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band LP. To oversimplify, negative past experiences will continue to shape you until you relive them and release yourself by letting the pain out. Though the pair had hoped to make enough to afford therapy in the U.S., making the album itself was the therapy and they poured all their sorrow and pain into it.This was very daring for a group just starting out. Was there really an audience for an album named The Hurting with songs titled Watch Me Bleed and Start of the Breakdown? With not a single track that could be called a love song, it was far from the standard pop album. After two singles that failed to chart, the album’s second song, Mad World, went to number three and the album made number one. Against all odds they had succeeded and found a receptive audience (except in the U.S. where nothing caught on until Music From the Big Chair, which many people to this day think was their first album. It was America’s loss). They were helped by their obvious sincerity. This album, however dark, came from the heart and in an era when many pop acts were arch or ironic, these two were trying to really communicate something. One other thing was different as well. They weren’t suicidal or defeated. In fact it was clear they wanted to somehow make it all work out.The Hurting’s percussive minor key opening indicates right away that something is wrong here and on top of a tense, throbbing rhythm the duo announces that they’re confronting the hurting so it won’t come back. Mad World follows. It’s now better known in its eerie reimagining by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews used at the end of Donnie Darko, one of the best reworkings of a song ever. But in the original version here its emphasis is more on the fast movement of people rushing around, busily going nowhere and the traumas of childhood like the first day at school. At the second mention of Happy Birthday there is a chilling electronic effect like the cold, icy laughter of some malevolent spirit which repeats itself three more times, making the song really creepy. Pale Shelter is smooth and dynamic with Curt’s soft tenor floating above it all. It’s also a jazz-influenced song, an influence that would continue and grow in their work. Ideas as Opiates is the opposite of what went before, slow, minimal and bleak. Even now it’s difficult to listen to.Memories Fade picks up the beat and provides strong melodic material but lyrically is one of the darkes songs here. Suffer the Children sounds upbeat on its surface with a strong chorus but ends with the thought that questions being born at all “When it don’t turn out the way it should”Watch Me Bleed is a fast ride through a minor key world of torture and pain. The lyric is a bit over the top in self pity but at least we know Roland meant it. Change opens with a wonderful marimba riff and is the best dance song on the album. Still, it’s mostly in a minor key and the marimba sounds more like an ominous force when it reenters.The prisoner is a dissonant nightmare and it’s well-crafted enough to be real and involving and not some kind of stage music cliche. Where else to end but The Start of the Breakdown, another audacious move for a group trying to have their first hit album. Roland’s father had a severe breakdown that took him out of Roland’s life for years and obviously that event inspired this song. But it’s not specifically about that memory but rather the conclusion of the songs which went before it: your life will simply not work out with so much pain. Still with all these layers of percussion and synthesizer, the melancholy piano chords, it’s a compelling piece of music.The Hurting was so much more than the typically dancy new wave synth-pop music coming out of the U.K. at that time. It’s obvious that a great deal of work went into its making. It’s also, perhaps surprisingly, a really enjoyable album to listen to. The music itself is so interesting and is more forward than the lyrics. Fortunately at least the British audience got it and ignited the career of one of the 80’s best bands.This is the 1999 edition of The Hurting with four bonus tracks by Mercury (Universal). The remastering couldn’t be better. There’s a nice booklet with notes by Ian Cranna that include an interview with Roland and Curt. The bonus tracks are mostly useful for including The Way You Are, the late ‘83 stopgap single that no one liked, rushed out to have something on the charts. It’s okay but clearly un-memorable. Still, it wasn’t included on any album so fans will appreciate having it. The rest are extended versions that are not very different than the regular tracks.

For the longest time, Songs From the Big Chair was my favorite. Now it is this one. I mean for a debut album, there is just so much layering here. I don't know how much of that is the mastering, but it seems like this one was really played from the heart, and very well thought out. It might even be one of my favorite albums of all time now. It's one of those albums, you can put on loud, crawl into your favorite corner of the house with blanket on a rainy day and just bask in it's glow. Favorite songs: "Pale Shelter", "The Hurting", and the original version of "Mad World" will always be my favorite. I have had some crappy luck with some of these "remastered 180gm records". This is not one of them. Very solid product, and comes with the autorip feature too. Very recommended!

I love this album! The songs are all great and most are pretty underrated, minus Mad World, of course, and the tape came in good condition and doesn't have any issues with skipping or warping. I do find, however, that this tape in particular is pretty sensitive to cold and if I leave it in in the tape player in my car overnight rather than putting it in its case during the winter, it'll be warped when I play it the next morning, but it eventually goes back to normal as the day gets warmer.

