When Tears For Fears released Songs From the Big Chair, the two main components of the band, Roland Orzabal, and Curt Smith, had no idea that this album would be the hit it was. They followed their debut album, The Hurting, released in 1983, with Songs From the Big Chair (1985), hitting the charts with the immensity of a meteor striking the earth, as it gave fans four massively charting singles with “Shout”, “Mother’s Talk”, “Everybody Wants to Rule The World”, and “Head Over Heels”. The band was able to follow up that album with the 1989 issue of The Seeds Of Love, although not with the same fever.
If you think Tears For Fears, most fans will immediately think of “Shout”, or any of the other songs from the albums, especially the singles. In 2006, Songs From the Big Chair was reissued as a Deluxe Edition with an extra CD of remixes and edits.
On November 4, Songs From The Big Chair will be revisited in a BIG way. The set will be reissued in a variety of forms that will include vinyl LP, Blu-ray Audio (stand-alone), a single CD, a 2CD Deluxe Edition, and a MASSIVE 4CD/2DVD Super Deluxe Edition. If there was a release associated with Songs From the Big Chair, it’s on this package, That includes every remix, single, B-side, etc, even a full CD of previously unreleased material from the album and its sessions, etc. . Also included will be a 32-page booklet with the works, and a 30-page replica tour program.
The DVD in the Super Deluxe Edition contains both Stereo and 5.1 Surround upgrades, while the second DVD will offer videos, Top Of The Pops clips, Scenes From the Big Chair documentary, interview, and more (see list below).
The new audio upgrades, both Stereo, and the 5.1 Surround set was remixed and remastered by Steven Wilson!
Track-List – Songs From The Big Chair
CD1:
1. Shout
2. The Working Hour
3. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
4. Mothers Talk
5. I Believe
6. Broken
7. Head Over Heels
8. Listen 9. The Big Chair – B-Side Shout
10. Empire Building – B-Side Mothers Talk
11. The Marauders – B-Side The Way You Are
12. Broken Revisited – Ltd Cassette Version
13. The Conflict – B-Side Change
14. The Working Hour (Piano Version) – Ltd Cassette Version
15. Pharoahs – B-Side Everybody
16. When In Love With A Blind Man – B-Side Head Over Heels
17. Sea Song – B-Side I Believe
CD2: Edited Songs: 7″ Versions
1. The Way You Are – 7″ Version
2. Mothers Talk – 7″ Version
3. Shout – 7″ Version
4. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – 7″ Version
5. Head Over Heels – 7″ Version
6. I Believe (A Soulful Re- Recording) – 7″ Version
7. Everybody Wants To Run The World – 7″ Version
8. International – 7″ Versions
9. The Way You Are – Short Version
10. Mothers Talk (US Remix) – 7″ Version
11. Shout – US Single Version
12. Shout – Short Version
13. Everybody Wants To Run The World (Running Version) – Instrumental
14. Head Over Heels – Chris Hughes 7″ radio edit
15. Mothers Talk – Video version
16. Listen- Clean intro
17. Interview With Curt and Roland – B-Side Everybody Wants To Rule Rule World
CD3: Remixed Songs: 12″ Versions, Dubs and more
1. The Way You Are – Extended Version
2. Mothers Talk – Extended Mix
3. Shout – Extended Version
4. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Extended Mix
5. Broken / Head Over Heels / Broken – Preacher Mix
6. Mothers Talk – Beat Of The Drum Mix
7. Shout – US Remix
8. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Urban Mix
9. Mothers Talk – US Remix ALTERNATE (from 2CD deluxe)
10. Shout – US Dub Version
11. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Instrumental
12. Shout – Acapella
CD4: Unreleased Songs: Promos, Demos & Live tracks – At The BBC
1. Head Over Heels
2. The Working Hour
3. Broken R.Skinner
4. Live At Massey Hall
5. Mothers Talk
6. Broken/Head Over Heels
7. Memories Fade
8. The Working Hour
9. Everybody Wants To Rule The World Live At Massey Hall
10. Shout
Unreleased – Demos etc
11. Mothers Talk (RG Jones) – early mix / instrumental
12. The Way You Are (demo)
13. Broken (demo)
14. Shout (alternative mix)
15. Everybody Wants To Rule The World (alt 7″ with brass)
DVD1: 5.1 Mix / Stereo
5.1 Mix
1. Shout
2. The Working Hour
3. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
4. Mothers Talk
5. I Believe
6. Broken
7. Head Over Heels
8. Listen
Stereo Mix
1. Shout
2. The Working Hour
3. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
