Orzabal has had quite the life. His childhood was chaotic. Before their divorce, his mother was an exotic dancer and occasional stripper. His father managed this type of talent. They frequently moved around.
He always had a deep interest in music and was playing in bands by the time he was 17. What’s interesting is that there are no young-and-hungry years in his career. He worked hard. He made music, which introduced him to new people, who helped him make better music. Repeat until he and Curt Smith are in a duo called Tears for Fears and have an album called “Songs from the Big Chair.”
After that, there is much drama and humble pie. Every subsequent Tears for Fears album sold half as much as the one before. Yet, Orzabal and Smith were undeniably becoming better musicians and better songwriters. Reflecting on their decline, Orzabal realizes how fleeting life is at the top of the charts. Bands don’t succeed because they are the best musicians with the best songs. Many things have to align to make a hit album.
Orzabal uses much astrology to make sense of his life. Many of the chapters have a coda where he explains what was going on with the planets at that time and how it influenced his life. He doesn’t use astrology to predict. He uses it to explain and clarify. As a rational thinker, this sort of mysticism always bugs me. Yet I can’t dismiss it. Mysticism gives people a narrative to believe. People regularly ignore the facts. They always cling to their beliefs. People build narratives that let them ignore their faults and give them hope for the future. They do so regardless of what a rational analysis may conclude. Maybe Orzabal does so to avoid taking accountability for some of the poor decisions he made along the way.
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