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MFSL CD Review: Tears For Fears, Songs From The Big Chair




Late in the Spring 1985 semester, my classmate Norris and I had Tears For Fears' Songs From The Big Chair. He had it on LP, I on cassette. Norris lived in a 3-story house on the real Pacific Heights. A well-to-do-family, they had separate rooms for video and audio. And that was in addition to a formal dining room. Sheesh.

Since they had cable TV, which was rare in those days, I loved going over to their house, to watch MTV's music videos. When Norris tore me away...no, his sister and the dog marched in, to watch sitcoms. Norris and I would then go to the music room, where they had one of those tower rack stereos.

No contest; the Songs From The Big Chair LP sounded more open, believable, and present. But you couldn't take an LP with you. If it were 3:30p, or whenever KBHK 44 broadcasted the Robotech Saga, Norris and I would get his sister to vacate the video room.

With plenty of daylight left, all of us would then walk to Alta Plaza Playground. The worst part was avoiding the dog poop. But we'd find a bench under one of those taller trees, and just talk. She didn't like sports, and we boys didn't like girly stuff. Common ground? Music. She told us that her favorite song on Songs From The Big Chair was "Head Over Heels," which, at that time, had not yet been released as a single. Norris said he liked "Shout" the best. Unequivocally, I stated that, on account of the wonderful saxophone (played mostly by Mel Collins), "The Working Hour" was even better.

As soon as the school year ended, I had to hop on a plane, and make it in time for summer school at Honolulu's Punahou School. Even though you were not supposed to turn on electronics on a plane taking off, I couldn't help myself. I just had to hear "The Working Hour" and its wonderful sax, as the plane left SFO, and made that westward turn over the Golden Gate. Magic.

My summer basketball team practiced at Wilson Playground, out in Waialae-Kahala. Since coach worked somewhere out in Aiea or Pearl City, practices often were in the evening. Inevitably, someone would bring a boombox. My teammates would bring some cassettes, and we had tunes. In an unforgettable sequence, we were sweating in the nighttime heat, when "The Working Hour" played. I looked up, saw the lights turn the tall chain link fence a shiny light-gray color. And then, as those clouds came down from the mountains, those showers dumped on us. We scrambled to cover the boombox, then let the brief rain cool us off. Refreshed, we finished the practice sharply.

When Fontana/Mercury/Phonogram came out with Songs From The Big Chair on CD, it sucked, was a prime example of digititis. Avoid this CD.

Many years later, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab sensed an opportunity, and crafted their own made-in-the-US gold CD. Unlike most of their other efforts, MFSL nailed Songs From The Big Chair [UDCD 730]. They got rid of the grain, preserved the imaging, maintained the soundstage depth, and did not retard the music's flow. In addition, they included two really excellent "extended mixes" of "Shout" and "Everybody Wants To Rule The World."

When you want to go back to 1985, visit Pac Heights, fantasize about Robotech, soar over the Golden Gate, and feel the refreshing mauka showers, which Songs From The Big Chair do you use? The MFSL gold CD. If you can find it, it's highly recommended.

-Lummy The Loch Monster


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Topic - MFSL CD Review: Tears For Fears, Songs From The Big Chair - Luminator 20:49:32 12/23/16 (5)

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