Thanks, a great discovery years after its release.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
"Saturnine, Marital and Lunatic" is a collection of b-sides and rarities from the Tears for Fears catalogue: ranging from b-sides to big-hitting singles to lesser know songs. The compilation shows of TFF's experimental side, as many of the songs on offer don't make for easy listening. The album opens with "Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams", a remix of the track that was released as a single (anonymously), it should be noted that the version is different from the original b-side and it does a very good job of summing up what the rest of the album is like (only with more rapping). Other songs on the album are pretty experimental and are heavily sample-based but do often churn out memorable riffs and such ("The Big Chair", "Schrodinger's Cat", "When in Love with a Blind Man", "Pharoahs", "Deja Vu & the Sins of Science", "The Marauders", "Tears Roll Down", "New Star", "The Body Wah", "Lord of Karma", "Bloodletting Go", "Always in the Past" and "Empire Building"). The remaining tracks vary greatly. For example "New Star" and "Bloodletting Go" are remarkable Roland-only era b-sides that (presumably) only narrowly missed being on the album (1993's "Elemental"). The songs are so well made it is quite surprising they didn't make it. "My Life in the Suicide Ranks" is an odd number - it is the result of an improvised "Suicide Jam" sessions between the band and producers and, while it does show, it's a delightful look into the minds of its creators. The album also features two cover songs: Robert Wyatt's "Sea Song" (released as a b-side to "I Believe (A Soulful Re-recording)") and David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" (released on the "Ruby Trax" charity album). Both are very imaginative though it should be noted that the "Ashes to Ashes" cover lacks the charm of either Bowie or TFF. "The Way You Are" was released as a non-album single in 1983 and is featured on the album almost purely for completist reasons. That being said there are some notable omissions from this compilation: the song "Wino" (b-side to the group's first single "Suffer the Children" and probably one of the group's best ever songs, in my opinion), "The Conflict" (b-side to "Change"), "Music for the Tables" (a b-side to "Advice for the Young at Heart"), "Everybody Wants to Run the World" etc. Although it should be noted that all are available on the CD remasters, except for "Wino" which has never been released on CD. Also the deluxe edition of "Songs from the Big Chair" curiously omits "The Conflict" and "Everybody Wants to Run the World". Despite the variety of the tracks the album is very much for hardcore TFF fans and completists and should probably be one of the last albums that an aspiring TFF fanatic gets into.Read full review
Tears For Fears (SATURNINE MARTIAL AND THE LUNATIC) A collection of B sides spanning from 1983 to 1993, This is an excellent cd even for those not into B sides which we dont seem to have a lot of these days, eighteen tracks of mellow yet lively beats,as in most of TFF's albums. this to most people would seem like a new remix album if you had not been a hardcore fan of the group. Now only available as a re-issue produced in 2004 and getting rarer by the day again. johnny panic and the bible of dreams starts the cd of and ends with the way you are but big chair still rates it for me my favorite tracks are Pharaohs and always in the past the guitar work is excellent and a good running beat. The only problem is i have been a TFF fan since they first arrived on the scene so i seem to have positive thoughts on them as a band and have not yet come across an album i dont like. This cd would be a very good addition to any TFF collectors set or general collection, I enjoy it still now. all the best michael gale, (Festa).2007Read full review
It would have been nice to get a bit of Curt on the album, but as a whole it's not bad. BUT you do need to be a die hard TFF fan to appreciated it
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