Customer Reviews

Speak & Spell (Deluxe Edition CD+DVD)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

don't listen to the naysayers. the U.S. reisssue of 'speak and spell' is a more than worthy addition to the dm reissue canon. chances are you already own 'speak and spell,' as well as it's great b-sides, 'ice machine,' 'i sometimes wish i was dead,' and 'shout,' so i won't get into the album itself.

the accompanying dvd is a veritable treasure trove for mode-a-philes, the most shiniest diamond being the interviews with vince clarke. i don't know much about vince's personal feelings about dm, but if he harbors any grudge, it certainly doesn't show. and it was nice to hear the man actually speak. it's a nice treat. it was also so great to hear the stories behind the early mode gigs, how daniel miller first decided to sign the band, how seymour stein flew to basildon to see them live, how they recorded the album, the genesis of the hideous album cover, and the truly embarrassing, but endearing and charming, early live performances on TOTP and other british tv shows. dave looks like he's about 14 years old. he comes of as shy and naive--a far cry from the dave we'd see but 10 years later. vince seemed in command from the beginning, martin seems confused and fletch, well, he's fletch.

as with the violator and masses reissues, the mixing sounds great. i picked up a lot of bells and whistles in the songs i'd previously missed. i only wish they would've included the b-sides on the cd, or as a bonus cd.

If you must have Speak and Spell ( which is quite good, despite being very lightweight, fluffy, lyrically empty early-eighties synth-pop ) do yourself a favour and spend the extra money on the import version. The US version pales in comparison to the original Uk version. There is a great song ( Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead, which is not as depressing as its title would suggest ) that was left off the US pressing, and the extra time was taken up by the inclusion of the 12" remix of Just Can't Get Enough (which is better in its original 7" mix anyway - over six minutes of Just Can't Get Enough is, well, too much of enough ). There are also a few great b-sides that are on the UK version of the cd.

of course 'speak and spell' sounds cheesy in 2005. it's 25 years old and any fair assestment/critique of 'speak and spell' needs to examine when it was recorded and released. in 1981 synthesizer music technology was still very much in its embryonic state. Very few bands (kraftwerk, human league, OMD, depeche mode, among other) used synths and even fewer knew how to harness the technology. i imagine programming synths was a lot like building rocket ships -- lots of trial and error, some hits, some misses.

it should come as little suprise, then, that 'speak and spell' is a bit simplistic and cheesy. what's impressive about 'speak and spell,' however, are the absolutely phenomenal melodies vince clark composed. one listen to 'just can't get enough' and its permanently engravaed into your brain. and since it was vince clarke's album, it bears hardly and resemblence to the latter martin gore dm albums (the exception being 'photographic' and 'puppets' -- both a bit darken in tone). its easy to forgive vince for 'what's your name?' when he wrote such classic dm songs as 'new life,' 'dreaming of me,' and the aforementioned 'photographic' and 'just can't get enough.'

what's special about 'speak and spell' are the classic dm synth intros--most of the songs have a synth intro. 'just can't get enough' and 'new life' are prime examples of a new style of songwriting. vince didn't waste time with the hook coming in the middle of the song or the verse or a bridge. the hooks were front and center, immediate attention grabbers. in that way, vince single-handedly changed pop songwriting.

if you do invest in 'speak and spell,' be sure to get the import version. several essential dm cuts aren't found on the US release, namely: 'i sometimes wish i was dead,' 'shout,' and 'ice machine.' of the three, 'shout' is a standout. i sure wannabe synthlords scratched their collective heads wondering how in the world vince got that sort of sound out of a keyboard. it's an amazing song and worth the heavy asking price.

in the end, does 'speak and spell' hold up 25 years on? no, not really. but that's hardly the point. to listen to an album released in 1981, you sort of have to listen to it with 1981 ears. to do anything else does you, the album and the band a huge disservice because underneath the fluff lay some of the greatest synth songs ever penned by synth music's uberoverlord, vince clarke.

