Released in 1983, Tears For Fears debut was a huge success in the UK and spawned four singles. "Pale Shelter", "Mad World", "Suffer The Children" and "Change" are probably known to many as charged expressions of angst set against amazing tunes. These tracks form the backbone of the album with slightly less commercial material strung around them. That's not to say the other tracks aren't good, but they are certainly less immediate.
The title track that opens the album features the distinctive sound of an Linn LM-1 drum machine and jangling guitars that sound as 'new wave' as it is possible to get. The song contains a great melody, but the stilted rhythms are designed to compliment the lyrics rather than pander to the radio.
"Ideas as Opiates" is barren save for a Yamaha CP-70 piano and the obligatory eighties sax solo, but it just about manages to hold my attention. Less interesting is "The Prisoner" which sounds like an OMD b-side with drum programming by Depeche Mode. By the time we reach the final song "The Start of the Breakdown" the ideas lack some polish, but everything remains entertaining.
Throughout the album vocal duties are shared between the principal members Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal with all of the songs being written by Roland. To this day I am not sure if Ian Stanley and Manny Elias were 'proper' members of the group or salaried musicians. Whilst their contribution to this record was significant, it is the next entry in the Tears For Fears back catalogue in which Ian Stanley truly emerged as a keyboard genius. 4/5
