Raoul and the Kings of Spain, released in 1995 through Epic Records, is the fifth studio album by English progressive pop group Tears for Fears. The second and last of the two "solo" albums the band put out, following the departure of Curt Smith in 1991 and before his return to the band in 2000, the record dives much further into the progressive side of the band's sound than its more pop-oriented predecessor, Elemental. Roland Orzabal described it as a Concept Album about both the nature of family and his Spanish heritage, to the point where the album is named after himself ("Raoul" was Orzabal's birth name before it was Anglicized to "Roland"). Fitting this, the album incorporates heavy influences from Spanish folk music, combining it with the Alternative Rock sound that the band adopted on Elemental.
To help consolidate this shift in sound, Orzabal brought in in his supporting musicians from the Elemental tour. Thus, the album features contributions from not only prior collaborators Alan Griffiths and Mark O'Donoughue, but also new faces like bassist Gail Anne Dorsey (prior to her stint as David Bowie's bassist). Oleta Adams, who last appeared on The Seeds of Love as a Sixth Ranger for the band, would also step back in to provide backing vocals on "Me and My Big Ideas".
The album peaked at No. 41 in the UK and No. 79 in the US, marking the lowest sales performance in Tears for Fears' discography. Consequently, the band would go on hiatus following the release of the album, not putting out a follow-up until Everybody Loves a Happy Ending in 2004. In the meantime, Orzabal put out a solo album, Tomcats Screaming Outside, in 2001.
Raoul and the Kings of Spain was supported by four singles: the Title Track, "God's Mistake", "Secrets", and "Falling Down".
Tracklist:
- "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" (5:16)
- "Falling Down" (4:56)
- "Secrets" (4:42)
- "God's Mistake" (3:47)
- "Sketches of Pain" (4:21)
- "Los Reyes Católicos" (1:44)
- "Sorry" (4:48)
- "Humdrum and Humble" (4:11)
- "I Choose You" (3:26)
- "Don't Drink the Water" (4:51)
- "Me and My Big Ideas" (4:33)
- "Los Reyes Católicos (Reprise)" (3:43)
Troped the war, troped the battle:
- Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable: "Los Reyes Católicos" is grammatically correct Spanish for "The Catholic Kings", but it's not pronounced correctly for at least most dialects of the language, although this was probably done to fit the rhythm of the lyrics (the stress in "católicos" should be on the "ó", which is what the acute accent indicates, and it should be a long vowel sound).
- Album Title Drop: Apart from the Title Track, the phrase "Raoul and the kings of Spain" appears in "Los Reyes Católicos (Reprise)".
- Book Ends: The album opens with a Title Track and features an Album Title Drop in the closing track. Both songs additionally share harmonic elements, furthering the connection.
- Call-Back: "My and My Big Ideas" has one to "Head Over Heels", by mentioning that the "four leaf clover" from the latter song has been blown away, now representing the end of a relationship rather than the beginning of one.In a way this dream is over
Blown away the four leaf clover
There's no reason why
It's just me and my - Character Name and the Noun Phrase: Raoul and the Kings of Spain.
- Concept Album: Roland Orzabal described the album as an exploration of both family dynamics and his own Spanish heritage.
- Double Entendre: "Don't Drink the Water" features the lines "no, this is a drag; that man over there is smoking sweet cigarettes; hey, look at that fag," playing off of the interconnected double meanings for "drag" (a letdown; inhaling from a cigarette), "sweet" (flavor; femininity), and "fag" (a cigarette; the homophobic slur).
- Fading into the Next Song:
- "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" fades into "Falling Down".
- "God's Mistake" segues into "Sketches of Pain".
- "Los Reyes Católicos", "Sorry", and "Humdrum and Humble" all hard-cut into one another.
- "I Choose You" segues into "Don't Drink the Water".
- "Me and My Big Ideas" fades into "Los Reyes Católicos (Reprise)".
- Female Rockers Play Bass: Bassist Gail Ann Dorsey is credited as a band member, thus making her the only woman to receive such a distinction on a Tears for Fears album.
- Gratuitous Spanish: "Los Reyes Católicos" and its reprise feature the title and Title Drops in Spanish, while the lyrics are otherwise in English.
- I Am the Band: The album is the second of two from the "solo" period of the band, when Roland Orzabal was the only founding member present, though like its predecessor, most of the songs are cowritten by Alan Griffiths. Only "Falling Down", "Sketches of Pain", and "I Choose You" are written by Roland Orzabal alone.
- Last Note Nightmare: "Sorry". The chorus overall is pretty serene, but ends with the line "Cut off my nose to spite my face." The last time Orzabal sings this, he repeats this as his voice and the backing instrumentation are increasingly pitch-shifted. Then some of the words are dropped from repetitions: "Cut, spite, face," then finally just "Cut." This segues straight into "Humdrum and Humble".
- Longest Song Goes First: The album opens with the Title Track, the only song that surpasses five minutes.
- Magical Seventh Son: Referenced in "Raoul and the Kings of Spain", which prominently features the line "when the seventh son of the seventh son comes along and breaks the chains."
- Miniscule Rocking: "Los Reyes Católicos" falls 15 seconds short of two minutes.
- Mood Whiplash: "Los Reyes Católicos", in which one of the most reflective songs on the album, unexpectedly segues into "Sorry", a song that's probably as close as Tears for Fears will ever come to performing heavy metal. "Sorry" itself features several examples, transitioning between the main borderline-metal riff and an almost jazzy chorus... then ending with a creepy Last Note Nightmare that itself leads straight into "Humdrum and Humble", a very subdued track with elements of Trip Hop and Psychedelic Rock, amongst other genres.
- New Sound Album: The album reemphasizes the Progressive Rock elements that were present on Songs from the Big Chair and The Seeds of Love while incorporating elements of Spanish folk music.
- One-Word Title: "Sorry".
- Performance Video: The music video for the Title Track depicts Roland Orzabal miming the song around Spain.
- Production Throwback: "Me and My Big Ideas" calls back to "Head Over Heels" from Songs from the Big Chair by mentioning a "four leaf clover"; in "Head Over Heels", the four leaf clover representated the narrator's hope that he would end up with the woman he was pursuing, while in "Me and My Big Ideas", it being blown away represents an end to a relationship.
- Pun-Based Title: "Sketches of Pain" plays off of Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain.
- Rearrange the Song: "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" was given an acoustic arrangement as a B-side to "God's Mistake"; this was later included as a bonus track on the 2009 expanded reissue.
- Shout-Out:
- "Sketches of Pain" plays off of the Miles Davis album Sketches of Spain.
- "Don't Drink the Water" name-drops Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
- Song Style Shift: "Sketches of Pain" features a brief, energetic Flamenco interlude in what is otherwise a moody Folk Rock song.
- Special Guest: Prior collaborator Oleta Adams provides backing vocals on "Me and My Big Ideas".
- Stealth Sequel: "Me and My Big Ideas" is one to "Head Over Heels" from Songs from the Big Chair, as evidenced by the lyrics mentioning that the "four leaf clover" has been blown away; previously, it was used to symbolize the narrator's hopes of wooing the woman he was pursuing in "Head Over Heels", while it being blown away in "Me and My Big Ideas" now reveals that their relationship has run its course.
- Title-Only Chorus: "Sketches of Pain", "Los Reyes Católicos" (which also intersperses it with "ghosts all gone"), and "Don't Drink the Water".
- Title Track: "Raoul and the Kings of Spain", which opens the album.
- The X of Y: "Sketches of Pain".
