Everybody Loves a Happy Ending

1	Everybody Loves a Happy Ending 4:21
2	Closest Thing to Heaven 3:36
3	Call Me Mellow 3:39
4	Size of Sorrow 4:43
5	Who Killed Tangerine? 5:33
6	Quiet Ones 4:22
7	Who You Are 3:41
8	The Devil 3:30
9	Secret World 5:12
10	Killing With Kindness 5:25
11	Ladybird 4:50
12	Last Days on Earth 5:41

Barnes & Noble

Band reunions are often tenuous gatherings, but in the case of Tears for Fears, it's almost as if the 15 years that elapsed between 1989's Sowing the Seeds of Love and 2004's Everybody Loves a Happy Ending were merely a blip. Like previous TFF offerings, the songs on Everybody are warmly informed by the psychedelic pop perfected by Lennon & McCartney and emulated by groups such as XTC and World Party. Fab Four references are plentiful right from the opening track, with its dreamy harmonies, McCartney-like bass line, and ringing-alarm-clock accent. Likewise, the excellent "Who Killed Tangerine?," driven by a swelling chorus and dynamic chord changes, recalls "Let It Be." Curt Smith even sounds eerily like John Lennon throughout the psychedelia-soaked "Killing with Kindness." In addition to their Beatlesque overtures, Smith and partner Roland Orzabal -- who built a lukewarm solo career during TFF's long hiatus -- weave in some stylistic departures, ranging from the vintage soul of "Last Days on Earth" to the U2-reminscent "Quiet Ones." Time apart has done wonders for the Smith-Orzabal pairing, and hopefully Everybody Loves a Happy Ending marks a new beginning for one of the '80s' best-loved duos. Dave Gil de Rubio

All Music Guide

More than a decade has passed since Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith parted ways with their soulful and ambitious swansong, Seeds of Love. Orzabal released two records under the Tears for Fears moniker in the mid-'90s, but the band's signature blend of hook-filled anthems and art pop excess seemed destined to reside eternally in the post-new wave graveyard of the '80s. Then came the film Donnie Darko, a left-field cult hit that featured California singer/songwriter Gary Jules' chart-topping (in the U.K. anyway) rendition of the band's 1983 hit, "Mad World." The renewed interest in the group found the boys ready and willing to set aside their differences and give it another go, and the resulting Everybody Loves a Happy Ending capably exhibits why that interest was there in the first place. Tears for Fears have always dabbled in the Beatlesque, but never as blatantly as on the full-peacock flush of the colorful title cut. Like ELO rearranging Paul and Linda McCartney's "Uncle Albert-Admiral Halsey," it's the first flag in a sea of red signaling a return to form that many deemed unlikely. "Closest Thing to Heaven" builds off of "Sowing the Seeds of Love"'s blueprints -- it even utilizes the mid-track reverse drum fill -- without coming off as a carbon copy. This is the closest they have come to crafting a possible hit single in years, and it's a testament to their "still flexing" pop chops that they can meld a bittersweet piano dirge with a sunny '70s soft rock chorus without sounding contrived. "Who Killed Tangerine" continues mining the Beatles vein, juxtaposing each spooky verse against a chorus reminiscent of "Hey Jude." They haven't abandoned the adult contemporary pop that began to creep in post-Smith -- "Size of Sorrow" and "Ladybird" are nice and forgettable -- but the dark experimental nature of songs like "Quiet Ones" and "Devil" make up for the occasional blandness. Everybody Loves a Happy Ending will do little to convert those who winced at Orzabal and Smith's obtuse lyrics and over the top production the first time around, but loyal followers, fans of XTC's Apple Venus, Pt. 1, and lovers of intricately arranged and artfully executed pop music will find themselves delightfully consumed by another chapter from this enigmatic group. Reverend Lee Power