The Story of "Shout" (1985) - Tears For Fears
Содержание
On 25 February 1985, British synthpop duo Tears For Fears released their second album Songs From The Big Chair, which included the hits "Shout" and "Everybody Want To Rule The World".
"Everybody Want To Rule The World" became the album's lead single and a real hit in the US, almost instantly becoming a "pop classic" despite its dark subject matter.
"The concept is pretty serious," says Kurt Smith. - It's about everyone who wants power, about war and the suffering it causes."
The next track "Shout", which is permeated with primal screams of despair and releases unbearable emotional pain, also starts at the top of the pedestal and becomes a No. 1 hit.
We suggest delving a little deeper into the history of this song's creation.....
The story of the song's creation and meaning...
As mentioned above, the composition "Shout" first saw the light of day in 1984. Soon after its release there was a lot of hype around the track: the majority of both critics and fans of the duo thought that with the new song the guys decided to continue their "favourite" theme... But... it turned out that everything was not so simple!
Let's give the floor to Roland Orzabal:
"I wrote this song at home, with a small synthesiser and a drum machine! At first I only had the chorus of the song... And the words in it were like a mantra, constantly repeating... When "Shout" was more or less finished, I showed it to Jan and Chris (keyboardist and producer of Tears For Fears). I was sure it wasn't a bad track for a new release... However, they convinced me that it was a potential hit!"
Well... The song really deserves praise! So, on the liner notes of the single you can even find an interesting statement from the producer himself - Chris Hughes:
"We were recording Mothers Talk when Roland suggested we play this piece... The original version was measured and bloody simple! And so I exclaimed: "It's so simple! I think it takes about ten minutes to record the track...""
Well, now it's time to talk about the idea behind this hit....
While most listeners were convinced that "Shout" served as a reference to the duo's first album, that turned out not to be the case. Word to Orzabal:
"A lot of people were sure that 'Shout' refers to our first album... But that's not really true. Rather, this song has a political subtext. It's a kind of protest against the Cold War... Or rather, a call for it...".
Orzabal's words were confirmed by Shout co-writer Kurt Smith:
"This song urges people not to embark on any action without careful consideration of the matter... The problem is that very often people act without thinking about the consequences... Unfortunately, today, in modern society, this is considered the norm... So 'Shout' is a song about how society is used to accepting any misfortune that is thrown up..."
Music video ...
The music video for the song "Shout" was directed by producer Nigel Dick. The clip is a mixture of footage of Roland Orzabal and Kurt Smith at Durdle Door in Dorset, as well as a studio performance by the whole band in a crowd of family and friends... In total, the music video cost £14,000 to produce.
The music video for the song "Shout" was very popular in the States, largely due to its success on MTV!
It is worth noting that "Shout" differs significantly from all previous Tears For Fears compositions... At least - it features a guitar solo, uncharacteristic for this band....
Success!
Upon its release, the song quickly found itself at number four on the UK chart. In America, "Shout" topped the Billboard Hot 100. It was also recognised as one of the most successful songs of 1985: in total, "Shout" reached the top ten in 25 countries around the world!
And lastly...
The success of the album "Songs From The Big Chair" makes the name "Tears For Fears" a household name all over the world, the band's fame becomes incredibly rapid. With this achievement they, figuratively speaking, gave the middle finger to the music critics in their home country.
Two years ago, their debut album The Hurting hit No. 1 and the single "Mad World" climbed to No. 3 on the pop chart. But detractors spoke of their rejection of the album's themes (of repressed pain and childhood trauma), with music columnist magazine NME labelling the album "an art form that evokes self-pity and renders the commercial proposition useless".
Note from the author: "The NME have never understood music. They were always disparaging new bands that were ahead of their time. It's one of the worst reviewers in the world."
