The Hurting | ||||
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![]() Standard cover art, originally used for the "Suffer the Children" single | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 7 March 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1981–1983 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:39 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Tears for Fears chronology | ||||
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International cover art | ||||
![]() Cover art for earlier international editions, originally used for the "Mad World" single | ||||
Singles from The Hurting | ||||
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The Hurting is the debut studio album by British new wave band Tears for Fears,released on 7 March 1983 by Mercury Records distributed by Phonogram Inc. The album peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week of release and was certified Gold by the BPI within three weeks of release. The album also entered the Top 40 in several other countries including Canada,Germany,and Australia. It was certified Platinum in the UK in January 1985.
The Hurting is a loose concept album focusing on themes of child abuse,psychological trauma and depression. Despite its dark subject matter,the album was a huge commercial success. It contains Tears for Fears' first three hit singles –"Mad World","Change",and "Pale Shelter" –all of which reached the top five in the UK and the Top 40 internationally. It also contains a new version of the band's first single,"Suffer the Children",which had originally been released in 1981,while the album version of "Pale Shelter" is also a new recording. The album initially received mixed reviews but attracted retrospective critical acclaim.
The album was remastered and reissued in 1999,and included four remixes as bonus tracks and an extensive booklet with liner notes about the album's creation. A 30th anniversary reissue was released on 21 October 2013,in both double-CD and deluxe four-disc boxed set editions. For the album's 40th anniversary,new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound Blu-ray remixes by Steven Wilson,as well as a remastered vinyl edition of the original mix,was released in June 2023. [5]
The songs were written by Roland Orzabal inspired by his own childhood traumas and the primal theories by Arthur Janov. Most of the songs were heavily inspired by the writings of Janov. "Ideas as Opiates" was named after a chapter in his 1980 book "Prisoners of Pain",which also was a direct influence on the song "The Prisoner". Musical influences included Gary Numan,Talking Heads,Peter Gabriel and Joy Division. [6]
Having worked with different producers on their first two singles,they recruited Chris Hughes to produce the album. The core of the band Orzabal and Curt Smith worked in a close and democratic collaboration with producers Hughes and Ross Cullum,only using ideas all four of them agreed on. Prior to the album "Mad World",originally thought of as a single b-side,was released and became a hit single. The first two singles "Suffer the Children" and "Pale Shelter" were re-recorded for the album. [7]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Line of Best Fit | 8/10 [9] |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
PopMatters | 8/10 [11] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Record Collector | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Record Mirror | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Smash Hits | 8/10 [16] |
Uncut | 8/10 [17] |
Contemporary reviews of the album were mixed. In Smash Hits magazine,Fred Dellar gave the album a positive review and stated that "there's no doubting the talent on display." [16] In the NME Gavin Martin was scathing,stating that "this record and others like it are a terrible,useless sort of art that makes self pity and futility a commercial proposition",and that "Tears for Fears and their listeners sound like they've given up completely,retreating from the practical world into a fantasy". He described the album's music as "just the sort of doom laden dross you'd expect from the lyrics:rehashed and reheated hollow doom with a bit of Ultravox here,diluted Joy Division poured everywhere,and the title track sounding suspiciously like one of the old pompous outfits with a welter of mellotrons –Barclay James Harvest per chance?" [18] Melody Maker 's Steve Sutherland felt that "Tears for Fears's pop primal therapy tends to luxuriate in the attention it attracts,sounds ironically happy to wallow inspirationally instead of seeking exorcism". However,he observed that "the Tears for Fears formula –to translate childhood traumas into adult romance with Freudian fanaticism –is ludicrously laboured but,crucially,their lyrical lethargy is salvaged by what really sells them;their structural invention... sensibly,their suffering's usually controlled to sound smooth",and that this was the strength of the record:"The success of The Hurting lies in its lack of friction,in its safety and,for all their claims that coping with relationships has been warped beyond their ken,Tears for Fears have contrived an assured masterpiece of seduction". [19]
