Tears for Fears

Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears provides an excellent overview of the band's key tracks, including all their hit singles, beginning with tracks from their first album, The Hurting, and ending with tracks from the post-Curt Smith album Elemental. (Curt Smith, one-half the duo, left after 1989's The Seeds of Love). Tears for Fears already had one excellent hits package on the market, 1992's Tears Roll Down, but this set improves on that one by including all the tracks from that album, plus an additional five. Not only that, but the version of "Mother's Talk" on Tears Roll Down was not the hit single remix -- the version here is. Also included is the non-album U.K. single "The Way You Are," "Suffer the Children" (from The Hurting), "New Star" from the film Threesome, and the follow-up to their final charted U.S. single, "Break It Down Again" and "Goodnight Song," as well as a non-LP single remix of "I Believe." This album does not include any tracks from Raoul and the Kings of Spain, but clocking in at 79 minutes, it is filled to the brim with hits and stands as the definitive Tears for Fears collection, with excellent liner notes to boot. ~ Jose F. Promis, All Music Guide