Post by Jules on Jul 20, 2021 9:59:05 GMT
TEARS FOR FEARS SOWING SEEDS OF SUCCESS
DEBORAH WILKER, Music Writer
SUN-SENTINEL
'Pretentious duo."
"Two wimps with synths."
Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal know what's been said about them. But the pair, who form the nucleus of the British outfit Tears for Fears, appear to be overcoming the criticism.
Though Orzabal and Smith have been in the music business for the better part of the past 10 years, they've released just three albums. In fact, it was four years between the release of 1985's Songs From the Big Chair and the recent set, The Seeds of Love.
The hiatus caused many to assume the group had called it a day, or simply had faded into the mysterious black hole that has swallowed many a one-hit wonder.
Because of their long layoffs and computer-generated music, Smith and Orzabal have taken it on the chin time and again from critics who find it difficult to take them seriously.
But last fall, the critical perception of Tears for Fears improved radically when the duo released The Seeds of Love.
The album, which produced the monster title hit, also ensured that the band would have at least some small commercial presence in the new decade. After all, they had come precariously close to being nothing more than a 1980s footnote.
"Yes, I'm sure many people had forgotten us," Smith said this week during a telephone interview from Argentina. The group recently completed three dates in South America as a precursor to an American tour that begins in Miami on Wednesday.
"Of course we never had intended to take so much time between albums. It just happened," said Smith.
When Songs From the Big Chair took off in such a big way, Smith said he and Orzabal agreed that a long rest would be in order following the incessant touring and interviews that accompanied the project. After a break, they started writing again in late 1986, before regrouping in the studio in 1987.
"We got together that year, started playing, and realized after several months, we really hated what we'd done."
So they scrapped everything they had -- two years of work and more than a dozen songs.
"We realized we wanted to produce the new album ourselves," Smith said. "We wanted a more accessible feel to the music."
They also wanted a female vocalist to fill out their sublime pop sound.
So Orzabal and Smith went back to Kansas City, where years ago while on tour they discovered a young pianist and vocalist named Oleta Adams playing in a hotel lobby bar.
They met again, and in a matter of days, Adams was part of the band. Back in London, the group returned to the studio for another 16 months.
"We were very lucky that Polygram didn't hang all over us," Smith said. "We know we were running late, but not until 1988 did we feel any (record company) pressure."
When The Seeds of Love finally was released late in 1989, it met with much critical acclaim. The set features several politically motivated songs as well as a few that center on Third World issues, the threat of nuclear annihilation and other social matters.
"We've never considered ourselves overtly political, but when it comes to English politics -- people like Margaret Thatcher -- you cannot just stand by and ignore all that's happening around us," Smith said.
"We know we have a method of reaching people, but we have never wanted to preach. We like to make our views palatable, music that is easy to swallow,
and I think we've done that."
The album, which features the feminist chant Woman in Chains, contains just eight tracks, but all are long, flowing numbers that stay clear of traditional pop trappings.
Because of the band's unique writing style and penchant for avoiding conventional bridge and chorus formations, many have dubbed them pompous -- throwbacks to the mid-'70s art-rock era that featured such groups as The Moody Blues and Genesis.
Critics also have accused the band of borrowing a bit too heavily from the Beatles. The recent single, Sowing the Seeds of Love, contains arrangements and several progressions that are similar to the Lennon-McCartney classic, I Am the Walrus.
"Well, yes, it was completely intentional," Smith said. "But I think we did it in such a way that people liked it.
"I read that Paul (McCartney) said on Italian television that we'd 'ripped him off.' Well, fair enough. We did. But no one should own a rhythm. No one owns any kind of music."
One aspect of the business Tears for Fears virtually does own is production of immensely colorful, strikingly creative videos.
Their Sowing the Seeds video was directed by Jim Bashfield, the creator of Michael Jackson's animated epic, Leave Me Alone.
"Jim's not cheap. We were happy to pay for it," said Smith, who added that Bashfield's creative services are unparalleled in the industry.
"I think a truly fantastic video is worth it. We spend so much time on the music, it only makes sense to have a really well-done visual translation of that music."
As far as that other vital element of visual translation goes, Smith says the band's live show will hopefully live up to its video image.
"Of course we can't duplicate the animation, but musically I think people will be pleased. We're much less tied to computers this time around, which I think will make our shows much more inviting."
-- Tears for Fears, with Debbie Harry as the opening act, is scheduled for Wednesday at Miami Arena, 721 NW 1st Ave. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $18.50. Call TicketMaster, 839-3900 (Palm Beach), 358-5885 (Broward and Dade).
