Everybody Loves a Happy Ending

Last updated

Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending.png
Studio album by
Released14 September 2004
Recorded2001–2004
StudioCharlton's Garage (Sherman Oaks, California); Sound City Studios (Van Nuys, California); O'Henry Sound Studios (Burbank, California); Old Soul Studios (Catskill, New York).
Genre
Length54:35
Label New Door
Producer
  • Tears for Fears
  • Charlton Pettus
Tears for Fears chronology
Saturnine Martial & Lunatic
(1996)
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
(2004)
Secret World Live in Paris
(2006)
Singles from Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
  1. "Closest Thing to Heaven"
    Released: 21 February 2005 [1]
  2. "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending/Call Me Mellow"
    Released: 13 June 2005 [2]

Everybody Loves a Happy Ending is the sixth studio album by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 14 September 2004 in the United States and on 7 March 2005 in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Contents

The album marked Tears for Fears' comeback following a hiatus in the late 1990s, as well as the return of founding member Curt Smith. However, it performed modestly on the UK and US music charts compared to the band's previous records. The band focused primarily on touring in the years following Everybody Loves a Happy Ending's release, with a follow-up album not being completed until nearly eighteen years later.

Release

Work on the album began in 2000, after Orzabal and Smith ended their longstanding feud. The album was originally due for release in 2003 on the Arista label, but personnel changes in the label's management (namely the departure of L.A. Reid who had signed the duo) led to the band breaking ties with the label before any music was commercially released, with the record company only pressing up a number of red vinyl promos. [3] As Orzabal and Smith own the copyright, they left Arista without having to re-record the album and struck up a number of deals to release the record with various independent/heritage record labels around the world. The album eventually surfaced in the US in 2004 when it was released on the New Door label (a subsidiary of Universal Music), and in the UK in 2005 on the British independent label Gut Records. In 2020, after Orzabal and Smith signed with Irving and Jeff Azoff's Full Stop management company the record appeared on various streaming services worldwide.

According to SoundScan figures, the album had sold 99,000 copies in the US by January 2008. [4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 65/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Austin Chronicle Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Blender Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Drowned in Sound 5/10 [9]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Scotsman Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Uncut 4/10 [15]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending has an average score of 65 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [5]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everybody Loves a Happy Ending"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus4:21
2."Closest Thing to Heaven"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus3:36
3."Call Me Mellow"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus3:39
4."Size of Sorrow"Orzabal4:43
5."Who Killed Tangerine?"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus5:33
6."Quiet Ones"Orzabal4:22
7."Who You Are"Smith, Pettus3:41
8."The Devil"Orzabal3:30
9."Secret World"Orzabal5:12
10."Killing with Kindness"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus5:25
11."Ladybird"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus4:50
12."Last Days on Earth"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus5:41
Bonus tracks (British, French, and Italian releases)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Pullin' a Cloud"Orzabal, Dorsey, MacLeod2:48
14."Out of Control"Orzabal, Smith, Griffiths, Pettus5:08

Notes

Personnel

Tears for Fears

Additional musicians

Orchestra on "Secret World"

Technical personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
Chart (2004–2005)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [17] 57
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [18] 86
French Albums (SNEP) [19] 28
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [20] 35
Italian Albums (FIMI) [21] 68
Scottish Albums (OCC) [22] 60
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [23] 48
UK Albums (OCC) [24] 45
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [25] 10
US Billboard 200 [26] 46

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