In the US David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that "Tears for Fears stand out among the current crop of identikit synth-pop groups by virtue of their resourceful,stylish songwriting and fetching rhythmic sway. Granted,the adolescent angst and bleak,pained romanticism of singer-instrumentalists Curt Smith and Roland Orzabel [sic] sometimes come off as an adequate imitation of Joy Division,at best. But for every lapse into sackcloth-and-ashes anguish on The Hurting,the duo's debut album,there is a heady,danceable pop tune like 'Change'... Tears for Fears may be too concerned with their own petty traumas,but it is a testimony to their refined pop instincts that they manage to produce this much pleasure from the pain." [15]
Retrospective reviews regarded the album more highly. Reviewing the 1999 reissue for Q ,Andrew Collins said,"Despite its occasional bum note,The Hurting remains a landmark work... a highly emotional pop record,at its simplest". [12] Bruce Eder of AllMusic noted that the album's success was due to "its makers' ability to package an unpleasant subject –the psychologically wretched family histories of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith –in an attractive and sellable musical format" and said "the work is sometimes uncomfortably personal,but musically compelling enough to bring it back across the decades". [8]
For the 30th anniversary edition in 2013,Danny Eccleston of Mojo pondered,"Has there ever been a more thoroughly miserable mainstream pop album than The Hurting?... Even when it is uptempo it is sombre,and at its most musically adventurous,in the cavernous minimalism of 'Ideas as Opiates' and gnarly dissonances of 'The Prisoner',it's almost unbearably bereft... But in essence,it was pop." [10] Tom Byford of Record Collector summarised the album as "a surfeit of complex ideas reflecting troubled upbringings married with immediate,infectious,hummable tunes". [13] John Bergstrom of PopMatters said that "at times,the unflinching approach works to the album's detriment,as Orzabal's songwriting skirts clichéand the obtuse,teenage poetry that some critics seized on at the time of The Hurting's release... But part of the brilliance of Hurting is that such histrionic moments are so seldom. Rather,time after time,as rendered by Orzabal and co-vocalist Curt Smith,the words connect at gut level and in sincere fashion." Calling the record "simply one of the strongest,most fully-realized albums of the early-to-mid-1980s",Bergstrom noted its influence on later acts such as Trent Reznor,Smashing Pumpkins and Arcade Fire,and concluded,"The albums that prove to be special,influential,and groundbreaking in their own time,and then in subsequent eras as well,are far and few between. Thirty years on,there is little doubt where The Hurting stands." [11]
At least three of the songs from this particular album were sampled by one of the most mainstream R&B artists. "Memories Fade" was reworked by Kanye West on his 808s &Heartbreak album into "Coldest Winter". "Pale Shelter" was sampled by The Weeknd on the song "Secrets" on his Starboy album. "Ideas as Opiates" was sampled by Drake on the song "Lust for Life",from his So Far Gone mixtape.
Mad World was covered by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules originally for Donnie Darko soundtrack,but later successfully released as a single,topping UK Singles Charts.
All songs written by Roland Orzabal.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "The Hurting" | 4:20 |
2. | "Mad World" | 3:35 |
3. | "Pale Shelter" | 4:34 |
4. | "Ideas as Opiates" | 3:46 |
5. | "Memories Fade" | 5:08 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "Suffer the Children" | 3:53 |
7. | "Watch Me Bleed" | 4:18 |
8. | "Change" | 4:15 |
9. | "The Prisoner" | 2:55 |
10. | "Start of the Breakdown" | 5:00 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Change" (New Version) | 4:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
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11. | "Pale Shelter" (Long Version†) | 7:09 |
12. | "The Way You Are" (Extended††) | 7:43 |
13. | "Mad World" (World Remix) | 3:42 |
14. | "Change" (Extended Version) | 6:00 |
Notes
Two deluxe editions of the album were released on 21 October 2013. One is a double CD comprising CDs 1 & 2 (as below), and the other is a 4-disc boxed set comprising CDs 1–3 and a DVD (as below), a book containing interviews, a new essay from Paul Sinclair about the album, a replica of a 1983 tour programme, a discography and photos. The first 500 pre-orders from the Universal Music online store also included a vinyl 7" single of "Change" in a rare earlier picture sleeve.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Hurting" | 4:16 |
2. | "Mad World" | 3:35 |
3. | "Pale Shelter" | 4:24 |
4. | "Ideas as Opiates" | 3:46 |
