Friday 21 April 2023
The Definitive Collection: You Can Get It If You Really Want Album • Desmond Dekker • 2016
Speak And Spell (Deluxe) Album • Depeche Mode • 1981
The album peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, and was ranked number 991 in the 2000 book All Time Top 1000 Albums.
This was the only Depeche Mode album with Vince Clarke as a member. Clarke wrote most of the songs for the band, before departing to form Yazoo and later Erasure.
The album is significantly lighter in tone and melody than their later work, a direction which can largely be attributed to Clarke's writing. After he left, Martin Gore took over songwriting duties, writing almost all of the band's material. Later albums written by him would explore darker subjects and melodies.
When interviewed by Simon Amstell for Channel 4's Popworld programme in 2005, Gore and Fletcher both stated that the track "What's Your Name?" was their least favourite Depeche Mode song of all time.
Upon its release, Speak & Spell received generally positive reception from critics. Record Mirror praised Depeche Mode's smart simplicity and noted the album offers "much to admire and little to disappoint." Reviewer Sunie commented that the band's chief skill "lies in making their art sound artless; simple synthesiser melodies, Gahan's tuneful but undramatic singing and a matter-of-fact, gimmick-free production all help achieve this unforced effect." As a whole she describes it as "a charming, cheeky collection of compulsive dance tunes". Mike Stand of Smash Hits wrote: "Synthesisers and bubblegum go together like tinned peaches and Carnation, hence [Depeche Mode's] hit singles: melody, uncluttered electronics and nice voices in humanising harmony." Paul Morley of the New Musical Express described the album as "generous, silly, susceptible electro-tickled pop... that despite its relentless friskiness and unprincipled cheerfulness is encouraging not exasperating", noting the music's "diverting vitality", and concluding that "Depeche Mode, apparently, could quickly move... far up and away from constructing slightly sarcastic jingles."
Paul Colbert of Melody Maker felt that Depeche Mode speak with "a winning immediacy" and called the album "a wriggling giant of motivation, persuading each muscle to jump in time with the music", while at the same time criticising the presence of certain tracks such as "Nodisco" that "repeat earlier thoughts and feels without adding fresh views." Rob White, writing for the Christchurch Press, was less positive, calling the music on Speak & Spell "instant pop, instantly disposable, as precious as the gladwrapped swan on the... cover", remarking that the songs "would actually blow away in the wind... if it wasn't for their ability to chance upon melody hooks that drag you along without any real protest" and ultimately calling the album "tedious". The Village Voice's Robert Christgau dismissed the bulk of the album as "tuneful pap" that "crosses Meco (without the humble functionalism), Gary Numan (without the devotion to surface), and Kraftwerk (without the humor—oh, definitely without the humor)."
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Ned Raggett described Speak & Spell as "at once both a conservative, functional pop record and a groundbreaking release", as well as "an undiluted joy." Nitsuh Abebe of Pitchfork said that the album endures "not as stylish futurism (not anymore) but as the happy noises of teenagers who believed it to be stylish futurism—and with a charming earnestness." In January 2005, Speak & Spell was included as an "essential" album in Mojo magazine's "Depeche Mode + the Story of Electro-Pop" special edition.
Secondhand Daylight Album • Magazine • 1979
Unlike the group's former album Real Life, Howard Devoto did not contribute to writing the music for most of the tracks. Instead, the writing credits were split between band members: Devoto, John McGeoch and Dave Formula each wrote songs alone and in collaboration with Barry Adamson and Devoto/McGeoch wrote one song together. Devoto again provided lyrics for all compositions with the exception of the instrumental "The Thin Air", reputedly because the group ran out of studio time.
The new lineup was stable until mid-1980 and consisted of Devoto (vocals), McGeoch (guitar and saxophone), Adamson (bass), Formula (keyboards) and newly recruited drummer John Doyle. The first release with Doyle had been the "Give Me Everything" single from November 1978.
The album was recorded in January 1979 at Good Earth Studios in London and using Virgin Records' mobile studio, which was used at Farmyard Studios. The album was produced and engineered by Colin Thurston. The album was Thurston's first production job; significantly, he had worked as an engineer for David Bowie's "Heroes" and Iggy Pop's The Idiot.
