Raoul and the Kings of Spain

Background

The album, according to Orzabal, has a recurring theme of familial relationships and delves into his own Spanish heritage. The album's title was mooted as far back as the 1980s as a possible contender for the band's third album (which ultimately became The Seeds of Love). Raoul was originally Orzabal's first name given at birth before being Anglicized by his parents to Roland (Orzabal later gave the name "Raoul" to his first son, born in 1991).

The album was originally scheduled to be released by Mercury Records but the project was cancelled after Tears For Fears left the label to sign with Sony/Epic Records. The album was eventually released by Sony in October 1995 with a slightly different track listing and new cover art.

The album peaked at #41 in the UK and #79 in the US, but was more successful in continental Europe, reaching #23 in Italy, #13 in Belgium (Wallonia) and #5 in France.

The album features a reunion with Oleta Adams, who had recorded and toured extensively with the band for The Seeds of Love album, and here duets with Orzabal on the track "Me and My Big Ideas".

The album was re-released in August 2009 by Cherry Pop Records, complete with seven bonus tracks (see below).

Track listing

Due to the band's label switch to Sony in 1994, none of the B-sides from the album's singles (tracks 13-17 on the 2009 reissue) are included on the Tears for Fears B-sides collection Saturnine Martial & Lunatic, which was released in 1996 by PolyGram, the band's old record company.

Personnel