5. | "Memories Fade" | 5:01 |
6. | "Suffer the Children" | 3:49 |
7. | "Watch Me Bleed" | 4:15 |
8. | "Change" | 4:13 |
9. | "The Prisoner" | 2:55 |
10. | "Start of the Breakdown" | 4:57 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Suffer the Children" (Original Version) | 3:45 |
2. | "Pale Shelter" (Original Version) | 4:04 |
3. | "The Prisoner" (Original 7" Version) | 2:43 |
4. | "Ideas as Opiates" (Alternate Version†) | 3:53 |
5. | "Change" (New Version) | 4:36 |
6. | "Suffer the Children" (Remix) | 4:15 |
7. | "Pale Shelter" (Long Version) | 7:09 |
8. | "Mad World" (World Remix) | 3:39 |
9. | "Change" (Extended Version) | 5:59 |
10. | "Pale Shelter" (New Extended Version) | 6:44 |
11. | "Suffer the Children" (Instrumental) | 4:26 |
12. | "Change" (Radio Edit) | 3:58 |
13. | "Wino" | 2:23 |
14. | "The Conflict" | 4:02 |
15. | "We Are Broken††" | 4:03 |
16. | "Suffer the Children" (Demo) | 4:04 |
Notes
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Ideas as Opiates" (Peel Session 1/9/1982) | 3:48 |
2. | "Suffer the Children" (Peel Session 1/9/1982) | 4:03 |
3. | "The Prisoner" (Peel Session 1/9/1982) | 2:50 |
4. | "The Hurting" (Peel Session 1/9/1982) | 3:45 |
5. | "Memories Fade" (David Jensen BBC Session 20/10/1982) | 4:56 |
6. | "The Prisoner" (David Jensen BBC Session 20/10/1982) | 2:49 |
7. | "Start of the Breakdown" (David Jensen BBC Session 20/10/1982) | 4:00 |
8. | "The Hurting" (David Jensen BBC Session 20/10/1982) | 3:50 |
9. | "Start of the Breakdown" (Live at Oxford Apollo 8/4/1983) | 5:56 |
10. | "Change" (Live) | 4:00 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Start of the Breakdown" | 6:14 |
2. | "Mothers Talk" | 3:50 |
3. | "Pale Shelter" | 4:35 |
4. | "The Working Hour" | 6:29 |
5. | "The Prisoner" | 2:52 |
6. | "Ideas as Opiates" | 3:43 |
7. | "Mad World" | 3:36 |
8. | "We Are Broken" | 2:57 |
9. | "Head over Heels" | 4:49 |
10. | "Suffer the Children" | 4:02 |
11. | "The Hurting" | 4:24 |
12. | "Memories Fade" | 4:51 |
13. | "Change" | 4:10 |
For the 40th anniversary of The Hurting, two editions were released, both featuring a new remaster of the original album by Miles Showell. One is a half-speed vinyl edition, the other a Blu-Ray Audio disc in Paul Sinclair's SDE Surround Series, featuring the album in several formats (the aforementioned remaster; new stereo, 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos remixes by Steven Wilson and an instrumental mix of the entire album) plus two newly discovered recordings from the aborted sessions with Mike Howlett: early versions of "Mad World" and "Watch Me Bleed". [20]
There had been a previous Blu-Ray Audio disc in the High Fidelity Pure Audio series released in 2014, but this disc didn't feature any audio aside from a high resolution stereo remaster.
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Tears for Fears
Additional personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [34] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
France (SNEP) [35] | Gold | 100,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI) [36] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [37] | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands of the 1980s, and attained international chart success as part of the Second British Invasion.
The Seeds of Love is the third studio album by British pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 September 1989 by Fontana Records. It retained the band's epic sound while incorporating influences ranging from jazz and soul to Beatlesque pop. Its lengthy production and scrapped recording sessions cost over £1 million. The album spawned the title hit single "Sowing the Seeds of Love," as well as "Woman in Chains," and "Advice for the Young at Heart", both of which reached the top 40 in several countries.
Elemental is the fourth studio album by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 7 June 1993 by Mercury Records. It was the band's first album recorded following the departure of co-founder Curt Smith, with Roland Orzabal assuming sole leadership with the help of additional musicians.
Songs from the Big Chair is the second studio album by the English band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Mercury Records, distributed by Phonogram Inc. A follow-up to the band's successful debut album, The Hurting (1983), Songs from the Big Chair was a significant departure from that album's dark, introspective synth-pop, featuring a more mainstream, guitar-based pop rock sound, sophisticated production values and diverse stylistic influences, while Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley's lyrics displayed socially and politically conscious themes.
"Mad World" is a 1982 song by British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Both "Mad World" and its B-side, "Ideas as Opiates", appeared on the band's debut LP The Hurting (1983). This single was also the band's first international success, reaching the Top 40 in several countries in 1982–83.
