Tears For Fears – The Tipping Point (LP Picture Disc)
Sincerity is embedded in the DNA of Tears for Fears, the duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith formed in the early 1980s, when they were just out of their teens. Riddled with adolescent angst and besotted with psychotherapy, they named their group after a phrase from the writings of psychologist Arthur Janov, who pioneered primal scream therapy. Janov’s theory that psychic turmoil had its root in childhood trauma resonated. John Lennon introduced the practice into rock with his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band; Bobby Gillespie would later name his band after it. During those early years, Tears for Fears camouflaged some of their psychic pain with clamoring synthesizers and sprightly melodies, a combination that dampened the melancholy undercurrents of their first UK hit, “Mad World.” Yet the very title of their 1983 debut, The Hurting, made it plain they embraced sensitive emotional issues in a way that such new wave peers as, say, Adam and the Ants did not.
The Tipping Point, the duo’s first album in 18 years, feels spiritually connected to The Hurting. Where Tears for Fears spent their debut articulating roiling interior torment, writing as empaths as much as from experience, The Tipping Point is the work of middle-aged survivors who have absorbed the lessons of therapy and loss; its alternate title could’ve been The Healing. Orzabal in particular suffered a series of painful losses in recent years, chief among them the death of his wife of 35 years due to alcohol-related dementia in 2017. He subsequently went through a stint of rehab himself, an experience that led him to recognize the depth of his bond with Smith, a lifelong friend and collaborator.
Label: Concord Records – CRE01922
Country: US
Media Condition: Mint (M)
Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)