20th Century Masters - The Best of Tears for Fears: The DVD Collection

Overview

Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, a.k.a. Tears for Fears, made potent radio music for the 1980s but traveled a steep learning curve when it came to music videos. Still, their video productions improved markedly with each hit, as demonstrated in this mini-collection of five titles. "Shout" still sounds every bit the catharsis it was meant to be, while its sleepy video is paradoxically and arbitrarily set against pretty coastlines. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" doesn't do justice to Tears' most engaging and powerful recording, with its mesmerizing, Mystery to Me-era Fleetwood Mac sound. The guys start looking cool, even sexy, in "Mother's Talk (U.S. Remix)," while "Head Over Heels" makes a star out of Orzabal, playing a goof trying to pick up a librarian. Naturally, this set ends with the psychedelicized "Sowing the Seeds of Love," with its Beatle-esque production and images of floating Buddhas. --Tom Keogh