Depeche Mode's first album, Speak & Spell, is here now in remastered format and has warmer synths, crisper vocals, and fatter drums that brings the futurist\synth-pop classic to the 21st century. Several tracks that stand out are Photographic, Nodisco, New Life (Presented here in the original version and not the remix like on previous US versions of Speak & Spell), and Just Can't Get Enough, but all in all the entire album sounds great. The second disc, a DVD which includes a 5.1 version of the album, b-sides from the singles from the album, and a 30 minute documentary with rare footage of the band and interviews with everyone from Vince Clarke to Daniel Miller.

There is no reason to give this album bad reviews based on minor techinal details. The songs are great like before and the album sounds better than it ever has. Well worth it to fans of Depeche Mode.

Admittedly, this album is, superficially speaking, differently sounding than the rest of their (later) material. But make no mistake: this album adheres to the DM aesthetic in many ways. It forms its own unique niche in the history of this band. And just like all of DM's other classic albums of the mid to late '80s and early '90s, it's superbly inventive, crafted, and produced electronic pop that strives to appeal to the highest common denominator of the record buying public. As one reviewer wrote about this long ago: "DM introduce literacy into bubblegum".

Compared to DM's later efforts, the lyrical content and melodies here are pretty fluffy. But the underlying ideas here are great: Daniel Miller and the band went into the studio with the idea of creating an electronic pop album with a highly minimal Kraftwerkian aesthetic, but also with a poppy sweetness which had never been married to this style of music before. Today the album sounds equally dated and relevant; in other words, great art that not only evokes the time in which it was made but also occupies its own irreplacable spot in this history of this band and perhaps in that of music as a whole.

Some may call me crazy, but I love this album for its classic electronic minimalism a la Kraftwerk, its almost total lack of pretense, and also just for the fact that its a blast to listen to. But I would not recommend this as an introduction to the band for a first time listener as it, while certainly being very good, is neither their best nor a broad overview of Depeche Mode; instead purchase "The Singles 81-85" (which has the three singles released concurrently with "Speak & Spell"), become further acquainted with the band and only then get this album and see it in the context of their later work (and that of other innovative electronic acts of the time like Kraftwerk).

First of all, I have been a fan of this album since the 80's, and this is definitely the version to own. The only problem is this is NOT remastered. It is the same import disc that has been available since 1988. I re-purchased it thinking it was an improved version, but it is only a re-release.

The bonus tracks are great, and one of them is only available on this edition ("I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead"). The other four are available on three American CD singles (Dreaming of Me, New Life, and I Just Can't Get Enough). If you don't own the album, buy this disc. If you own the American version but want the bonus tracks, buy this disc. But if you have imported this disc in the past DO NOT re-buy it. You are getting nothing new for your money.

Speak & Spell, the work of keyboardist, Vincent Clarke (who I've followed throughout his 20 year career with Depeche Mode, Yaz, and Erasure) is oddly cheesy, yet cool at the same time. It's obvious when listening to the music that the Depeche Mode band members were just beginning their careers -the lyrics are pretty cheesy and the songs are kind of weird and silly- but notwithstanding, the melodies, though generally simple, are funky and cool as are the synthesizer tones that Clarke employs. In fact, for a number of reasons, this is one of my favorite Depeche Mode albums. Although, Clarke has come a LONG ways since Speak & Spell (in the right direction), I still consider this album one of the cooler 80's synthesizer pop albums to have ever been developed.

If you first heard of Depeche Mode because of the "Violator" album, you'd probably disagree with me. I myself picked up on Depeche Mode in 1987 because of "Somebody." Before that I thought Depeche Mode was satanic. Now I listen to Frontline Assembly and Leather Strip a lot - how attitudes and tastes change!

But despite changes over time, "Speak and Spell" by Depeche Mode is still one of those albums I love to play! It's odd, but even their 'minimalist' techno pop has a lot more depth than most music today. And besides, who wants to be moody ALL the time? Get over yourself! "Speak and Spell" is pure fun and gets me bopping all over the room every time. I challenge anyone to sit still while listening to New Life, Dreaming Of Me, Boys Say Go! and Just Can't Get Enough.

