Tears Vs. Fears

[superpanavision70mm]

I had a chance to finally compare the Mobile Fidelity Gold CD of TEARS FOR FEARS classic album Songs From the Big Chair with the Delexe Re-issue from Universal and was quite surprised by the results.

The results were mainly shocking because I knew how tough it would be for the Universal Deluxe set to surpass the great recording of the MoFi Gold disc. That disc has been a vital part of my collection for quite some time and always seems to resurface when testing equipment.

Immediately upon putting the Universal CD into my machine I sat in anticipation, but could not believe the insane amount of difference right from the first few notes on SHOUT. Not only was it fuller, more dynamic, and full of more presence, but a new level of clarity and breath of life was fueling the entire mix enabling even more of the music detail to be heard and appreciated. I've heard this song dozens of times...but not like this!

Immediately I jumped to another favorite track....EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD, which started off well just like the Gold CD, but once the bass-line began the contest was all over! The Universal set annihilated again! So then I rushed to yet another great track that is full of great detail...LISTEN, which for some reason always impresses me each time I hear it.....I can't even begin to describe how incredible it now sounds....it's like a new song on so many levels. I was hearing new depth and dimension that totally transformed the song into a whole new realm.

As if the quality boost wasn't enough to make me so happy to have this new set....the bonus is tons of extra tracks, b-sides, and other great material, which happens to all be really REALLY great content. Unlike so cases where they just throw crap onto a CD just to make it seem like a good investment...this one actually delivers and then some!

Even if you are not a huge fan of TEARS FOR FEARS, which I wasn't until I first heard the Gold CD from MoFi and now again I see just how incredible the music really is even to a greater degree...don't let that deter you from hearing this Deluxe Set!

[3-LockBox]

I bought a reissue of TFF SFTBC (with several bonus tracks). I only liked one of the bonus tracks (The Marauders, which is a great instrumental).

But yeah, the sound quality is stunning, if not a tad compressed in places. That album remains one of the best pop albums of all time.