Depeche Mode – A Broken Frame

One of my favourite DM albums and most definitely one of my favourite DM tours. I saw them twice on this tour. Used to have a program, a T shirt, and a beautiful little metal wheatsheaf badge. Long lost sadly.
But, yes, they played all of the album. Now I think back on it, I consider myself really lucky to have seen them play the likes of Monument and Satellite and The Sun And The Rainfall. I doubt they’ll be playing those songs live again.
The original Mute album can be found dirt cheap and it sounds fine. Martin used a PPG WAVE sunth on this along with the classic Moog and Arp synths of old, so youve got that digital sheen alongside the typical analogue bleeps and burbles. Dave’s singing is simple yet effective, and of course, this has one of the greatest album sleeves of the 80s.
Underrated but hugely important in this bands history. This is a tentative step forward onto the next stage : samplers and songs about nuclear war.

Photography by Brian Griffin, ,in Saffron Walden, near Cambridge,the second artwork for DM.

Here we have a very good Mute pressing and really good sounding record by Depeshe Mode.

I listen to this album and yeah it sounds dated but it also still sounds like the future in some ways
It’s also quite a downbeat album with some interesting twists and turns, nothing like the first after Vince left
Using similar technology to Vince’s much more upbeat pop sound, the band carved out an album of analogue synth pop of a darker and more melancholic tone
It’s also not overloaded with the bright digital samplers and synths they started using much more of on ‘construction..’ so consequently the whole album still feels warm and analogue
Even a smattering of Simmons SDS drums here and there
Great second album

The original Mute UK presses are the way to hear Depeche Mode. I’ve compared this version against the US Sire issue and the Japanese issue and both of those are insufficient compared to the original UK release which just has better definition and a more natural warmth to the sound.

"Leave In Silence" and "My Secret Garden" are highlights. Epic moments in the Depeche Mode history.

Great sound off this version I picked up in charity shop for 2 euro.. in near mint condition hadn't heard this album before but was pleasantly surprised by it though most people say it's not their best work ... have the singles 81 - 85 and this shows the evolution of the band...

It surprises me that Rex The Dog has never remixed Nothing To Fear.

He did a superb job of Photographic, but Nothing To Fear is literally prototype (excuse the pun) Rex The Dog.

A match made in heaven, for sure!

When you plan to get this album, notice a problem with mastering in track 05 "See You" on a few pressings. On US version, for example, the treble is horribly low compared to the UK and German versions. Unfortunately, on the new remasters from 2006, the same version from US was used, ruining the best single and track on the album.

Worth possessing for the atmospheric cover art alone. 'A Broken Frame' still links 'Speak & Spell' idioms, but slowly slides away into something more rich and darkly potent. This is such an innocent album, every time I put it on, I get so nostalgic. Lyrically, it grows more sarcastic - 'Leave In Silence', 'A Photograph Of You', 'The Meaning Of Love' and beautifully infantile 'Shouldn't Have Done That' mark Gore's turn from previous instant of Clarke's songwriting approach. Continued are tiny traces of menace in these songs - 'Leave In Silence' opens with rather spooky chanting and to some extent pre-dates 'Enjoy the Silence' (by both, melody and title). A claustrophobic aura of the song is strange enough to make it a hit-single. 'My Secret Garden' is a decent, sensual sequel - a confusingly introspective song based on bizarre game of hide-and-seek. 'Monument' tickles you with its nagging melody - the atmosphere suggests tension wrapped in calm - not bombastic, the final 'bang' never happens although it's there. The song ends but we're not at rest. Along comes a nice, soothing instrumental 'Nothing To Fear'. The intro suggests sharpness but smooth synth line softens it into a stunning ambiental groove.

The highlight of this record is undoubtedly 'See You' - a deserved hit with dark overtones. The lyrics get quite close to tell a story from the stalker's point of view. The melody expresses uncertainty within a relationship.

The funniest and somewhat daft piece here is 'Satellite' - it doesn't lack charm but its synthie-reggae delivery isn't that convincing. Still, it's an enjoyable track (and Ace of Base were a decade away with 'All That She Wants')... 'The Meaning of Love' and 'A Photograph of You' stand out from the lot, feeling much closer to Clarke's trademark of 'Speak & Spell' - catchy, bouncingly poppy tunes which could very easily fit into the Eurovision song contest repertoire.

Suddenly, as 'A Photograph Of You' fades out of focus, we are left in a chillingly cold, synthetic wind howl that informs a beautiful acapella delivery on 'Shouldn't Have Done That', rather provocative statement regarding childhood and education. This particular track is based on a funnily irritating tone, adding to the childish atmosphere augmented by sinister military march-like percussion (provided by Blancmange!). As the song concludes with a provocative line 'Leaves school to follow his ambition, knows what he wants to be a politician - shouldn't have done that...', the wind continues into album's ending tune, one of their finest in fact - 'The Sun and the Rainfall'- providing the optimistic conclusion, despite uncertainty of things to come ('Things must change - we must re-arrange them...'). Melancholic but positive, it truly is sunshine after a summer's stormy shower.

And as for the band - things did change and they did re-arrange them. Big.