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2004 studio album by Tears for Fears From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending is the sixth studio album by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 14 September 2004 in the United States and on 7 March 2005 in the United Kingdom and Europe.
| Everybody Loves a Happy Ending | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 September 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2001–2004 | |||
| Studio | Charlton's Garage (Sherman Oaks, California); Sound City Studios (Van Nuys, California); O'Henry Sound Studios (Burbank, California); Old Soul Studios (Catskill, New York). | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:35 | |||
| Label | New Door | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Tears for Fears chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Everybody Loves a Happy Ending | ||||
| ||||
The album marked Tears for Fears' comeback following a hiatus in the late 1990s, as well as the return of founding member Curt Smith. However, it performed modestly on the UK and US music charts compared to the band's previous records. The band focused primarily on touring in the years following Everybody Loves a Happy Ending's release, with a follow-up album not being completed until nearly eighteen years later.
Work on the album began in 2000, after Orzabal and Smith ended their longstanding feud. The album was originally due for release on the Arista label, but personnel changes in the label's management (namely the departure of L.A. Reid who had signed the duo) led to the band breaking ties with the label before any music was commercially released, with the record company only pressing up a number of red vinyl promos.[3] As Orzabal and Smith own the copyright, they left Arista without having to re-record the album and struck up a number of deals to release the record with various independent/heritage record labels around the world. The album eventually surfaced in the US in 2004 when it was released on the New Door label (a subsidiary of Universal Music), and in the UK in 2005 on the British independent label Gut Records. In 2020, after Orzabal and Smith signed with Irving and Jeff Azoff's Full Stop management company the record appeared on various streaming services worldwide.
According to SoundScan figures, the album had sold 99,000 copies in the US by January 2008.[4]
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 65/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [7] |
| Blender | [8] |
| Drowned in Sound | 5/10[9] |
| The Guardian | [10] |
| Mojo | [11] |
| Q | [12] |
| The Scotsman | [13] |
| The Times | [14] |
| Uncut | 4/10[15] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending has an average score of 65 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
James Christopher Monger of AllMusic gave a positive review, giving the album four stars, observing. "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending will do little to convert those who winced at Orzabal and Smith's obtuse lyrics and over the top production the first time around, but loyal followers, fans of XTC's Apple Venus, Pt. 1, and lovers of intricately arranged and artfully executed pop music will find themselves delightfully consumed by another chapter from this enigmatic group."[6]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending" | Orzabal, Smith, Pettus | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Closest Thing to Heaven" | Orzabal, Smith, Pettus | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Call Me Mellow" | Orzabal, Smith, Pettus | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Size of Sorrow" | Orzabal | 4:43 |
| 5. | "Who Killed Tangerine?" | Orzabal, Smith, Pettus | 5:33 |
| 6. | "Quiet Ones" | Orzabal | 4:22 |
| 7. | "Who You Are" | Smith, Pettus | 3:41 |
| 8. | "The Devil" | Orzabal | 3:30 |
| 9. | "Secret World" | Orzabal | 5:12 |
| 10. | "Killing with Kindness" | Orzabal, Smith, Pettus | 5:25 |
| 11. | "Ladybird" | Orzabal, Smith, Pettus | 4:50 |
| 12. | "Last Days on Earth" | Orzabal, Smith, Pettus | 5:41 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Pullin' a Cloud" | Orzabal, Dorsey, MacLeod | 2:48 |
| 14. | "Out of Control" | Orzabal, Smith, Griffiths, Pettus | 5:08 |
Notes
Orchestra on "Secret World"
Technical personnel
| Chart (2004–2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] | 57 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] | 86 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[19] | 28 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] | 35 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[21] | 68 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] | 60 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] | 48 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[24] | 45 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[25] | 10 |
| US Billboard 200[26] | 46 |
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