Tears for Fears Album: “20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Tears for Fears”

For thirteen years I had searched for a better recording of the US remix of Mothers Talk, which I bought in 1986 as a scratchy vinyl 45, and the closest I got was another very poorly recorded version on the remastered Songs From The Big Chair with bonus tracks. This new album "completed" my TFF collection, and the quality of the Mothers Talk recording is excellent! This collection is a must-have for anyone who love the music of TFF, and particularly the US remix of MT that unfortunately received very little air-play back in 1986.

Tears For Fears are my all-time favorite band. This CD is a millenium edition of their biggest hits and also a B-Side.

Two songs on here are different from the versions on their parent album. I Believe(A Soulful re-recording) is more electronic than the Big Chair LP version and the ending is a jumble of saxophones playing. The hit version of Mothers Talk was not the parent album version, it was the remix version. The remix version is less hard and a slight bit more jazzy but actually is better than the original.

This is not a bad sampler of the best band is the world but I say go and get the Shout: Very Best of TFF. That one is a better investment.

A plus on here is the inclusion of a B-Side called Pharaohs. Pharaohs is the B-Side to Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Pharaohs is a very haunting beautiful song that samples the drum loop and several guitar structures from EWTRTW but played with different notes to give a whole different feel even with the familiar guitar and synth licks.

I in no way am dissmissing this CD but I would suggest getting the 2001 Hits Shout: Very Best Of TFF for their bigger hits and for the B-Sides get the brilliant Saturnine Martial Lunatic CD. It has eighteen B-Sides including Pharaohs. This CD is more for the newbies who want to hear a good sampler CD of TFF. On top of it all though I say get all of their CDs including Raoul And The Kings Of Spain and get Roland Orzabals brilliant solo debut Tomcats Screaming Outside.

I agree with previous reviewers who think this is best left to those who have only a marginal interest in Tears for Fears - I happen to be in that category myself.

What this collection does have going for it is that most of the songs included will be familiar to anyone who owned a radio in the 80s and early 90s. This truly is a hits collection, with very little filler. I'm particularly pleased that this includes Break It Down Again, which was not on the "Tears Roll Down" collection. The extended version of Change and the b-side Pharoahs are the only rarities included, which is fine with me. Personally, I'd rather not wade through a bunch of their album tracks - just give me the hits. If I want to hear more, I'll get the original albums. No 80s collection is complete without a little Tears for Fears, and if you're only interested in the hits, this is the one to have.

People seem to really dislike these 20th Century Masters "Best Of" collections, but they've been quite useful to me in that they have allowed me to (affordably) explore an artist's catalog beyond just the radio hits. I was familiar with the first four singles on this collection, but wanted to hear a bit more Tears for Fears material without committing to the full studio albums.

I think the record company nailed it perfectly with the Tears for Fears 20th Century Masters album. They picked the band's best known singles, added some deeper cuts, cleaned up the sound considerably, and presented them in a very affordable package. You get about an hour's worth (more than the typical 20th Century Masters disc) of material, including all of the band's radio hits, digitally remastered, all for about half the cost of the average CD.

The Best of Tears for Fears: the 20th Century Masters Millennium Collection is an ideal introduction to one of the 80's better pop acts. It provides a great overview of the band's catalog to the casual fan (like me). Even if you just want to get the band's biggest hits in one place, it's hard to beat this compilation in terms of price and sound quality.

NOTE: This compilation is also available in eco-friendly packaging (recycled paper sleeves and trays, liner notes posted online rather than including a CD booklet), for those who prefer a "greener" approach to CD buying.

Go with the "Shout" compilation - which is far superior to this.