CCMusic.com

If there’s such a thing as baroque synth-pop, Tears for Fears perfected it on this 1989 LP. Their big, lush sound and infectious hooks intersected with strains of soul, gospel and even jazz on this album, which went platinum as it soared to #1 UK and went Top 10 in the U.S. and many other countries. Mercury have already delighted fans with deluxe editions of Tears for Fears’ first two albums ("The Hurting" and "Songs from the Big Chair"); now, it’s the band’s third album’s turn. You can get "The Seeds of Love" reissue on CD or gatefold black vinyl, or get the 2-CD edition that adds the 7" version of the three U.S. hits on this album—"Sowing the Seeds of Love," "Woman in Chains" and "Advice for the Young at Heart"—plus four versions of the B-side "Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams," alternate edits that were released in Canada, Italy and the U.S., the B-sides "Always in the Past," "Life in the Suicide Ranks" and more rare and previously unavailable cuts. Finally, we have the big box: all of the above plus a CD of collectible radio edits ("Woman in Chains," "Famous Last Words"), early mixes ("Badman’s Song," "Year of the Knife," "Sowing the Seeds of Love") and more. Finally, owners of the box get a CD of demos ("Rhythm of Life," "Swords and Lives," "Famous Last Words" and more) and newly discovered, delightfully off-the-cuff jams that took place at London’s Townhouse Studios ("Broken," "Rhythm of Life," "Standing on the Corner of the Third World" and more) and a Blu-Ray disc: a new remaster of the album by Andrew Walter at Abbey Road, the original album mix with Bob Ludwig’s 1989 mastering and Steven Wilson’s amazing new "very immersive" 5.1 surround-sound mix, which was a major project involving rebuilding the album from the multitrack tapes. Roland Orzabal’s songwriting and sonic masterpiece is reborn in glorious fashion! Mercury.