Tears For Fears – The Hurting

My UK copy of this LP isn't listed on Discogs. It has a glossy, non-embossed sleeve with the Fan Club address on the back of the sleeve. The run-out details are: A-3-1-1 with 'Copymasters Miles' etched and B-2U-1-1. Has anyone got this issue?

Debut albums don’t get much better than this,just magical!does anyone disagree?

Why is everyone so surprised by the flattened sound and lack of bass on this half-speed master? It's digital, so what do you expect? Those who think the UK original "never had bass" to begin with obviously weren't listening to it on a quality system in 1983 -- I was, and it has phenomenal bass...

Question: how can this stunning and influential debut have a discogs rating of only 4.13? I've never understood the low ratings that universally appreciated albums get on this platform. Anyway, roll on the Abbey Road Half Speed Remaster in a few weeks.

Got 2 copies of this album, both same matrix run out etc, except one has on the cover ( promotional Copy- Not for resale). Other than that its the same. Could not find another in listing.

I had this on cassette as a teenager. My version had an extra version of The Prisoner (Alternate Version) at the end (and not Change). I have never been able to find any reference to it since and all the versions listed on Discogs only mention Change. I know it existed but I got rid of it when I upgraded to the CD version (more fool me).

Yes, I had this album the day after I first heard the song “Mad World,” a certainly infectious number, nearly a psychological thriller filled with builtin suspense and trepidation, a tale that was entirely unexpected and morose, delivered almost conceptually with intelligence and grace revolving around the long term effects of childhood trauma.

Simply consider the haunting ever-present line “The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had.” By no means were Tears For Fears the first group to explore this nature of the self, it’s an avenue John Lennon explored with the Plastic Ono Band. The bandmates were both enthralled by psychotherapist Arthur Janov’s book “Primal Scream,” who contended that all of our issues could be traced directly back to childhood trauma, especially that of birth.

Some forty years out the album still seems to shine, though in a more uncomfortable manner, much the same as Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasure, where once incorporated into one’s being, it’s entirely necessary to hear again. That said, The Hurting stood out against the synth-pop background of the day due to its resourcefulness, stylish songwriting and instant take hold fetching and heady rhythmic sway, along with its sheer emotional intensity. The record seemed entirely uncontrived, enunciated with nearly joyous stab you in the heart danceable tunes, beguiling hooks and its confined panoramic gesture, one filled with a palatable undulating sense of nervousness bespeaking an internal emotional collapse that was entirely exotic and unrelenting.

I’ve often wondered about the success of this album had cocaine and ecstasy not been the mainstay drugs of the day, where the internal crash in many ways defined and revealed equal amounts of pleasure and pain. The Hurting is the sort of album that still influences those under thirty, those still seeking to find and establish their emotional being, their id, ego and super-ego, those seeking to make sense out of seemingly shattered lives, lives where angst is something to be nurtured, coveted, embellished, held like a treasured jewel that will eventually turn out to be nothing but paste, transparent flint glass that simulates the fire and brilliance of gemstones, yet holds no redeeming value when held to the light.

With all this in mind, and considering that one understands Arthur Janov’s theory that all childhood trauma needs to be re-experienced for a second time in order to shed its effects of long pain repression, it holds that like those compartmentalized traumatic memories, once they are understood, will hold no sway over us, where in much the same manner, once our id is established and understood, we have no need for such a record as The Hurting. With that in mind, composing The Hurting was a dramatic way to toss out all of the attributes absorbed in their (Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith) childhood, to take the feelings of abandonment, anger, rejection and turn them into something creative and attractive, though in so doing, it would seem that both Roland and Curt would forever be living out the endless nightmare of second experiencing, causing me to wonder how they managed to perform these songs time and time again, unable to escape their own hurting without suffering an emotional shattering of their own making.

Review by Jenell Kesler

Watch me bleed is epic, really good lyrics, this song is quality!

buzzdroid : Absolutely ! thumps up :-)
Classic !!!

"The Hurting" is one of those rare albums that never dates. Has been on my constant playlist since I first got it as teenager back in 1983. "Memories Fade" has got to be one of the greatest love songs ever written.