Picking up the pieces of most of the Tears For Fears output since their departure from Mercury, Saturnine Martial & Lunatic provides a pleasant surprise for an album comprised mainly of B-sides and once throwaway songs.
Some tracks have seen the light of day before on other series - the consistent "New Star" on the Threesome soundtrack, a deadly accurate cover of Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" on the NME UK compilation Ruby Trax, the most hated Tears For Fears synthpop UK hit "The Way You Are" (_Flashback Favorites, Vol. 4) and "Pharaohs" on Sedated In The Eighties Vol. 4 - but contains most of the Tears For Fears B-sides. There are still a few which didn't make this collection, but it's a good starting point for TFF completists.
"Lord Of Karma" melds pseudo-Hendrix guitars with the wah-wah Manchester sound, while "Marauders", the B-side to "The Way You Are", is TFF venturing carefully into the world we now call new age or ambient; of course, this term wasn't as prevalent in the early/mid 1980's. And, "Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams", a twist of "Sowing The Seeds of Love" with a world beat-styled rap, became a dance hit in its own right. A few other tracks on here also were reworkings (or instrumentals) of songs which eventually did make it to a Tears For Fears album.
Unfortunately, in parts, Saturnine Martial & Lunatics is stronger than some of Orzabal's Tears For Fears, post-Curt Smith, works. That only shows how good Tears For Fears once was. TRACK LISTING: Johnny Panic & The Bible of Dreams, The Big Chair, Schrodinger's Cat, My Life In The Suicide Rankws, When In Love With A Blind Man, Pharaohs, Deja Vu & The Sins of Science, The Marauders, Tears Roll Down, New Star, The Body Wah, Lord of Karma, Bloodletting Go, Always In The Past, Sea Song, Ashes To Ashes, Empire Building, The Way You Are
