"Everybody Wants to..." - Tears for Fears

Still baffled as to what the difference is between the 45 and LP versions. I don't think there is one.

So I may as well trace out the mastering history.

First, I played my US 45, Mercury 880 659-7, matrix number "880 659 7 2 - 58130 - BW", pressed on styrene, printed 4:10, actual 4:10, runs at 112.1 BPM throughout. Confirmed it with the UK 12", which has a so-called 7" version on the B-side. Also runs 4:10, and at 111.9 BPM throughout.

The song first turned up on the "atomic" design CD of Songs From The Big Chair, where it runs 4:10, at 112.1 BPM throughout, and (unfortunately) has its left and right channels swapped.

There are many CDs that use the same analog transfer as the "atomic" Songs From The Big Chair, all running at 112.1 BPM and all with their left and right channels swapped:

Polygram's (Europe) Hits On CD Vol. 4 (1986)
PolyTel's (Canada) Rock With The '80s (1990)
Polygram's PGD Presents Sound Savers Vol. 2 (1992; digitally identical)
Sony's (Germany) Pop And Wave Vol. 1 (1992; 2.0/1.6 dB louder in L/R before 1:12 and 1.4/1.0 dB louder in L/R after 1:12)
Swaitek's promo 50-CD set The A List Disc 30 (1994; no noise reduction)

All the other CDs listed below have their left and right channels correct. Columbia's Music For The Miracle (1986) runs at 111.5 BPM throughout, and runs 4:11. Realm's Gold And Platinum Vol. 2 (1986) starts at 111.5 BPM and drops to 111.2 BPM at the end due to tape drag (the only one of the CDs I found that has such tape drag), and fades WAY early to a length of 3:48 - avoid. EMI's (UK) 2-CD Now Smash Hits Of The '80s (1987) has a slightly shortened fade, running at 111.9 BPM.

Finally, in 1992, Fontana released Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92). Interestingly, it's a differently-EQ'd digital clone of the "atomic" Big Chair version, but with its left and right channels corrected. It has a lot more bass than Big Chair, and has a slightly shortened fade to run at 4:07. I think Big Chair was mixed in that cold, bass-shy sound that a lot of '85-era albums had, like Heart, and I welcome the extra bass on the Tears Roll Down disc.

Lots of CDs use the same analog transfer as Tears Roll Down, all running at 112.1 BPM and all with their correct left and right channels:

EMI's (UK) 2-CD Now 1985 (1993; digitally exactly 0.048 dB quieter, but with an early fade from 3:50 to 3:58)
Priority's Rock Of The '80s Vol. 7 (1993; a little added compression and clips a bit)
Simitar's Number Ones: The '80s (1998, digitally exactly 0.235 dB louder)
Skifan's (Iceland) 2-CD Pottþétt 80's 1 (1999, extra compression/clipping and fades early)
Universal's Pure '80s (1999, digitally exactly 1.62 dB louder plus additional limiting)
Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 21 Club '80s (2001, additional limiting?)

A few more stragglers:

Razor & Tie's 2-CD Totally '80s (1993) runs 4:11 and at 111.7 BPM. The same analog transfer is used for Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 2 1985 (1994) and for Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 3 1984-1985 (1999, digitally exactly 0.1 dB quieter than Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 2 1985). Finally, Realm's 3-CD Greatest Hits Of The '80s Vol. 3 (2002) runs at 112.0 BPM, has its left/right channels reversed, and is severely maximized. Avoid!

For sound quality, I'd go with Fontana's Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92) (1992). I've heard that the MFSL reissue of Songs From The Big Chair is great, but it's $$$$ and I don't have it for comparison.

FYI, the only place I know of to find Tears For Fears' benefit record from early summer '86, "Everybody Wants To Run The World", is on EMI's (UK) Now That's What I Call Music '86 (1986). It's rerecorded from scratch, running slightly faster at 113.3 BPM. The main differences are a different mix featuring a slightly busier drum pattern, and exactly one different word in the chorus.

Edited by crapfromthepast