Roland Orzabal's Tomcats Screaming Outside released

Tomcats Screaming Outside Roland Orzabal

Released: April 3, 2001 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Ticket to the World [5:48] Low Life (Orzabal) [4:36] (4/10/01, --) Hypnoculture (Orzabal) [3:13] Bullets for Brains [4:08] For the Love of Cain (Orzabal) [4:06] Under Ether [5:51] Day by Day by Day by Day [4:35] Dandelion [3:03] Hey Andy! (Orzabal) [4:25] Kill Love [5:40] Snowdrop [4:23] Maybe Our Days Are Numbered [4:47] All tracks written by Griffiths/Orzabal unless otherwise noted. Total Running Time: 54:35 The Players: Roland Orzabal (vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming) Alan Griffiths (guitar, keyboards, programming) David Sutton (bass) Nick D’Virgilio (drums)

Rating: 3.237 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith formed Tears for Fears in 1981 after working with each other in the short-lived, ska-revival band Graduate. As Tears for Fears, they released three hugely successful albums in the 1980s before they went their separate ways. Orzabal continued to work under the Tears for Fears banner, releasing the albums Elemental in 1993 and Raoul and the Kings of Spain in 1995. Considering that Orzabal is the only constant through all the Tears for Fears albums, it is curious that Tomcats Screaming Outside is his first official solo album when it could just as easily be considered the third post-Curt Smith Tears for Fears album. In fact, this album and the previous two Tears for Fears’ albums all feature guitarist and keyboardist Alan Griffith, making him the sort of defacto Curt Smith replacement. Under any name, “Roland Orzabal is a musical actor, an abstract poet, and a music connoisseur. His lush lyrical imagery has provided vivid imagism and an emotion sparked from his own inquisitive nature.” AMG This album “illustrates Orzabal’s bright mind with classic philosophical disposition; however, he’s honest and eager, no longer concerned with the past. He refrains from psychologically picking his mind apart; rather, he’s plucking from social indifference and its want for quick desire. His focus on sharp electronics and the uncomplicated nature of songs such as ‘Hypnoculture’ and ‘For the Love of Cain’ present Orzabal’s newfound comfort. He’s still ambitious, yes, but not arrogantly so. ‘Dandelion’ grazes with nasty riffs, leaving Orzabal to twist his large vocals to stretch alongside them. ‘Ticket to the World’ and ‘Maybe Our Days Are Numbered’ ironically capture Orzabal’s fixation with a greater love, another hurt, and a life outside of what everyone already knows.” AMG “Tomcats Screaming Outside aptly defines his burgeoning creative desire as well as his hungry nature to write a song that reaches outside the heart and beyond the mind. The overall composition of this album is tough, a bit young with musical instrumentation, but a decent look at Orzabal’s keen talent as both a singer and a songwriter. He’s still got it.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Roland Orzabal DMDB encyclopedia entry for Tears for Fears AMG All Music Guide review by MacKenzie Wilson WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 2/22/2022.

Tears for Fears “Break It Down Again” released

Break It Down Again Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal, Alan Griffiths (see lyrics here) Released: May 17, 1993 First Charted: May 29, 1993 Peak: 25 US, 26 CB, 9 RR, 25 AC, 13 MR, 20 UK, 4 CN, 82 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 23.68 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Tears for Fears formed as a group in 1981 with members Roland Orzabal (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Curt Smith (vocals, bass, keyboards), Ian Stanley (keyboards, backing vocals), and Manny Elias (drums, percussion). That lineup lasted through the group’s first two albums, 1983’s The Hurting and 1985’s Songs from the Big Chair. However, Stanley and Elias were gone by 1989’s The Seeds of Love, leaving the group as a duo. Even then, Roland Orzabal had largely taken the reins, which contributed to the duo splitting. Four years later, Curt Smith released his first solo album. Orzbal released Elemental under the Tears for Fears banner, despite it effectively being a solo project at this point. However, one listen to the lead single, “Break It Down Again,” made it clear that he had retained the Tears for Fears sound. The song proved to be the last chart entry for Tears for Fears on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #25. In the UK, two more songs would reach the top 40 (1995’s “Raoul and the Kings of Spain” and 2005’s “Closest Thing to Heaven”). The song was a top-10 hit in Canada, Iceland, and Italy. Talking about the songs on Elemental, Orzabal said, “A lot of the songs were written while I was in a sense going through the ‘divorce.’ Things like ‘Break It Down Again’ refer to that to some degree…I did psychotherarpy for about six years. I stopped going regularly when I’d finished Elemental, which I think probably says something. I think I’m moving on.” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Tears for Fears SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/6/2022.