For 1981, this is a brilliant and superb album. To give Martin Gore credit, I still would probably rate "Violator" as Depeche Mode's crowning achievement. However "Speak and Spell" comes right in the at a close second. To be honest, the rest of their albums had only shimmers of brilliance on them - these two had no failures at all.

So if you love 80s pop, and are young enough to know and appreciate even what '80s pop' even means, get this CD. Of course, why should I bother telling you that - if you fit that description, you're sure to already have it. So why not go put it on already!

As a side bar - Anyone know the name of that really cheesy teens-on-spring-break-overseas movie that came out in 81 or 82 that featured songs from "Speak and Spell"? I have seen the movie ONCE, on a local UHF channel about 10 years ago. It shocked the hell out of me! I'm so proud (for some odd reason) to know this fact, but have yet to find the movie again.

The Package.
Double digipack containing a remastered Audio CD, and a DVD with remastered stereo, 5.1, and DTS versions of the album. The DVD also contains the extra tracks and a half-hour "documentary".

The Good.
The documentary is a great bonus.
The remastered CD is better than the original CD release, albeit only marginally.
It is very interesting to hear the DTS versions because you can pick up a lot you never heard in the original stereo versions. Tracks are nice and crystal clear, and also slightly different from the originals, and not just because of the DTS. The vocals are very clear and for once it is easy to understand the lyrics.

The Bad.
Why does the CD not contain the extra tracks? This is completely bizarre!
The DTS versions are not very well done. The drums sound puny compared to the originals and are very watered-down on several tracks. New Life is particularly weak. It's difficult to describe but you will hear it instantly - the "clap" sound present in most of the original snares is very distant or non-existant, so it's quite strange to hear this. Some FX seem to have been stripped from or modified in certain sounds and, while interesting, detracts from the enjoyment - I find myself thinking "it's not supposed to sound like that". This is especially true in sounds where reverb seems to have been lowered considerably.

If I had the choice over again, I'm not sure I would have paid the $23 for this package. The Audio CD could have been remastered a lot better and should have included all the b-sides and extra tracks - try getting them from the DVD onto your iPod!! Also, how about some other studio tracks from around the same time as extras - Television Set, Reason Man, I Like It ... etc. This alone would make it worthy of being called a "Deluxe" edition.

Depeche Mode's premier album was the start of both DM's career, and Vince Clarke's(later to form "The Assembly","Yaz(oo)", and finally "Erasure"). The seeds for both stem right here.

From the opening "New Life," we get an upbeat tune, very different from where DM is right now. "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead" is a title that infers an ultimately depressing song, but like Vince's later "Oh L'Amour", its another popy upbeat song, with lyrics that narrowly contradict the music.

Most of the album carries on with even more catchy tunes provided by Vince Clarke, the master of synth, but, we also get to see the stems of modern Depeche Mode. Although most of the tracks were written by Vince Clarke, DM's current songwriter, Martin Gore, gets two shots off in this one, and at this early stage, its hit and miss. "Tora!Tora!Tora!" easily shows us where Depeche Mode would go with Gore at the helm. The lyrics in this song are noticably darker than those by Vince, and the music has a much different sound than those by Vince. "Big Muff" is Gore's miss. A drab song by comparison, its nothing really special and probably the only song I don't play to death.

Finally, "Just Can't Get Enough". This is the song that cemented Depeche Mode's career. Vince Clarke/Depeche Mode's first hit, this song was performed at the 101 concert, long after Clarke left the group and is one of the classics that personified the 80's.

I will end this with some quick advice, if at all possible, get the UK version of this album. It includes 5 extra tracks,

11)Dreaming of Me
12)Ice Machine
13)Shout
14)Any Second Now
15)Just Can't Get Enough (schizo mix)