March 07, 2018

Tears For Fears - Raoul & The Kings of Spain (1995)

Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Pop Rock
Label Number: 480982 2

© 1995 Epic Records
AllMusic Review by Tom Demalon
The second Tears for Fears album following Curt Smith's departure finds Roland Orzabal treading water (and self-consciously deep water at that). Long removed from the simple, melodic melancholy of the band's early work and abandoning the mid-period Beatles-influenced pop, Raoul and the Kings of Spain often borders on progressive rock. There's some genuinely pretty, if unexciting, music like the piano-driven ballad "Secrets," with it's soaring guitar line, and the gentle "Sketches of Pain." Unfortunately, everything is undone by Orzabal's lyrics (mostly co-written with guitarist/keyboardist Alan Griffiths). There seems to be a lack of ideas that cannot be concealed by the words, which are either inscrutable or embarrassingly silly ("What's the matter with your life/Did someone come and shoot your wife," he asks on "Sorry"). Listeners on both sides of the Atlantic couldn't be bothered, and the act's commercial fortunes fell even further.

tags: tears for fears, raoul and the kings of spain, 1995, flac,

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Comments as "Anonymous" have been restored. Please keep the comments civilized. We do not accept requests.