Tears for Fears Album: “The Seeds of Love [Remaster]”

Description :

This remastered version of THE SEEDS OF LOVE includes bonus tracks. Tears For Fears: Roland Orzabal, Curt Smith. Additional personnel includes: Oleta Adams (vocals, piano); Tessa Niles (vocals); Robbie McIntosh, Neil Taylor (guitar); Kate St. John (oboe, saxophone); Peter Hope Evans (harmonica); Jon Hassel (trumpet); Nicky Holland (piano, Kurtzweil Strings, background vocals); Simon Clark (Hammond organ, synthesizer); Ian Stanley (Hammond organ); Pino Palladino (bass); Manu Katche, Phil Collins, Chris Hughes (drums); Carol Steele (percussion); Maggie Ryder, Dolette McDonald, Carole Kenyon (background vocals). Producers: Tears For Fears, David Bascombe. Reissue producer: Mike Gill. Includes liner notes by Richard Smith. Digitally remastered by Jon Astley and Chris Hughes (Close To The Edge). THE SEEDS OF LOVE completes a trilogy familiar to many careers: the tentative debut, the fully realized follow-up, and the grandiose third album. Four years in the making, it bears all the scars of struggle and indecision and is a fascinating account of a band torn between taking shelter in an MOR cocoon and fighting the zeitgeist that threatens to consign the band to the past. "Badman's Song" opts for safety, reveling in a sophisticated lethargy. "Sowing the Seeds Of Love" is an unashamed Beatles pastiche that predates Oasis' "All Over the World" by almost a decade, and the solemn "Woman in Chains" features Phil Collins whilst also introducing Oleta Adams. "Year of the Knife" is perhaps the focal point of the tension. Its admirable flamboyance makes for more fun than could be expected from a half-live, three-part, seven-minute swaggering rock & roll track packed with guitar solos. Each track is a five-minute-plus mini-drama with moments of delicacy and discomfort, restraint and excess, inspiration and creative exhaustion. As the last album to feature Curt Smith, it is a fitting end to an era. The 1998 remastered edition includes four bonus tracks.

A classic pop swan-song to the 1980's, this masterful and well-crafted piece of pop genius still resonates with me today. The music of the 80's is constantly trashed by today's musical "know-it-all's" as being too bland, faceless, and overly-produced. It's all a joke to them. My argument would be simply be, what is wrong with listening to music that has multiple layers and multiple production values? The Beach Boys did it with "Pet Sounds" in 1966, and the greatest albums from the Fab Four were all production milestones.

The 1980's were filled with great music, and many of the best groups from England were able to produce that smoky, languid, shimmering, late-at-night sounding British pop that still sounds fresh to me today. Check out Thomas Dolby's "The Flat Earth," the Blue Nile's "Walk Across Rooftops" and "Hats," Nick Heyward's "I Love You Avenue," Prefab Sprout's "Two Wheels Good," and countless others by artists such as Alphaville, Deacon Blue, and others.

"Seeds of Love" is THE definitive masterpiece of the 1980's, a devastatingly beautiful album of pop gems that was a fabulous goodbye to the decade. Every song on the CD is almost like a mini-suite in itself; there is not one even remotely unsure moment on this one, but the highlights would have to be the achingly beautiful "Swords And Knives" and the astonishing "Advice For the Young At Heart." Listen to this album on a beautiful morning with your windows down, or late at night with the moon as your only source of shadows....I predict that you will fall in love with it over and over as I have.

TFF are the best band in the entire world! The Big Chair made TFF my favorite band of all time. However the album that made TFF my favorite band in the world for good is this one, The Seeds Of Love.

SOL is the most incredible, most colorful album that I've ever heard from a rock band. It's hard to believe that the mechanical sounding Big Chair and the soul-rock sounding Seeds Of Love are by the same band.

My favorites are ever so wonderful Advice For The Young At Heart the Gospel tinged Standing On The Corner of The Third World, & the eight & a half minute jazzy blues-rock influenced Badmans Song.

Go out and by this CD. It's so worth the money and buy the remastered edition with the four bonus tracks. It's so worth the money.

Tears For Fears created some of the best popular music of the 1980s. With each new release, TFF explored new musical territory, always redefining what Tears For Fears should sound like. For my money, Roland and Curt never sounded better than they do here on The Seeds of Love.

Songs From the Big Chair was their commercial peak, but one listen to The Seeds of Love and you'll see why so many believe this was their artistic high mark. Accompanied by a stellar cast of musicians, the synthesizer driven sound of previous TFF releases takes a back seat to some truly inspired playing. Turn up track two, Badman's Song, and see if you're not blown away by the jazzy intro and vocals that quietly simmer...building and building...until an emotional, full-throttle release at song's end that will have you ready to testify. This song must have been amazing in concert.

Other highlights include the beautiful single "Woman in Chains" (with the amazing Oleta Adams on vocals), the peppy rock of "Year of the Knife," and the Beatle's homage "Sowing the Seeds of Love." This disc also has "Advice for the Young at Heart," the band's most overlooked single. Why this wasn't a Top Ten hit I'll never know. I agree with others who say this song practically moves them to tears. The vocal delivery on the chorus (Advice for the young at heart / soon we will be older / when we gonna make it work?) still gets to me everytime I hear it.

If you have one of TFF's greatest hits compilations, I'd recommend The Seeds of Love as your next purchase. The sound on the remastered version is phenomenal and the addition of four strong bonus tracks seals the deal.

I do like the Big Chair album but that album is nothing in comparison to their 1989 outing. The music is completely different from any of their previous material and has a far more Beatles influenced color to it and a more soulful sound to it.

The best song on this album is the rocking "Year Of The Knife" and the bittersweet "Advice For The Young At Heart" which brought me to tears and makes me yearn for 1989 to return, if just for one day!

It's sad that the group split after eventually disbanded for many years this album but word has it that they've reunited and things are looking up again!

Buy this album and get the remastered edition.

This is the "Sgt Pepper's" of the late 1980's, and it even looks similar! A great CD from an under-rated band. Thier range of musical styles and talent has been underappreciated because of thier being lumped into the "80's" pop band genre. Don't be misled by critics, this is outstanding from beginning to end. Of special note is the work by Oleta Adams, who was discovered by the band, and the singing of Curt Smith. Curt doesn't have the range of voice that his bandmate Roland does, but adds more soul. Also, try and get the VCD of "Going to California" which is the live tour from this release. Takes the music to an even higher level and adds some treats as well. One of the best recorded works of the 80's, and "timeless". The extra tracks are also excellent.