Curt Smith is a British-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, who is best known as the co-lead vocalist, bassist and co-founding member of the pop rock band Tears for Fears along with childhood friend Roland Orzabal. Smith has co-written several of the band's songs, and sings lead vocals on the hits "Mad World", "Pale Shelter", "Change", "The Way You Are", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", and "Advice for the Young at Heart".
Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and author. He is the guitarist, co-lead vocalist, main songwriter, co-founder, and the only constant member of Tears for Fears. He is also a producer of artists such as Oleta Adams. In 2014, Orzabal published his first novel, a romantic comedy.
Raoul and the Kings of Spain is the fifth studio album by the British pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 16 October 1995 by Epic Records. Like the band's previous album, Elemental (1993), it is essentially a solo effort by Roland Orzabal, as neither album involved Curt Smith.
"Shout" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released as the second single from their second studio album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), on 23 November 1984. Roland Orzabal is the lead singer on the track, and he described it as "a simple song about protest". The single became the group's fourth Top 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 4 in January 1985. In the US, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 3 August 1985 and remained there for three weeks; also topping the Cash Box chart. "Shout" became one of the most successful songs of 1985, eventually reaching No. 1 in multiple countries.
The English new wave/pop rock band Tears for Fears have released seven studio albums, along with numerous singles, compilations and videos. Formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, the duo signed to Phonogram Records in the UK and released their first single the same year. It was not until Tears for Fears' third single, "Mad World" (1982), that they scored their first hit, and their platinum-selling debut album The Hurting (1983) was a UK number one.
"Head over Heels" is a song recorded by British band Tears for Fears for their second studio album Songs from the Big Chair (1985). The song was released by Mercury Records, as the album's fourth single – initially on 10 June 1985 in Germany and then on 14 June in the UK. It was the band's tenth single release in the United Kingdom and eighth top 40 hit in the region, peaking at number 12. In the United States, it was the third single from the album and continued the band's run of hits there, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A limited edition four-leaf-clover-shaped picture disc was issued for the single's release in the UK. The song was also an international success, reaching the top 40 in several countries.
"Suffer the Children" is the debut single by the British band Tears for Fears. Written and sung by Roland Orzabal and released in October 1981, it was the band's first release, recorded shortly after the break-up of Orzabal and Curt Smith's previous band Graduate. The original single was produced by David Lord and recorded at his own facility, Crescent Studios in Bath, England. The song would eventually be re-recorded for inclusion on Tears for Fears' debut LP The Hurting (1983), this time produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum.
"Change" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's fourth single release. It would eventually become the second hit from their debut LP The Hurting (1983) and second UK Top 5 chart hit, following the success of "Mad World". The song also gave Tears for Fears their first charting single in the United States when it cracked the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1983. "Change" was also a big international success, reaching the Top 40 in numerous countries.
"Pale Shelter" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was originally the band's second single release in early 1982. The original version of the song, entitled "Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)", did not see chart success at the time of its original UK release. However, it did later become a top 20 hit in Canada and a top 75 hit when it was reissued in the UK in 1985.
"The Way You Are" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. It was the band's sixth single release overall and their fourth UK Top 40 hit. Released as a single in November 1983, it was intended as a stopgap between the band's first and second albums, mainly to keep the group in the public eye, and was not included on the band's second album.
"Mothers Talk" is a 1984 song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley and sung by Orzabal, it was the band's seventh single release (the first to be taken from their second album Songs from the Big Chair and fifth UK Top 40 chart hit. The song was released six months in advance of the album, and enjoyed moderate success internationally.
"Advice for the Young at Heart" is a song by the English band Tears for Fears, taken from their 1989 album The Seeds of Love. It was released as the third single from the album in February 1990.
Secret World – Live in Paris is a live album by the British pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 27 February 2006 by the French record label XIII Bis.
In My Mind's Eye is a concert performance video released by the British group Tears for Fears. It was recorded in December 1983 at the London Hammersmith Odeon, and released on home video in October 1984.
The Tipping Point is the seventh studio album by the English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 2022 through Concord Records. It is the band's first studio album since Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, released almost 18 years prior. Work on the album commenced in 2013, but the project endured numerous delays and setbacks between touring; disagreements that bandleaders Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith had with their record label and management; and the death of Orzabal's wife, which influenced many of the songs on the album. The bulk of the album was completed in 2020 and 2021.