The Best of Tears for Fears

TFF is one of my favorite 80s bands and I’ve decided to compile a list of my favorite songs and explain why I love them so much with a review of the lyrical content and music. 

However, in order to truly understand TFF, comprehension of Arthur Janov’s theory of primal therapy is required. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, the duo comprising TFF, are both advocates of primal therapy, even naming their band after Janov’s suggestion, “tears as replacement from fears.” Indeed, TFF released their debut album, The Hurting to spread primal therapy to a wider audience and make enough money to finance a trip to America to undergo it. Primal therapy is essentially an approach to mental health involving taking the patient back to the “primal” or first experience of a repressed emotion or feeling. After the patient sees how this crucial first experience has contaminated their view of their whole life, some patients respond with sobs, cries, and for the intense repressed emotions, screams. “Shout” from the album, Songs from the Big Chair is an allusion to primal screaming and its supposedly beneficial aspects towards healing. According to Janov’s observations, the reliving of repressed feelings allows one to feel them properly, because the circumstances in which they were first experienced pressed them into the unconscious storage of repression. One must seek therapy because these blocked out experiences haunt us at any similar situation that resembles the original or primal experience. In order to receive primal therapy, one must learn to feel, which requires one to truly want to learn and break through old habits. 

Primal therapy is not widely accepted by mainstream psychology and psychotherapy. Some accuse Janov of being overly reductionist because he believed all neuroses had a primal cause and responded to the same treatment. Researchers in psychotherapy also argue that primal therapy doesn’t provide outcome studies to substantiate its effectiveness and it fails to sufficiently take into account transference, which is the unconscious redirection of feelings and desires that are repressed. Furthermore, the critics argue that cathartic release through violent behavior or screaming does not eliminate the neurosis. In spite of being seen as a New Age therapy by mainstream psychology, primal therapy has prominent advocates, such as John Lennon, Yoko Ono, James Earl Jones, and Roger Williams. 

Now that one clearly sees the influence of Janov on TFF, the meanings of their songs becomes rather obvious in many cases. Indeed, the debut album, The Hurting, is all about the angst of adolescence, a recent experience for the then-young band. Now I shall proceed to list my favorite tracks from the aforementioned studio album. 

“Memories Fade”
A great song featuring saxophone and the usual great vocals of TFF. Also sampled by Kanye for “Coldest Winter.” “Memories fade but the scars still linger.”

“Change”
Great song from TFF’s debut album. Roland considered the lyrics to be “cheap pop lyrics” and yes, they are somewhat meaningless, mainly the “where does the end of me become the start of you?” Despite the lyrics, the music is great synth-pop.

“Start of the Breakdown”
Referring to the primal scream with lyrics such as, “scratch the earth, dig the burial ground.” The song is about reliving those repressed emotions to finally heal. The song’s meaning could also be related to Roland’s father, who had several nervous breakdowns, which could explain “I can’t understand you.”

“Mad World”
My favorite TFF song of all, it was written by Roland while observing the people through his window in his flat in Bath. It was also featured in the cult film, Donnie Darko. 

My favorite tracks off of Songs from the Big Chair

“Head Over Heels”
Also featured in Donnie Darko. The beautiful piano melody and awesome lyrics about a man who is head over heels in love but cannot understand why because she keeps her distance and lacks ambition. 

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
This is the song that started my love of TFF. The melody and lyrics just make this an awesome song. “Welcome to your life/There’s no turning back”

“Listen”
The most ambient track on Songs from the Big Chair, it doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the album. Spanish lyrics are incorporated in the song and the combination of vocals and the beat give it a quasi-African sound. 

“Shout”
Obviously referring to primal therapy, this anthem-like hit became one of the main TFF songs. 

The best from Seeds of Love

“Woman in Chains”
Amazing duet between the soulful Oleta Adams and Roland Orzabal. The song is about two things: sexism and domestic abuse and the need to free the feminine side of men. Freeing the feminine in males is once again an allusion to primal therapy because men must learn to feel their emotions for treatment. Of course the song is also about sexism. In the music video, a woman who has an abusive boxer husband is called “the great white hope” can be seen as a reference to the white boxer, James Jeffries, the white boxer defeated by the 1st black heavy champion, Jack Johnson, in 1910. 

“Year of the Knife”
Another favorite with an enjoyable beat and good singing. 

“Advice for the Young at Heart”
A song addressed to newlyweds, the pop melody and and lyrics show that it is a song with a real message. 

“Swords and Knives”
I really enjoy the vocals, and it sounds like another duet with Oleta and Roland. “When life begins with needles and pins, it ends with swords and knives.” I believe the song is about drug abuse that eventually causes detachment from others and can lead to violence. 



The following album, Elemental, has a few catchy songs but is an otherwise weak album. Highlights include “Elemental,” “Break It Down Again” and “Gas Giants.

Raoul and the Kings of Spain is a more interesting and challenging album for me than the last. Produced during a time of personal problems (and possibly an extramarital affair) for Roland Orzabal, the album has an obvious reference to his Spanish heritage. According to Roland, his father used to tell him and his brothers that they were related to the presidents of Argentina, something Roland considers incredibly unlikely. Raoul is also the name of his son. 

“Me and My Big Ideas”
Featuring the wonderful voice of Oleta Adams, this is my favorite song from the Raoul and the Kings of Spain album. The lyrics suggest that this song relates to the personal problems Roland experienced at the time, mainly an extramarital affair. He is telling his paramour that he can no longer see her and that is “big ideas” of love and duty to his family “won’t wash away her tears.” 


“Sketches of Pain”
A play on Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain, the song has a great flamenco guitar part near the end that reflect Roland’s Spanish heritage. 

The most recent TFF album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, is rather disappointing. The reunion of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal should have led to a stronger album, but it still has one gem. 

“Closest Thing to Heaven”
The best track off their 2004 album, this pop song about a dying loved one has a great melody and vocals. One can easily hum it and the pleasant chorus informs you that your dying love will go to a better place. 

The song, “Schrodinger’s Cat,” from Saturnine Martial & Lunatic is also a good song. The album of B-sides and previously unreleased material is actually quite interesting and deserves a couple of listens. I’m still digging the guitar, harmonica and piano near the end of “Schrodinger’s Cat.” In addition, check out “Pharaohs” for a cool B-side of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”