Roland Orzabal - Tomcats Screaming Outside (CD)

Just shy of masterpiece

By John  Dec 25, 2002 | 1 out of 1 found this Tomcats Screaming Outside review helpful

Roland Orzabal is an artist that is decidedly less well known than he should be. As the larger talent behind Tears For Fears, having penned well over 85% of TFF's songs, Roland doesn't receive the recognition that his craft deserves. Tomcats Screamin...g Outside is surely Roland's most eclectic mix of music yet ranging from Techno, Funk, Pop and Rock to the Grunge influenced "Dandelion".The albums commences with "Ticket to the World" which with it's repetitive chorus may take a little longer than most to grow on you. The tempo drops slightly on the second track, "Low Life", the first single and most 'mainstream' of the tracks. The third song "Hypnoculture" seems to be the least liked by many however the funky rythym and snyth beats are mesmerizing. The fourth song "Bullets For Brains" is one of the songs on this album that most definitely is undervalued. This song could surely have charted high if it had been given the exposure that only the largest record publishers seem to be capable of providing. Likewise "For The Love Of Cain", the next track, has the makings of a successful single.The next two tracks on the album, "Under Ether" and "Day by Day by Day by Day by Day" are both slow and melodic and the only points on the record that come close to bland. They are fine songs but not particularly memorable and not likely something that you will see on a retrospective album of Roland Orzabal's career.The next track, as mentioned previously, is the Grunge influenced "Dandelion". The lyrics are a little sophmoric ('Hey now watch out kid She's blowing you apart like a dandelion').The following two tracks, "Hey Andy" and "Kill Love" may be the best two tracks on the album. Both are interestingly hypnotic in tempo however "Kill Love" is, as the title would suggest, a far more pessimisstic song than the other. The last words of the song 'Buffalo Standing' are repeated over and over again which seems to be something of a theme on this album as with "Ticket To The World" and "Day by Day..." which both use repetition bordering on extreme."Snowdrop" the next track is another pessimisstic song and the tempo drops yet again. It is an interesting point that Roland can keep bring the tempo further down and the negativity increasing and yet he never seems to reach bottom.The final track on the album is "Maybe Our Days Are Numbered" which is yet one more downbeat song (both in tempo and mood). Although the final song of the album doesn't have the same optimism of last songs on his prior albums, such as "Famous Last Words" from "The Seeds Of Love" nor the same upbeat quality of "Goodnight Song" from "Elemental", it does leave the listener wanting to play the album again and yearning for more from this great talent.This album is just shy of being a masterpiece and is definitely a classic along the vein of "Dark Side Of The Moon", "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Tapestry" and "The Joshua Tree". Read more Less