'We just wanted to be The Cure or something like that..or the next Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark or The Human League...from Basildon' - Vince Clarke 2006
Following the worldwide success of albums from 'Black Celebration' right through to 1997's 'Ultra', Depeche Mode's early 80's recordings including their masterful synthpop debut 'Speak & Spell' were criminally downgraded and neglected. Dullard UK muso journos and huge sections of the band's rabid and hyper critical following would erase these early Mute gems from their collective memory whilst swaying in huge arenas to the new Mode blueprint of 'Never Let Me Down'.
There was even less love for these early recordings from Mode HQ as live tracks were gradually phased out with raw memories of an early 80's press battering still fresh in their minds.
32 years on and i-orac HQ recently took delivery of mint Depeche Mode vinyl (81-84) and over the course of a week, I discovered that there is still much to admire and cherish from these crispy recordings that were way ahead of most of their contemporaries when Mode released their debut back in 1981...
Whilst latter Mode albums have contained fan pleasing self referential nods to the past - 'Delta Machine' stomper 'Soft Touch / Raw Nerve' being the best example of recent Mode triumphs - a blend of crispy old school Mode and live Arena sonics that the band have perfected over the course of several world tours - each album contains it's own little Universe. Capturing the sights, sounds and advances in technology of that time, each album represents a unique time capsule and whilst the 2006 hybrid SACD collectors editions captured some the sonic wonder of these early albums, in recent days I've become hugely impressed by the vibrancy and almost timeless quality of Mode 81-84 on original Mute vinyl pressings.
Released during a golden age for UK pop in 1981, Mode debut 'Speak & Spell' could so easily have sank without trace. The album was released in the same month that The Human League's sublime 'Dare', a collection of perfect pop tunes all fortified by the innovative sequencing and Linn drum manipulation perfected by the legendary Sir Martin Rushent - a slab of vinyl that would prove to be the most important electronic recording since Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express'. Mode's chirpy debut also faced strong competition from other bands that had inspired chief song writer and Mode founder Sir Vince Clarke as OMD released 'Architecture & Morality' a month followed by a superb debut from Soft Cell with 'Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret'. Add Heaven 17's 'Penthouse & Pavement' to the mix which was hailed as the big hitter by the UK music press, Mode could easily have been in danger of being cancelled out by the brilliance of other acts around them.
It is to the credit of 'Speak & Spell' (a remarkably confident debut 32 years later) that this never happened. Whilst all those acts would falter creatively with some disastrous albums in the 80's (THL 'Hysteria' 1984, H17 'Pleasure One' 1986, OMD 'Dazzle Ships 1983 etc), Mode would effortlessly eclipse them all with regular albums that progressively got better both lyrically and technically. In the years that have followed, critical love and appreciation for Mode's debut has been shockingly sparse even amongst the most devotional members of The Black Swarm.
Derided for it's throwaway lyrics (exemplified no greater than on the album's weakest track 'What's Your Name' - Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher would both nominate this one as Mode's worse ever track on a 2006 documentary dedicated to 'Speak & Spell), critics were harsh on this debut. Scorn was made even worse by the general hatred and distrust aimed at electronic music in 1981 from those in the music press who were longing for the days of prog rock and endless guitar wank from yesteryear no to mention a high profile campaign from the Musician's Union who claimed that the synth was 'killing live music' - ironic really as Depeche were already receiving high praise from unlikely sources for their energetic and bombastic live shows. It was the power of several early live show in Basildon that would finally convince Mute supremo Daniel Miller to finance the recording of debut single 'Dreaming of Me'.
It is also interesting to note that many of the synth leads and even some of the basslines were played live in the studio for the recording of 'Speak & Spell' by Martin and Vince.
To fully appreciate the magnificent pop sheen of 'Speak & Spell' on vinyl, it is probably best to forget the dizzy heights of 'Violator' (so many Mode fans are trapped within this era - unable to appreciate anything recorded by the band before or since). As a Vince Clarke driven project, 'Speak & Spell' needs to be compared to the Clarke ventures that followed and creatively it holds it's own against the other heavy weight pop Clarke classics namely 'Upstairs At Eric's'. 'You & Me Both' and the album that Erasure are still yet to beat, the triple platinum selling 'The Innocents'.
It is amazing even now when looking back over Mode history that Daniel Miller was a compete studio novice prior to recording Mode's 'Dreaming of Me' being one of the original DIY bedroom electro innovators with Mute acts The Normal and Silicon Teens. A Kraftwerk disciple of Kraftwerk. Miller was keen to capture the technical excellence of those Kling Klang recordings and beyond the work of Martin Rushent in 1981, Miller's expert manipulation of the Arp 2600 sequencer coupled with how crisp and clear ever single note is on the Speak & Spell recordings is the closest that any electronic recording came to the magnificence of 'Dare'. The multiple intertwining melodic hooks were recorded on a modest 8 track desk at Blackwing Studio though listening to it on vinyl in the present day, the whole album sounds like it was captured in some ultra futuristic hi-tech studio.
