Everybody Loves a Happy Ending

Everybody Loves a Happy Ending is the sixth and most recent studio album by the British pop-rock band Tears for Fears, released on 14 September 2004 in the US, and 7 March 2005 in the UK and Europe. It was released nine years after the previous Tears for Fears studio album, Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995), and was the first album featuring Curt Smith since 1989's The Seeds of Love.

Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
Studio album by
Tears for Fears
Released14 September 2004 (US)
7 March 2005 (UK/Europe)
Recorded2001–2004
StudioCharlton's Garage, Sherman Oaks, California
Genrealternative rock, progressive pop
Length54:35
LabelNew Door (US)
Gut Records (UK)
XIII Bis Records (FRA)
Edel Records (GER)
ProducerTears for Fears, Charlton Pettus
Tears for Fears chronology
Saturnine Martial & Lunatic
(1996)		 Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
(2004)		 Secret World Live in Paris
(2006)
Singles from Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
  1. "Closest Thing to Heaven"
    Released: 21 February 2005
  2. "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending/Call Me Mellow"
    Released: 2005
  3. "Secret World"
    Released: 2006 (promo, France only)

Release

Work on the album began in 2000, after Orzabal and Smith ended their longstanding feud. The album was originally due for release in 2003 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.[1] 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.[2]

Reception

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."[3]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Austin Chronicle[5]
Blender[6]
Drowned in Sound(5/10)[7]
The Guardian[8]
Mojo[9]
Q[10]
The Scotsman[11]
The Times[12]
Uncut4/10[13]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everybody Loves a Happy Ending"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus4:21
2."Closest Thing to Heaven"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus3:36
3."Call Me Mellow"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus3:39
4."Size of Sorrow"Orzabal4:43
5."Who Killed Tangerine?"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus5:33
6."Quiet Ones"Orzabal4:22
7."Who You Are"Smith, Pettus3:41
8."The Devil"Orzabal3:30
9."Secret World"Orzabal5:12
10."Killing with Kindness"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus5:25
11."Ladybird"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus4:50
12."Last Days on Earth"Orzabal, Smith, Pettus5:41
Bonus tracks (UK, Italian and French releases)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Pullin' a Cloud"Orzabal, Dorsey, MacLeod2:48
14."Out of Control"Orzabal, Smith, Griffiths, Pettus5:08

Note

  • "Size of Sorrow" was written by Roland Orzabal in the 1990s and was first performed live during Tears For Fears' Elemental Tour in 1993, as one of several new and unreleased songs at that time. This earlier version featured slightly different lyrics and the lead vocal was performed by vocalist/bass player Gail Ann Dorsey who was working and touring with the band at the time after the departure of Curt Smith. The studio version, as heard on this album, was sung by Smith.
  • "Ladybird" quotes the English nursery rhyme "Ladybird Ladybird" in its chorus.

Personnel
  • Roland Orzabal – guitars, keyboards, lead vocals
  • Curt Smith – bass, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals ("Size of Sorrow", "Who You Are")
  • Charlton Pettus – guitars, keyboards
  • Fred Eltringham – drums