Tears For Fears is one of my favourite bands and their debut album, "The Hurting", has a very powerful impact. It sticks to you and stays inside you. Tears For Fears have made such powerful music but it seems like this album is the one that seems to hold on more tighter thanks to the shared brilliance of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. If you can't believe me, just listen to the lyrics in this album.Each song is unique in their own way. Here are my opinions on each song;The Hurting: Roland and Curt sing together to give us an insight of their thoughts and shows us that they are people with brilliant insight. No negative thoughts in this song (Not even in the other songs).Mad World: The title says it all but Curt says that we can do something to improve it. The song still sounds relevant even to this day.Pale Shelter: An insight of Roland and Curt's pasts and sung brilliantly and thoughtfully by Curt. Beautiful piece with electric and acoustic sounds.Ideas as Opiates: Can be a little difficult to understand at first but when you get used to it, you find that Roland is singing that we should care about one another. He's right.Memories Fade: Powerful song. You can actually feel, sense, and understand Roland's moods in his voice and the arrangements are cool.Suffer the Children: The first song made by Tears For Fears, Roland brings out the "twin" to Pale Shelter. Very thoughtful song about kids not getting enough love and attention as they grow up. And the vocalizations sung near the end before Roland says; "Suffer, suffer the children" are sung by Caroline Orzabal who was and still is Roland's wife.Watch Me Bleed: An non-negative song that we can all relate to with the lyrics: "I feel so young, I feel so old" because how many of us feel like life is moving too fast? Roland sells it with his lyrics but gives us hope when he says: "I'll close my eyes, I won't complain."Change: The title says it all and Curt reminds us that "you can change." Very good song and can be fun to dance to (if you like to dance to Tears For Fears, that is).The Prisoner: Definitely the song we can all easily relate to. The lyrics speak volumes but Curt reminds us that "love sets me free" and makes us see and know that we can break away from our negative thoughts and free ourselves from our prisons.Start of the Breakdown: Roland gives us an insight about a breakdown situation with the amazing keyboard and percussion arrangements. Hits your heart and makes us really think about our relationships.That's all I can say about these songs, folks. The extra songs in this album shows how Roland and Curt were learning to make their now-famous sound (read the booklet to get an idea of how the two were learning how to do it) and also shows a couple of b-sides such as The Conflict (also shows up in the Deluxe Edition of Songs From The Big Chair), We Are Broken (later named Broken for their Songs From The Big Chair album), an early version of The Prisoner, and Wino, which was previously unreleased and is the b-side to Suffer the Children along with different versions of Pale Shelter, Suffer the Children, Change, Mad World and interesting to listen to. But I do have one last thing to say; don't underestimate Tears For Fears or the title of the album and their songs. Roland and Curt have a positive attitude which is something we should have when we listen to them even if their songs may sound sad to you. So if you're a Tears For Fears fan, buy this album (don't forget the other ones as well) and enjoy but also feel every song and moment.

This album evokes so many memories of school back in the eighties that it has become my album of choice whenever I get the need to satisfy the strange nostalgia fix that I get once in a while. I remember the day that I bought "The Hurting" on vinyl which featured the same white cover as the cd does, and the much used cliche that the smell of the vinyl and brand new album cover was irresistible applies. I can still remember exactly the place (Andy 's Records, Ipswich), weather (overcast), day (Saturday), the fact that it was early in the afternoon, and also that like every other record that I bought, I was paranoid about not creasing the cover and treated the purchase like it was gold. But enough of all that.For me, this was the best debut album by any band in the 1980's and after all these years it still sounds fresh and unique. The singles from the album "Mad World, Pale Shelter" and "Change" bring back so many memories to me and though I may be biased, they have stood up extremely well over thirty years later. In fact, I remember that the only track I struggled with as a teenager on the album was "The Prisoner", a track that wasn't as easy on the ear as the others - though I never skipped it. I always thought that in particular "Memories Fade" and "Watch Me Bleed" would have made hugely successful singles given the chance.The tracks on the cd sound fantastic and although I am usually opposed to tampering with original releases, the bonus tracks here are excellent and help round off a brilliant package. A twelve page liner includes three pages of musings from Curt and Roland regarding the songs on the cd. Lyrics from the songs on the original album have been produced in the original typeface that was on the vinyl that I bought over thirty years ago. The lyrics by the way are remarkably mature considering that this was a debut album.I recommend "The Hurting", my album of choice for nostalgia, to everyone.

Great debut album from he band remastered for 5.1 blu ray audio. Also included digital download code for mp3 version. Hits include Mad world, Pale shelter and Change

brilliant early album from the bad, but still a very good album, especially 'suffer the children' track.

The prelude to the Masterful Songs from the Big Chair is a classic in its own right with it's synth groundbreaking soundscapes and the rebellious , downbeat lyrics this album spares now punches of growing up in the 80s. Sounds incredible on a decent system turned up loud.

Tears For Fears original first album.Still stands up well over 30 years later - Mad World and Pale Shelter are simply stunning.Make sure you get the remastered double album version with the extra Demos and Rarities.One of the very best 80's groups that still sounds good and modern even all this while later.Very Highly Recommended.