Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 13, 2014

The recording industry is rife with stories of the so-called “sophomore slump,” where an artist who topped the charts with their first album suddenly found out they were yesterday’s news by the time their second offering hit the marketplace. It’s actually fascinating (for a certain type of geek, anyway) to look through chart compilations like those offered in Joel Whitburn’s wonderful Billboard books to see huge hit debut albums followed by paltry follow-ups and then the complete disappearance of any given artist from the vaunted Top 200 Albums list after that disappointing second entry. Tears for Fears defied the industry standard in a number of ways with their second album, Songs from the Big Chair. Though their initial album, Tears For Fears: The Hurting, didn’t break any sales records on this side of the pond, it was a rather smashing success in the band’s native United Kingdom, getting to the top of that nation’s album charts. In the United States, the album did okay if not spectacularly well, rising to a respectable number 73 on Billboard’s Top Album chart. Interestingly, Tears for Fears’ only American charting single before Songs from the Big Chair hit the big time was “Change,” which similarly climbed to 73 on the singles chart, though in that case that number is a much less impressive feat, since typically singles need to break into at least the Top 40 to signify significant airplay and (perhaps more importantly) sales. While “Mad World” did really well overseas, it failed to even make a dent in the American charts, and it was in fact years before the song finally enjoyed a resurgence due to its downtempo reimagining in Donnie Darko. 1984 turned out to be a brave new world for the band, though, with the release of Songs from the Big Chair, an album which seemed to explode out of its own volition into the cultural zeitgeist of the day, with “Shout” becoming an MTV staple and the band’s first United States Number 1 single (ironically, it failed to climb to the top spot in the UK).

The primal scream therapy that seemed to be residing just beneath the surface of some of The Hurting is of course front and center in “Shout”, but perhaps strangely, quite a bit of the rest of Songs from the Big Chair is at least relatively sanguine. While another charted single “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” hints at a philosophical malaise that tends to afflict twenty-somethings in particular, other tunes, like their third U.S. chart hit off the album, “Head Over Hills,” are more direct, simple declarative statements with fantastic hooks (like this particular tune’s piquant pizzicatti dotting the phrases).

The entire album rather handily bridges the gap between the then dying singer-songwriter mode and then nascent trends like synth pop. As I discussed in Blu-ray.com's Tears For Fears: The Hurting Blu-ray review, I actually prefer some of Roland Orzabal's "solo" albums as Tears for Fears (meaning without Curt Smith), but Songs From the Big Chair retains its visceral impact now thirty years (can it really be so?) after its original release. This new High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray offers both the original stereo mix as well as new 2014 mixes in both stereo and surround iterations.

Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aside from the static menu screen, there is no video on this audio Blu-ray.

Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with previous Universal Music Group High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray releases, three audio options are offered, though in reality one might think of them as four options, since the original mix of the album is presented in LPCM 2.0 (at a steady 4.6 Mbps bitrate), while the 2014 remix is presented in LPCM 2.0 (again at 4.6), DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (tending to reside in the high 8's to low 9's, with occasional dips down into 7 territory) and LPCM 5.1 (steady at 13.8 Mbps).

From Steven Wilson's notes in the insert booklet:

About the 5.1 Surround Sound Mix

In order to create the 5.1 surround sound mix of Songs From the Big Chair, the original 1984 analogue multi-track tapes were transferred to digital in high resolution (96Khz/24 bit) at Abbey Road studios. The multi-track sessions varied from 24 track, 48 track and - in the case of Mothers Talk - 72 track (3 x 24 track tapes synchronised). Once the tapes were re-synchronised and transferred I worked to match the original stereo mixes, recreating instrument balances, stereo positioning, equalisation, compression, reverbs, delays, etc. These remixes were regularly run past Roland for feedback, and went through several versions until we were happy that they were as faithful to the original album mixes as possible (the new stereo mixes are also included in this set). Only at this point were the mixes expanded from stereo to 5.1.

Unfortunately, despite an extensive search multi-track tapes could not be found for either section of Broken, so the original stereo masters (prior to being copied to the second-generation compiled album master where they cross-fade in to and out of Head Over Heels and Listen) were processed through Penteo stereo to surround up-mixer software in order to create pseudo surround versions. These were then inserted into the album sequence to maintain the 5.1 playback flow. The 1984 stereo masters were also inserted into the 2014 stereo mix of Songs From the Big Chair for the same reason.

Both the stereo and 5.1 remixes are included here as flat transfers, no additional mastering EQ or compression has been applied.

Interestingly, Wilson's comments don't address some of the subtle but noticeable differences (presumably) Orzabal introduces into some of the tunes for the 2014 versions, unless these elements are so buried in the original mix that my ears just can't pick them up. Notice, for example, during the verses of "Shout" how the synth washes in the background of the verses now include a minor to major ambiguity on the Bb and C chords that is not there in the original version (at least insofar as I can hear).

There's really not much appreciable difference between the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 5.1 surround versions, despite differing streaming rates. Both offer some fun (if kind of hokey at times) surround activity, like those opening percussion moments of "Shout." Clarity is exceptional, with the midrange acquiring new breathing space that really makes some of the inner synth lines of several songs much more obvious. Fidelity remains superb throughout all versions (of both mixes, in fact), offering a clear and precise reproduction of what is often a rather dense array of instrumentation and vocals.

Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no on disc supplements offered on Songs From the Big Chair. There is a decent insert booklet with pictures and an essay, as well as a coupon to download the album (in high definition audio) for free.

Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Songs From the Big Chair firmly established Tears for Fears as one of the reigning supergroups of its day. If that mantle didn't last for long, the group still offered a really intelligent approach to pop and rock, crafting hook laden tunes that still managed to actually say something. This new audio Blu-ray offers an intriguing new window into the original, though to my ears a few things have been slightly tweaked in the process. The original stereo mix is presented here as a kind of "bonus" for those who prefer things the way they always were. One way or the other, the audio on this disc is stellar every step (and/or half step, as the case may be) of the way. Highly recommended.