In 1985, British musicians Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith redefined MTV-era pop music with original anthems of self-expression. her second album, Songs from the big chair would top the charts worldwide as the pair channeled psychotherapy into such unique paeans as “Shout” and “Head Over Heels.” Even in the pair’s most exuberant moments, a confrontational undercurrent was always revealed in their songs (the lively “Sowing The Seeds of Love” and its hookline are a case in point “Time to eat all your words; Conquer your pride; open your eyes”).
On their first studio release in 18 years, Orzabal and Smith remain no less direct in their music, but they finally let it take on a lighter, more deliberately approachable tone. Instead of declamating the listener with full force, the two sound like world-weary travelers who have finally found peace with what life has thrown at them – good, tragic or somewhere in between. The result is a vigorous effort by wise elder statesmen; those who finally let their angry young men fly away.
Where from Songs from the big chair With Orzabal’s powerful baritone asserting dominance throughout, this album vocally belongs to Smith and he doesn’t disappoint, particularly on tracks like the beautiful “Rivers of Mercy” (arguably the album’s best track) and the lilting “Stay”. Smith’s supple tenor tone never cracks or breaks. It’s this element that brings out all the beauty that shines through the album’s brooding.
Seemingly musical cues from more modern acts like Fleet Foxes (their crack up Period), The tipping points Musicality hovers in more ambient and electronic territory, particularly on “No Small Thing” and “My Demons”. For all its mortality, the album’s title track refuses to be smothered in obscurity despite its harrowing poetry (“Who is this spirit knocking on my door? You know I can’t love you anymore”). All emotions are real: Orzabal sings his heart on his sleeve after the death of his first wife Caroline in 2017.
In total, The turning point reveals the fullest, purest extent of Orzabal and Smith’s creative vulnerability. Their winning formula of raw emotionality certainly reasserts itself here, but this time the musical injury conveyed by both thankfully moves in the direction of catharsis rather than cutting to the core.
~ Ira Kantor
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