The album gets off to a cracking start with the first Mode single I ever bought way back in the Summer of 1981 (a very grim year politically and socially here in the UK - saved only by the vibrant and diverse music scene, a weekly dose of Top of The Pops and a rare Summer season repeat run for 'Blake's 7'). 'New Life' is still an astonishing pop single.
I first saw the band perform this track on a late afternoon children's ITV show (possibly Razamatazz?), just one of many early TV appearances that the band would grow to hate but this particular teenage viewer would become hooked to Mode for life on the back of it. The second track 'Sometimes I Wish I was Dead' raises a smile these days as the actual tune is typical boppy Clarke heaven with a ridiculous amount of musical hooks though it is still one of the album's weakest moments. A fan of early League and The Cure, Vince proves that he can do 'dark' with 'Puppets'. Like most of the album, it is severely underrated but few could deny it's technical power on vinyl particularly when a deep booming synth bass menacingly tests your speakers to their limits (a fantastic sound provided either by Miller's Pro One synth or the classic monophonic synth Minikorg 700S that was used to such a great effect by Martin Ware's definitive Human League from 1977-1980.
'Boys Say Go' is another weak moment lyrically but once again it is saved by another insanely catchy melody and some gorgeous analogue sonics. Doomed from the very beginning and there's a very strong case for wiping this track and replacing it on future pressings of 'Speak & Spell' with the brilliant 'Shout', 'What's Your Name?' is admittedly hilarious though it would be funny (though highly unlikely) to see Mode perform this live.
Some of the album's best Arp 2600 sequencing provides most of the thrills in 'Nodisco', a moody Eurofied number with deadpan Gahan vocals that signals future tricks that would feature on the next two albums. Given the very strong melodic nature of the whole album with long instrumental segments acting as bridges to the chorus, it's surprising that Mute never considered a remix dub album that would later be seized upon by The Human League the following year with 'Love & Dancing'.
P-R-E double T-Y bad.
Flip the vinyl over to side two and it kicks off with fan fave 'Photographic'. It was heaven x17 when Mode unexpectedly performed a right old proper analogue live version of this track during a superb performance at London's Wireless way back in 2006. This is one of Speak & Spell's timeless moments and Vince's finest Mode effort other than the two singles. One of the things I especially love about this track and the album as a whole is how much of an audio delight the whole thing is. There are great effects running between speakers - an art that is now sadly lost with most people listening to music on tiny mp3 systems which is probably why most bands don't bother too much with the stereo mix. Listening to these old Mode vinyl albums on a fairly decent hi-fi with a distance of ten - 12 feet between speakers has been a total joy. Mode and Miller clearly spent a lot of time perfecting the stereo separation and creating all the sounds and 32 years on, I love them all to bits for putting the hours in and working hard to create something that would live on and endure.
There may have been tense days at Mute HQ when Vince walked out on his band but the future was always bright simply on the strength of Martin Gore's first Mode effort 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' - lyrically baffling but a choice track and a live fave for the rest of that decade but I would be hard pushed to praise the token instrumental 'Big Muff' - it's place should have been taken by Vince's vastly superior 'Ice Machine'.
Back in the mid 80's when I was compiling C-9O featuring the best of Mode (so far) for friends, I would also include 'Any Seconds Now (Voices)' - a beautifully hypnotic tune with vox from Martin. Perfect on every level but way too short at just over two minutes long. This tune could have easily been expanded and fortified into an epic 6 minute stab of electro minimalism some 25 years before Warp and Boards of Canada.
The monster hit and the single tune that most people in the UK recognize as Depeche, with a genius synth lead that most people can play when confronted by a keyboard, the track is still being performed on the current tour. 'Just Can't Get Enough' has also been adopted by footy fans of various EPL teams - most famously as a terraced chant for Liverpool FC's headline biting Striker Luis Suarez (who would later claim that he had never heard the song until the fans sang it - we don't believe him!).
'Speak & Spell' would quickly go Gold shifting 100,000 copies after reaching Number 10 in the UK (it would sell twice that number in Germany). The strikingly iconic album cover featuring a stuffed swan wrapped in clear plastic was the brainchild of photographer Brian Griffin who would go on to provide memorable sleeves for the next three albums. Twenty years later, the Speak & Spell picture sleeve was voted one of the best album covers of all time.
For any electrohead who has just been seduced by the sonic wonders of vinyl, 'Speak & Spell' is a must own album that will compliment any collection that includes 'Dare', 'Penthouse & Pavement', 'Computerwelt' and 'Non Stop Erotic Cabaret' - the class of 81.
Track ratings:
New Life ****
I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead **
Puppets ****
Boys Say Go ***
Nodisco ***
What's Your Name *
Photographic ****
Tora! Tora! Tora! ****
Big Muff **
Any Second Now (Voices) ****
Just Can't Get Enough ****
B-sides
Ice Machine ****
Shout ****
i-orac album rating 8/10