DEBORAH WILKER, Music Writer
SUN-SENTINEL
'Pretentious duo."
"Two wimps with synths."
Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal know what's been said about them. But the pair, who form the nucleus of the British outfit Tears for Fears, appear to be overcoming the criticism.
Though Orzabal and Smith have been in the music business for the better part of the past 10 years, they've released just three albums. In fact, it was four years between the release of 1985's Songs From the Big Chair and the recent set, The Seeds of Love.
The hiatus caused many to assume the group had called it a day, or simply had faded into the mysterious black hole that has swallowed many a one-hit wonder.
Because of their long layoffs and computer-generated music, Smith and Orzabal have taken it on the chin time and again from critics who find it difficult to take them seriously.
But last fall, the critical perception of Tears for Fears improved radically when the duo released The Seeds of Love.
The album, which produced the monster title hit, also ensured that the band would have at least some small commercial presence in the new decade. After all, they had come precariously close to being nothing more than a 1980s footnote.
"Yes, I'm sure many people had forgotten us," Smith said this week during a telephone interview from Argentina. The group recently completed three dates in South America as a precursor to an American tour that begins in Miami on Wednesday.
"Of course we never had intended to take so much time between albums. It just happened," said Smith.
When Songs From the Big Chair took off in such a big way, Smith said he and Orzabal agreed that a long rest would be in order following the incessant touring and interviews that accompanied the project. After a break, they started writing again in late 1986, before regrouping in the studio in 1987.
"We got together that year, started playing, and realized after several months, we really hated what we'd done."
So they scrapped everything they had -- two years of work and more than a dozen songs.
"We realized we wanted to produce the new album ourselves," Smith said. "We wanted a more accessible feel to the music."
They also wanted a female vocalist to fill out their sublime pop sound.
So Orzabal and Smith went back to Kansas City, where years ago while on tour they discovered a young pianist and vocalist named Oleta Adams playing in a hotel lobby bar.
They met again, and in a matter of days, Adams was part of the band. Back in London, the group returned to the studio for another 16 months.
"We were very lucky that Polygram didn't hang all over us," Smith said. "We know we were running late, but not until 1988 did we feel any (record company) pressure."
When The Seeds of Love finally was released late in 1989, it met with much critical acclaim. The set features several politically motivated songs as well as a few that center on Third World issues, the threat of nuclear annihilation and other social matters.
"We've never considered ourselves overtly political, but when it comes to English politics -- people like Margaret Thatcher -- you cannot just stand by and ignore all that's happening around us," Smith said.
"We know we have a method of reaching people, but we have never wanted to preach. We like to make our views palatable, music that is easy to swallow,
and I think we've done that."
The album, which features the feminist chant Woman in Chains, contains just eight tracks, but all are long, flowing numbers that stay clear of traditional pop trappings.
Because of the band's unique writing style and penchant for avoiding conventional bridge and chorus formations, many have dubbed them pompous -- throwbacks to the mid-'70s art-rock era that featured such groups as The Moody Blues and Genesis.
Critics also have accused the band of borrowing a bit too heavily from the Beatles. The recent single, Sowing the Seeds of Love, contains arrangements and several progressions that are similar to the Lennon-McCartney classic, I Am the Walrus.
"Well, yes, it was completely intentional," Smith said. "But I think we did it in such a way that people liked it.
"I read that Paul (McCartney) said on Italian television that we'd 'ripped him off.' Well, fair enough. We did. But no one should own a rhythm. No one owns any kind of music."
One aspect of the business Tears for Fears virtually does own is production of immensely colorful, strikingly creative videos.
Their Sowing the Seeds video was directed by Jim Bashfield, the creator of Michael Jackson's animated epic, Leave Me Alone.
"Jim's not cheap. We were happy to pay for it," said Smith, who added that Bashfield's creative services are unparalleled in the industry.
"I think a truly fantastic video is worth it. We spend so much time on the music, it only makes sense to have a really well-done visual translation of that music."
As far as that other vital element of visual translation goes, Smith says the band's live show will hopefully live up to its video image.
"Of course we can't duplicate the animation, but musically I think people will be pleased. We're much less tied to computers this time around, which I think will make our shows much more inviting."
-- Tears for Fears, with Debbie Harry as the opening act, is scheduled for Wednesday at Miami Arena, 721 NW 1st Ave. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $18.50. Call TicketMaster, 839-3900 (Palm Beach), 358-5885 (Broward and Dade).