The Story of "Pale Shelter" (1982) - Tears For Fears
Содержание
Mesmerising melody, slightly sad message, pleasant sound of Kurt Smith... Everyone will recognise this song, because in its time it was quite a famous hit. "Pale Shelter" is a melancholy creation of the British collective Tears for Fears, which will be discussed today.
Song Creation
The composition deals with the theme of disappointment in relationships. On the threshold of the noughties, in the notes for the reissue of The Hurting, its direct author Roland Orzabal would emphasise:
"...This tune is a kind of ode to love. And now, I think, it's more about the relationship between children and parents than about the love relationship between a guy and a girl...".
"Pale Shelter" was written by Orzabal and performed by Kurt Smith in March 1982. At the time, the track became their second single. Unfortunately, the original version of "Pale Shelter" (You Don't Give Me Love...) didn't have much success... Upon release, the song never entered any Hit Parade. However, it eventually made it to Canada's Top 20! In the United Kingdom, it was not until its re-release in the mid-80s that the song reached number 73 on the national Top Chart.
The song was also re-released in 1983 as the third single (after "Mad World" and "Change") from The Hurting's debut LP.
How did it happen that Roland Orzabal wrote the composition and Kurt Smith performed it? Actually, it was a mutual decision. Often, when the question of which of the two singers would sing a song came up, it came down to a particular timbre of voice. In one of his interviews, Smith said:
"...If it was a tender song, I was usually the one to sing it. If it was a song that required a more forceful attack, it was definitely Roland! My voice has always been lighter, more melancholic... Roland can rather be characterised as a scream, an explosion! He expresses his feelings very loudly (Smith laughs)! Such are the differences in our voices. So even though 'Humble Haven' is a pop song, we wanted to make it more melancholic and softer, and that's why we chose my way of sounding!"
Interesting facts about Pale Shelter ...
The song's title was based on a drawing from 1941's "Pale Shelter Scene" by British sculptor Henry Moore! Roland Orzabal later shared:
"I kept playing two chords for days and weeks, hours on end! And then one marvellous morning I woke up and sang the whole melody and then the words... The next day I was leafing through an art book and came across a drawing by Henry Moore called 'Pale Shelter Scene'. Then I thought, "Oh my God, it's all coming together!"
In 2013, "Pale Shelter" was very popular thanks to the famous clothing shop H&M: the boutique included the track in an advert for its new winter collection!
In 2016, Canadian singer The Weeknd used the "Pale Shelter" sample in his song "Secrets".
Interestingly enough, the most popular and well-known version of the song to many today is the 1983 re-recording. Although both versions start with a sample playing in reverse, there is one difference between them... The original version contains additional lines spoken by Orzabal, while on the album version they are replaced by a short piano solo. It was this version that was chosen as the third single from the debut album The Hurting (1983). By the way: the record reached number five in the UK Top Chart!
Video clip
As for the video clip, it's awesome... The musical mini-movie, which consists of a series of parallel events, was shot by Steve Barron in 1983 in Los Angeles. Especially remarkable is the scene with a giant piece of iron on the runway of the airport, from which there is steam, as well as with a girl and a live alligator, peacefully swimming in the same pool... In the final episode, a paper aeroplane flies directly into Orzabalu's eye! In a word - an interesting work, which is not a pity to watch!