plus

  • Brian Geltner – drums ("Size of Sorrow")
  • Rick Baptist – trumpet ("Everybody Loves a Happy Ending")
  • Kenny Siegal – guitar ("Size of Sorrow"), backing vocals ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
  • Gwen Snyder – backing vocals ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
  • Alexander Giglio – backing vocals ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
  • Julian Orzabal – crowd vocals ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
  • Laura Gray – crowd vocals ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
  • Paul Buckmaster – orchestra arrangement and conducting ("Secret World")
  • Bob Becker – viola ("Secret World")
  • Charlie Bisharat – violin ("Secret World")
  • Denyse Buffman – viola ("Secret World")
  • Eve Butler – violin ("Secret World")
  • Mario de Leon – violin ("Secret World")
  • Joel Derouin – violin ("Secret World")
  • Stefanie Fife – cello ("Secret World")
  • Armen Garabedian – violin ("Secret World")
  • Berj Garabedian – violin ("Secret World")
  • Barry Gold – cello ("Secret World")
  • Gary Grant – trumpet, flugelhorn ("Secret World")
  • Maurice Grants – cello ("Secret World")
  • Julian Hallmark – violin ("Secret World")
  • Vahe Hayrikyan – cello ("Secret World")
  • Norm Hughes – violin ("Secret World")
  • Suzie Katayama – cello, contracting ("Secret World")
  • Roland Kato – viola ("Secret World")
  • Peter Kent – violin ("Secret World")
  • Steve Kujala – flute ("Secret World")
  • Gayle Levant – harp ("Secret World")
  • Michael Markman – violin ("Secret World")
  • Miguel Martinez – cello ("Secret World")
  • Robert Matsuda – violin ("Secret World")
  • Carole Mukogawa – viola ("Secret World")
  • Sid Page – violin ("Secret World")
  • Sandra Park – violin ("Secret World")
  • Sara Parkins – violin ("Secret World")
  • Joel Peskin – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone ("Secret World")
  • Bob Peterson – violin ("Secret World")
  • Karie Prescott – viola ("Secret World")
  • Dan Smith – cello ("Secret World")
  • Rudy Stein – cello ("Secret World")
  • Lesa Terry – violin ("Secret World")
  • Josefina Veraga – violin ("Secret World")
  • David Washburn – trumpet, flugelhorn ("Secret World")
  • Evan Wilson – viola ("Secret World")
  • John Wittenberg – violin ("Secret World")

Production
  • Producers: Tears for Fears, Charlton Pettus
  • Engineers: Steve Churchyard, Neil Dorfsman, Mark O'Donoughue, Charlton Pettus, Tom Schick
  • Mixing: Tim Palmer
  • Mastering: Stephen Marcussen
  • Programming: Jayce Murphy
  • Product manager: Michael Kachko; Project coordinator: Cindi Peters; Production coordination: Ute Friesleben; Assistants: Andy Gwynn, Pete Novak, Miles Wilson
  • Illustrations and logo design: Alan Aldridge; Photography: Zoren Gold; Additional Design: Ryan Rogers

Charts
Year Chart Position
2004 US Billboard 200 46
US Billboard Top Internet Albums 16
2005 UK Albums Chart 45
UK Independent Albums[14] 10
FRA 28
GER 35
NL 86
SWI 48

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2004 "Call Me Mellow" US Adult Top 40 28
2005 "Closest Thing to Heaven" UK Singles Chart 40
UK Independent Singles[15] 8

References
  1. https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/lack-of-happy-ending-contributed-to-tears-for-fears-management-split/#more-162722
  2. Caulfield, Keith (4 January 2008). "Ask Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014.
  3. Critic reviews at Metacritic
  4. Allmusic review
  5. Gray, Christopher (17 September 2004). "Tears for Fears: Record review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  6. Hiltbrand, David. "Pretentious British duo ruins our fond remembrances by reuniting". Blender. Archived from the original on 27 October 2004.
  7. Edwards, Tom (2 February 2005). "Tears for Fears: Everybody Loves a Happy Ending". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  8. Sullivan, Caroline (25 February 2005). "Tears for Fears: Everybody Loves a Happy Ending". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  9. "Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending". Mojo (137): 114. April 2004.
  10. "Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending". Q (226): 108. May 2005.
  11. Shepherd, Fiona (4 March 2005). "CD Reviews". The Scotsman.
  12. Dee, Johnny (12 February 2005). "Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending". The Times.
  13. "Tears For Fears - Everybody Loves A Happy Ending". Uncut. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014.
  14. OCC - Independent Albums (13 Mar 2005)
  15. OCC - Independent Singles Chart (27 Feb 2005)
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