This summer as I work the summer job, I’ve been listening to music. Some are old favorites: Sting, The Police, Prince, Extreme, Van Halen, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Billy Joel, Tower of Power, and Huey Lewis and the News. Some are a little more recent, but still pretty established: Godsmack, Disturbed, Evanescence, Dream Theater, and Tool. Then there are some new things: Wild Concerto by Stewart Copland, and various film scores (Mainly Beetlejuice 2.) I find most new music, beyond classical or jazz, to be uninteresting. If there is a piece of new music that catches my attention with something interesting I will explore it further. It has been a long time since an artist showed me the “Wow” moment. Adele anyone… Then something happened early July…

My wife and I watch some You Tube Vlogs/Documentaries before going to bed. It is far better than the news. Lately I have been musing nostalgic with the Professor of Rock. It also corresponded to a bunch of news regarding $47 and his lying exploits to avoid culpability with Epstein, and numerous other issues. These two events reminded me of how great Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears is. The political landscape of the United States is just ripe for a British musical take down. Oh how, did I forget such an amazing recording. It is perfect… in so many ways…

In 1985 Songs from the Big Chair was released. There is a loose attachment to psychology with the recording. There are also loose political and social metaphors at work within the lyrics. The music behind all of these things led me to purchase the vinyl recording from Camelot Records for $9.99 or some such price with my hard earned cash. I was 17 years old. I had wasted a lot of money on various pop drivel, but this purchase was not a waste. There are eight songs on this vinyl recording and all of them are exquisite.

Track #1: Shout. This song was one of my least favorite by 1986 as it had been exhausted on the radio. I think it played once an hour on each of the radio stations I perused. These included WLS-AM, KIIK 104, WDEK, and WZOK. The repressive chorus of “Shout, shout, let it all out.” These are the things I can do without.” got a bit tiresome. It was a reference to primal scream therapy. It also makes a good protest anthem too. Listening to the song now after many years of absence finds me ready to shout in someone’s face about the destruction of the country.

Track #2: The Working Hour. From the haunting saxophone and harp synth opening to the enchanting drum rhythms and chord progression it is hard to stop listening to the yearning for respect. Written in response to how their record label treated them (as commodity) this song pushes back for more respect as artists. I love how the vocal line soars above the layered orchestration. “This is the working hour. We are paid by those who learn from our mistakes.” That is a perfect democratic socialist response to the insanity in D.C. This is one of two masterpieces on this recording that I revisited many times as a teenager and again as an adult.

Track #3: Everybody Wants to Rule the World. This was another chart topper. It is the simplest chord progression of any song on the album. The shuffling rhythm makes it perfect to dance to. It is a simple orchestration. Yet the lyrics leave a suggestion of something powerful metaphorically. “There’s room where the light won’t find you. Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down. When they do, I’ll be right behind you…” The lyrics stung in Thatcher’s and Reagan’s world of the 1980’s but man they sure hit just as hard now.

Track #4: Mother’s Talk. This was the first single off the recording. This is a quick paced percussive track with a heavy synth bass and drums. The chorus is the strength of the tune, “My features form with a change in the weather. We can, we can work it out. When the wind blows. When the mothers talk.” The music portrays the inner conflict of the lyric. The outro of the song are a series of special synth effects over top of the synth bass and drums which receive star treatment. This song ends side one of the vinyl, and the chord progression does not resolve at the end of the song… You must flip that record over and continue. Was it planned that way? Could be? I liked the suspense. Yes, the record sounds like the 80’s with the synth patches and technology… but it is far better than some of the recordings being released today… sorry… it’s true… Onto Side 2…

Track #5: I Believe. A ballad. A clear change in mood and style. “I believe that when the hurting and the pain has gone. We will be strong, oh, yes we will be strong.” The saxophone flourishes around the vocals remind me of Sade’s work from this same decade. I’m surprised some arranger didn’t set this for jazz combo or dance band… but the ending never resolves. This is when the listener will notice none of these songs finish with a happy ending. They leave everything open ended as if to ask a question expecting no answer. This musical metaphor is how the political realm of the United States feels like for me. A never resolving maelstrom… maddening… with no relief… This music’s beauty and symbolism still draw me in.

Track #6: Broken. Two and half minutes of prelude for Track #7. They share a melodic motif. There isn’t a chorus. Just two verses and an outro. A majority of the song is instrumental. It features the augmented fourth interval in the guitar around the lyrics “Broken, we are Broken.” It is a perfect vignette into the strongest song of the album… in my opinion…

Track #7: Head Over Heels. This is the closest to an anthem about love for the whole recording. The music, lyrics, and orchestration are the brightest and most hopeful. The string synth patches used as punctuations at the end of phrases are fun. The motif that you heard in Broken is now front and center played by the piano. This motivic development sounds like a musical somersault. It drives everything forward. Then you get to verse two. “I made a fire and watching it burn. I thought of your future. With one foot in the past, now just how long will it last? No, no, no, have you no ambition?” It gets dark lyrically. Once you get to the outro the music suddenly changes from bright to dark segueing into the finale.

Track #8: Listen. This is the second masterpiece of the recording. This is an orchestra aria in spirit. The music though created by synthesizers and guitars could easily be transcribed for orchestra. The lyrics are sparse. They open with “Mother Russia badly burned. Your children lick your wounds, your wounds.” After another interlude they continue, “Pilgrim father sailed away. Found a brave new world, new world.” This is 1985 a full 6 years before the Soviet Union died. How did they know? Empathy probably, or better news (maybe.) The Spanish lyrics are “Birthday girl, no need to worry.” Listen forces one to question everything that is heard. It leaves more questions than answers, but at the same time brings the recording to a satisfactory conclusion.

I purchased this record in 1985. I lost it nearly 20 years ago in a move. Several recordings were cracked by faulty packing on my part. I remember listening to this album completely with my headphones in various apartments, dorm rooms, and my childhood bedroom on my first stereo. It captured my imagination more than any other New-Wave Synth-Pop band had. I liked Depeche Mode somewhat, but Songs from the Big Chair pierced through most of my rock listening. It was thoughtful, brooding, and reflective. Professor of Rock reminded me of a record I had been missing in my life for some time now. I can’t believe 40 years has passed. I still love the recording, even with some of the dated synth sounds. Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal created a masterpiece. The music resonates with me the same now as it did in the 80’s, but for far different reasons. Please give it a listen on your favorite streaming application or go buy the recording and play it on vinyl if you can find it. I dissent with myself for not packing my copy correctly two decades ago. Shame on me… Stay the course… so it goes… don’t forget to Listen.