The 'frontloaded' charge is almost fair but ShaneSpear misses out on the quite zingy track Change. Pale Shelter is a very memorable cut and this original version of Mad World is nearly as good as Gary Jules' version, one of the finest remakes of any song ever. Altogether, I agree with those who say this is their best and yes it is an 80's classic.

Deserves to be higher up the list in 1983. Moody atmospheres, smart lyrics and accessible hooks make this an early 80's classic.

For me this is the best of the 'Tears for Fears' albums filled with songs that have stood the test of time. My favourite track is 'Pale Shelter'

A tad frontloaded. Also, by a tad, I mean incredibly frontloaded. The Hurting, Mad World, Pale Shelter, and Memories Fade are all very good to great songs, but then the album starts to slide quickly. Not pretty.

This is a great album, and as the person before me said, this is better than their next and more popular album, Songs from the Big Chair.

In addition to really thoughtful lyrics, the music here is really good. The melodies are memorable and interesting, the vocals are nice (almost sounding like the not yet known Smiths at times), and the instrumentation is 80s, but not corny 80s. It's good 80s with drum beats switching between left and right ears, and great moody synthesizers.

One of my very favorites!

Ok, the syntz and the singing sound outdated but, almost 30 years later, the songs (Mad World, Change) are still great. This one is so much better than the pretentious Big Chair.