Tears for Fears Album: “Gold [Remaster]”

I would give this collection 4 1/2 stars really, because, whilst the right songs were picked here, it covers their whole career, and the NEW song "Floating Down The River (Once Again)" + 2005 live version of "Mad World" are superb, it's a bit skimpy. Universal could have fit another 8 songs on this 2CD set. 12 songs per disc, just under an hour per disc (54+ for disc 1 and 58+ for disc 2), is just not enough.

However, compared to other collections on TFF, this one averages out to be the best of the bunch, whilst not being perfect. There was a triple Dutch Universal collection which was cool, but the trackorder was haphazard. "Shout" was cool but just 1 CD, and those Millenium collections define skimpy. "Gold" is the best of the bunch, really.

The music speaks for itself. Personal yet universal, yet never dated. More than a guilty pleasure. An artrock/new wave/Britpop hybrid that sounds like no one else. Expansive and experimental but never sounding alien or like a "Huh??" to people who listen...TFF just connects, period. From their minimal yet grandeurish rocky synthpop masterpiece 1983 debut record "The Hurting" ("Change" is one of my fave songs of all time), to the more accessable yet experimental 1985 breakthrough "Songs From The Big Chair" to the soulful, jazzy, psychedelic 1989 followup "The Seeds Of Love", the duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith made music like none other, but fame didn't suit them. Curt left the band (he released 3 albums, 1993's "Soul On Board", 1997's debut under the name Mayfield, and 1999's "Aeroplane") whilst Roland continued solo under the TFF banner for 2 more albums, 1993's "Elemental" and, switching to Epic/Sony BMG, 1995's masterpiece "Raoul & The Kings Of Spain". In 2001, Roland released his proper solo debut under his own name, "Tomcats Screaming Outside". Since 2001, there's been considerable interest in TFF's music, Gary Jules covered "Mad World" and had a #1 hit in the UK, and more. Then, Curt and Roland reconvened, put aside past differences and conflicts and reunited, releasing 2004's masterful reunion album "Everybody Loves A Happy Ending", and cue to "Gold".

This 2CD collection covers all the high points, from all TFF albums, both duo and Roland's solo records under the TFF name, with that awesome Beatlesque new song "Floating Down The River (Once Again)" with a surprising arrangement, musical twists featuring horns and funny sound effects and vocal flourishes. TFF fans will be delighted really. And, the 2005 live version of "Mad World" is awesome, with an up-to-date arrangement and a sense of grandeur that both matches and BUILDS on the 1983 original, adding more of a sense of menace not in the early version...maybe it has to do with experience???

Yes, get this collection, but also the catalogue, as you need that stuff too...there is no such thing as a bad TFF, Roland and Curt song.

The 1980's have brought us so many different kinds of performers from the New Wave scene in the U.K. While so many of them seemed like they've all been forgone conclusions, some of them have recently came around again in the music scene. That is the case with Tears For Fears. The duo of Orzobal and Smith have made so many great guilty pleasure songs from boths sides of the Atlantic, they've not only maintained as classic songs and videos, but classic in stride. Now, with the duo approaching their 25th anniversary, many have thought the sounds would never last into a great hits package. Now, a third one stretched the seeds of love.

Tears For Fears 2006 Gold is a double album anthology that delivers from square one on what made this New Wave duo a living success story. The collection includes so many great hits and covers the lesser-known record Raoul & The Kings Of Spain, and their 2004 reunion record Everybody Loves A Happy Ending. The album includes so many hits in-between from #1 standards Shout and Everybody Wants To Rule The World, to some of their broadest moving tracks like the soulful Sewing The Seeds Of Love, Their breakthrough The Hurting, Head Over Heels, and Break It Down Again from their Post Curtis Smith departure days. The songs here have all been remastered and restored very well, and still show the appeal Tears For Fears have brought through so many songs.

Although many people might be more interested in artists today like Beyonce', Usher, and Jessica Simpson, the appeal Tears For Fears created for so many, still remains just as popular today, as they were back in the 80's. This double album is a great buy for die hard fans, and for newcomers who still haven't yet heard them shout!

Album Cover: B

Songs: B+

Price: B+

Remastering: A-

Overall: B 1/2+

I was initially happy to find out that Tears for fears has a two cd collection, but was quick to be disappointed that the record company only put up 12 songs on each cd. Are you kidding me? . While the collection " Shout " excluded some geat songs at least it had 79 minutes of great songs. there was no reason for the record company not to include 36 songs on this release. We all know TFF has plenty of material to choose from.

I would include the entire first album the hurting, minus the prisoner and ideas as opiates, or at least another three or four songs from that brilliant album, and a few more songs from the big chair and sowing the seeds of love. the working hour " and "This is the year of the knife" just to mention afew. Tears for fears is my favorite band of all times and they do not have a collection out there that I feel represents their brilliance and diverse music catalogue properly. This 2 cd collection could have done so by including another 14 songs. The more appealing the package is the more customers will purchase the product. If one does not own the original releases by now, they will most likely not purchase them in the future, but a great collection with many songs and liner notes will appeal to both hard core fans and casual fans alike in my humble opinion.

I've been a big, big fan of Tears For Fears since The Hurting and everything else they've released, together or apart. I own not only vinyls but cds, 45 and cd singles, extended mixes and even some best of, remasters and greatest hits...but guys, enough already!

First there were cds of their original albums, next came a greatest hits package since they changed record labels, next came the B-sided album "Martial, Saturnine and Lunatic" an album that had songs they didn't put on their other albums. Then later they released all those albums over with the extra songs on them. Since their catalog is spread across a few labels now they have united greatest hits packages.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE Tears For Fears, they're one of my all-time favorite groups; Roland Orzabal to me is up there with Lennon and McCartney and I couldn't be happier to have the pair back together as it ripped my heart out when Curt Smith left the band.

But even a huge fan can see that it's pretty obvious what's going on here. I could understand collections with some additional tunes but aren't most albums remastered for digital cds anyway? All Tears For Fears albums are still available in several forms and none offer any real rarities or videos. I say, the best way to add to your greatest hits is record some new ones and stop repackaging what's already been repackaged.

Despite this collection being another greatest hits album their music is still great and has aged extremely well which is why I'm still giving it 5-stars.

As with all TFF products, this is exceptional. If you're a fan, you have most of the songs on other CDs, your MP3 and anywhere else you can get them. However, this is worth the price of admission just for "Floating Down the River," a boppy, Beatles-inspired song that will get you humming along from the first hearing. GREAT song that should have been released as a single.