Tears for Fears

Hip-O's excellent two-disc Tears for Fears Gold collection boasts 24 tracks from the veteran English duo. All of the obvious hits ("Shout," "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," "Head Over Heels," "Mad World," and "Sowing the Seeds of Love") are here, but it's the inclusion of tracks from their woefully overlooked 2004 comeback album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, that warrants a high rating. With the exception of the impossibly fun -- and more than a little "Beatlesque" -- title cut, all of the album's best songs are featured, making this compilation essential for anybody who wonders what happened after 1990. While the bonus-disc edition of Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92) is the best overview of their career up through The Seeds of Love, Gold successfully brings their whole surprisingly weighty career into focus. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide