Tears For Fears' first album. Best debut ever?

[Brooksie]

>"but nothing they ever did after The Hurting was anywhere near as good as that was"

Have to disagree, I loved the Hurting but I thought Big Chair built on what they'd done brilliantly. A lot of people are knocking it for being pretentious lyrically, but it was no more pretentious than the Hurting, and even though 'Everybody Wants to Rule' has been overplayed, it's only because it's a damn fine pop song.

Remember: when Tears for Fears first hit with 'Mad World', and then the Hurting album, they were a couple of middle-class twenty year old art school students singing about inner pain and turmoil and named after Janov's Primal Scream therapy. Knocking Tears for Fears as pretentious for anything they did at all is a waste of time. They didn't get pretentious on the second or third album - they were always pretentious! That was pretty much universally accepted at the time, too. You either liked them and didn't mind, or you did and found them hard to swallow.

>"Only heard 'Songs from the Big Chair' - was good in the 80's, but sadly dated now."

Hurting is dated too. Most albums from that era are (very synthy). Music that dates never bothers me. Both the Hurting and Big Chair are great to me - superb one-two punch that put them on top of the world. Seeds of Love is ropey, but it still contains the great title track and 'Woman in Chains' which, while being very right on, is a cracking song.

Pop trivia: The intro for Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas' sampled TFF's 'The Hurting'. Trust me, it'll be like dawn breaking when you hear it.

[Steve R]

Yes, for those too young to remember, it is difficult to imagine the sheer impact that Led Zeppelin's first album had on the rock music scene - particularly on those within the business itself.

Hendrix's Are You Experienced deserves mention also.

[max_tranmere]

Brooksie, I'll have a listen to the Band Aid song and see. Someone mentioned China Crisis, I remember them, can't recall any songs though - might have a listen to a few on YouTube and refresh my memory. Someone else mentioned Tracy Chapman's debut album - that was/is very good. I saw her live in London around that time, great gig. Very basic, just her and an acoustic guitar. Great though.