While my buying of Depeche Mode albums initially started out with albums which I knew songs from, a rabbit hole soon formed, and down I went. I found myself exploring other tunes from them, mainly from the playlist of 10,000 80's songs I had discovered some time ago. This lead me to liking more and more from them, until there was only one album left from the 80's which I didn't own. Well, there was no point in that gap in my collection, so it too joined the fold.
Now with all these albums in my collection, you'd think it was time to start listening to them. Well, no. Truthfully, I've only made my way through their 1984 released, Some Great Reward. However, in retrospect of that review, I wasn't able to make a determination of the album at that time, and really didn't have much to say about it as a result. As such, I may need to revisit it during this process.
The origins of Depeche Mode go back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed a band called No Romance In China. The two would go on to form the group, Composition Of Sound, in 1980. They would be joined by Martin Gore relatively early upon its inception, and Dave Gahan would be asked to join after being heard singing a rendition of David Bowie's Heroes by Clarke.
As Composition Of Sound, they would make their first appearance in June of 1980. However, the guys would soon start to rethink their band name, considering many others, but ultimately landing on French fashion magazine title, Dépêche Mode, after Gore mistranslated the title to mean "hurried fashion" or "fashion dispatch". However, the more accurate translation of the magazine's name turned out to be "Fashion News" or "Fashion Update".
Accidents aside, they would make their recording debut as Depeche Mode on the 1981 compilation album, Some Bizzare Album with the song Photographic. The track would later be re-recorded for use on their debut studio album, Speak & Spell.
Though the group was approached relatively early on for potential recording deals, they were more so interested in an offer from Mute Records founder, Daniel Miller, who wanted the boys to record a single for his label. The selected single, Dreaming Of Me, would be released in February 1981, and reach number 57 in the UK charts. Encouraged by this, they recorded and release the follow up single, New Life, which went even higher, reaching number 11. This success would also garner them an appearance on Top Of The Pops.
Their third single, Just Can't Get Enough, would break the top ten, and be followed by the release of their debut album, which peaked at number 10 on the UK album charts. Unfortunately, Clarke started to voice concerns with their sudden popularity, stating that because of all the photoshoots and interviews, he never had time to do anything else. He would leave the group in November of 1981. He would go on to join up with Alison Moyet, and form Yazoo, and then in 1985 form Erasure with Andy Bell.
Well, before we go any further, let's take a pause to dig into Speak & Spell.
It starts up with the hit, New Life, and from there continues to deliver delicious 80's synth pop. In addition to the first track, Boys Say Go, Nodisco, Photographic, and Tora! Tora! Tora all stood out. However, it was final track, I Just Can't Get Enough, which is what ultimately led me to buying the album, and my favorite from the bunch.
Speak & Spell is just a nice synth pop journey. It's experimental for its time, yet musically, simplistic in nature. There are a lot of layers hidden within each song, and this is perhaps its strongest point. Each tune is always delivering something for your ears to pick up on, keeping you invested as you try to take in every little bit.
It was also one of those occasions that I frequently long for when doing these play sessions. Wherein it leaves me excited to dive into the next release, and really broaden my horizons with an artist / band. I'm looking forward to 1982's A Broken Flame, and trying to resist firing it up even as I type this sentence. While I'm eager to hear it, I don't want to experience fatigue with Depeche Mode, another common mistake I make when doing these back to back discography reviews. I want each album to have an opportunity to breath. Leave its impact, so to speak, regardless of whether that's good or bad.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS September 8, 1984 |
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