The album was originally released as an LP (with a gatefold sleeve) and as a cassette in March 1979. It peaked at No. 38 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was subsequently released as a budget album on LP, cassette and CD in the late 1980s. A remastered edition of the album was released by Virgin/EMI in 2007, along with the other three of the band's first four studio albums, including four bonus tracks and liner notes by Kieron Tyler. The original artwork featured an illustration by Ian Pollack, photography by Richard Rayner-Canham and typography by Malcolm Garrett.
Upon its release, Secondhand Daylight was hailed in the NME. Reviewer Nick Kent described songs like "Feed the Enemy" as "very Low-period Bowiesque", due to the "stray saxophone bleats and lulling synthesiser chords". Sounds was less positive; music journalist Garry Bushell declared that Magazine were in "retreat to the '70s progressive lie".
On its US release a year later, Richard C. Walls in Creem was also unimpressed: "musically and lyrically this stuff is old hat. There's no new wave succinctness here, no economy or irony. Just a surfeit of Pink Floydian chord coasting behind bleak and wintry lyrics.
White Music Album • XTC • 1978
Originally titled Black Music, referring to black comedy, the title was changed at the suggestion of both Virgin Records and the band's manager. The resultant title, White Music, refers to white noise.
The Psychomodo Album • Cockney Rebel • 1974
Cockney Rebel's debut album, The Human Menagerie, was released in 1973 and failed to make an appearance in the UK Albums Chart. The single "Sebastian" was also a failure in the UK, but did achieve success in Continental Europe. The lack of UK success for Cockney Rebel left their label, EMI, feeling the band had yet to record a potential hit single. In response, Harley went away and reworked his unrecorded song "Judy Teen", which was released in March 1974 and became a UK Top 5 hit. By the time the single was released, Cockney Rebel were already in the process of recording their second album, The Psychomodo.
From 25 May to 7 July 1974, Cockney Rebel embarked on a major British tour to promote The Psychomodo. Due to the success of "Judy Teen", which was climbing the UK charts while the band were on the tour, some of the concerts saw riots break out and others had to be rebooked at larger venues due to the demand for tickets. As the tour progressed, Cockney Rebel faced growing tensions which ultimately led to their split at the end of the tour in late July. Jean-Paul Crocker, Milton Reame-James and Paul Jeffreys quit the band after Harley refused to comply with their demands to write material for the group, despite the initial understanding that Cockney Rebel was a vehicle for Harley's songs.
Later in 1974, Harley finalised a new line-up for the band and then continued recording and touring under the name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. The only remaining member of the original line-up to continue with Harley was drummer Stuart Elliott. In 1975, the band reached the UK number-one spot with "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)", the lyrics of which were vindictively directed at Harley's former band members who, he felt, had abandoned him.
Speaking to Record & Popswop Mirror in November 1974, Harley spoke of The Psychomodo in relation to his songwriting for the next Cockney Rebel album, The Best Years of Our Lives, "I find that I'm not writing in such a surrealistic way anymore. I'm writing slightly more blatant, less subtle. I mean the subtleties of The Psychomodo tended to get lost I think. I think 'Sling It' is probably the best concealed important statement on the album, but it's gone above everyone's head as far as I can make out." He added that The Psychomodo was "very much a concept: psychomodal – stream of consciousness".
Give 'Em Enough Rope Album • The Clash • 1978
The album marked the first album appearance of drummer Topper Headon, who joined the band shortly after the recording of their first album. Most of the tracks, as with the prior album, were written by guitarists Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, with the exception of "English Civil War" (a reworking of the traditional American folk song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home") and "Guns on the Roof", which is credited to all four band members, being Headon, Jones, Strummer, and bassist Paul Simonon.
Damned Damned Damned (2017 Remastered) Album • The Damned • 1977
After the success of "New Rose" and a tour with the Sex Pistols, the Heartbreakers and the Clash, the band went into Pathway Studios to record the album Damned Damned Damned with producer Nick Lowe, who had previously recorded "New Rose" with them. Following 10 days of recording, the mix was completed on 15 January 1977, the day the master tapes were compiled.
