Raoul and the Kings of Spain
Raoul and the Kings of Spain is the fifth studio album by the British pop-rock band Tears for Fears, released on 10 October 1995. Like the band's previous album, Elemental, it is essentially a solo effort by Roland Orzabal—neither album being made with the involvement of Curt Smith, who had left the band at that time.
Background
The album, according to Orzabal, has a recurring theme of familial relationships and delves into his own Spanish heritage. The album's title was mooted as far back as the 1980s as a possible contender for the band's third album. Raoul was originally Orzabal's first name given at birth before being anglicized by his parents to Roland.The album was originally scheduled to be released by Mercury Records but the project was cancelled after Tears For Fears left the label to sign with Sony/Epic Records. The album was eventually released by Sony in October 1995 with a slightly different track listing and new cover art.
The album peaked at #41 in the UK and #79 in the US, but was more successful in continental Europe, reaching #23 in Italy, #13 in Belgium and #5 in France. It was poorly received by critics, with much of the criticism directed at Orzabal's lyrics, which Tom Demalon of Allmusic described as "either inscrutable or embarrassingly silly". He also described some of the album's musical arrangements as "genuinely pretty, if unexciting".
The album features a reunion with Oleta Adams, who had recorded and toured extensively with the band for The Seeds of Love album, and here duets with Orzabal on the track "Me and My Big Ideas".
The front cover photo titled, Running Them in at Pamplona, is by Jose Galle and is a depiction of the annual "Running of the Bulls" festival held in Pamplona in Spain. Several inner sleeve photographs were by David Tack, taken from his book Impressions of Spain published by Quartet. Inner sleeve photos of Roland Orzabal were taken by Pamela Springsteen, shot at the historic Mission Inn in Riverside, California, where the promo video for "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" was filmed.
The album was re-released in August 2009 by Cherry Pop Records, complete with seven bonus tracks.
Track listing
Note- Due to the band's label switch to Sony in 1994, none of the B-sides from the album's singles are included on the Tears for Fears B-sides collection Saturnine Martial & Lunatic, which was released in 1996 by Phonogram/Mercury, the band's old record company.
Personnel
- Roland Orzabal – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Alan Griffiths – guitar, keyboards
- Jebin Bruni – Hammond organ
- Gail Ann Dorsey – bass guitar
- Brian MacLeod – drums, percussion
- Jeffrey Trott – guitar
- Oleta Adams – guest vocalist on "Me and My Big Ideas"
- Mark O'Donoughue – backing vocals
Production
- Producers – Tim Palmer ; Roland Orzabal and Alan Griffiths.
- Engineer – Mark O'Donoughue
- Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering.
- Album Coordinators – Jason Geake and Philippa Sprigg
- Design – Gail Marowitz
- Front Cover Photo – Jose Galle
- Inner Sleeve Photos – David Tack and Pamela Springsteen
- Management – Debra Baum, Whirlwind Entertainment Group Inc.
Charts
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
| 1995 | "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" | UK Singles Chart | 31 |
| 1996 | "God's Mistake" | UK Singles Chart | 62 |