4. Mothers Talk
5. I Believe
6. Broken
7. Head Over Heels
8. Listen
DVD2:
Scenes For The Big Chair documentary
1. Chris Hughes interview from “Scenes” DVD
2. Tears For Fears at the BBC
3. The Way You Are – TOTPs 22/12/83
4. Mothers Talk – TOTPs 16/8/84
5. Mothers Talk – TOTPs 30/8/84
6. Shout TOTPs – 03/1/85
7. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Wogan 13/3/85
8. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – TOTP Mar 85
9. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – TOTP April 85
10. The Working Hour – Wogan 11/12/85
11. Videos
12. The Way You Are
13. Mothers Talk
14. Shout
15. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
16. Head Over Heels
17. I Believe
18. Mothers Talk (US version)
19. Mothers Talk (alternative UK video)
This is indeed great news. I only hope that the DVD with the 5.1 mix will be offered for separate purchase. Mr. Wilson offered a separate purchase for the DVD-A with his 5.1 mix of the Yes album when he did this mix a few months back. It was terrific, BTW :) .
Does anyone know if this will be in DVD-Audio format?
I’ll pick up the Blu ray audio if I have to for the surround mix, but would prefer the DVD-Audio ;) .
Jon
Man Steven Wilson is about the best thing to happen to classic rock since the amplifier. I wish there were more artists/producers etc, willing to take on these “for the love of music” projects that must have razor thin profit margins. I was never a big fan of TFF but I’ll pick this up since it is being released as a stand-alone Blu-ray with 5.1 mix.
I’d say the same for the Jethro Tull, Warchild disc as well.
You said it Bill! Such a missed opportunity is the advent of surround sound. It could bring back so many folks like me who have mostly stopped buying music in any physical form due to either lack of interest or being able to download what we want in a (mostly) non-physical form.
So many classic albums out there that I would buy in a heartbeat if they were redone in surround sound…I’m still fuming that the apparently done 5.1 mixes of Fleetwood Mac’s “White” album and Tusk were never released :( …
Also love to see the rumored Steely Dan 5.1 mixes for their classic albums!
Maybe someday… :)
WOW!!!
If the Blu-ray has the 5.1 in hi-res, that would be spectacular!!!
Hurrah for Steven Wilson. It would be nice if he also visited their next album, “The Seeds of Love,” with it’s rich arrangements. That album has been in my top 5 “needs surround treatment” list for a long time (and it moved up a slot after Roger Waters “Amused to Death” was announced in surround – whenever they actually get it out).
If only they would just put out all the stuff sitting on the shelves, it would solve a lot of our other problems.
LJ, Yeah, I was hoping to be enjoying Amused to Death about right now but here we sit still waiting.
If I could choose one album to have done in 5.1 it would be ELO’s Out Of The Blue. Of course I could list about 500 albums that I would preorder immediately if they were to be released in surround.
Jon,
I am hoping Audio Fidelity might be the catalyst to release some of these on the shelf 5.1 albums. They seem to be going after the low hanging fruit with their first 5.1 releases. Getting albums that have already been mixed in 5.1 and putting them out. Top of the list of rumored “been mixed but not released” albums for me is Aerosmith Rocks.
Then there’s the finished 5D (Byrds), Rocks, the Steely Dan albums, and more… Finished for many years.
Get ’em out!!! It would be the perfect continuation of Blu-ray audio. They could actually capture the 5.1 crowd that has fallen asleep over the past couple of years, due to the lack of releases. It would also have the potential of attracting a new audience at this stage of the game.
And, my list of albums that “should be in surround” is very long, but there are a couple of favourites that I wish they would do. Some of them come around once in a while. The album in this posting is one of them (and “Amused”). There have been some great releases in the last couple of years, and most of them have had Steven Wilson’s name on them, so I haven’t given up hope quite yet. But it would be really nice for them to re-issue some of the deleted titles and dust off the shelf material to give the entire “blu-ray audio” marketing machine a swift kick in the pants.
Here’s hoping…