I love finding "new" (previously undiscovered) music, and DM would potentially be right in my wheelhouse for that. Getting back into vinyl has opened my world to a ton of new artists outside my traditional rock/pop framework.
I'd consider Dare, Architecture and Morality and Speak & Spell the three most notable synth pop albums of 1981
Although it wasn't the first DM album I purchased back in the 80s, I'm a big fan of Speak & Spell and love both of the tracks mentioned so far. I had the US version first, so it wasn't until years later that I knew about the differences in track listings etc. I recall picking up a compilation album called Revenge Of The Killer B's because it had a DM song that I had never heard (Sometimes I Wish...). Also I find the comments about the lyrics interesting. I don't think I've ever once thought to myself "I really like this album, but I wish the lyrics were better", but I guess I don't pay much attention to lyrics in general. Anyway, great thread! Not sure I'll manage to post about every track, but I look forward to following along.
"New Life" and "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead" are both 5/5 Perfect songs for the moment, perfect for a new band made up largely of children playing with rudimentary tech, and still among my favorites in the vast DM catalog. Quasi funny story regarding ISWIWD which stands as probably my favorite song from the album. The first CD I bought of Speak & Spell at Tower Records back in the early 90s was the original UK disc, it was actually the only one Tower had for sale. I purchased a vinyl copy of the album a short time later from a long since shuttered store, and having no idea about the difference in tracklisting between the US and UK versions, was surprised to see the song wasn't listed on the back of the jacket. I asked the guy at the register if he knew about it and he told me, quite definitively, that they left the song off the US version because Sire thought it endorsed suicide, "like the whole Judas Priest thing." That quote stays with me to this day and even barely teen me knew it was complete nonsense.
I doubt it, but execs can be idiots, so maybe they just saw the title, didn't listen to the song, and thought it was about suicide. We'll never know.
DM complained about not being taken seriously at the start of their career.. all while manhandling chickens on kids TV shows and recording songs like this. I love their early work regardless, but I'm not surprised, with Human League/OMD and the rest doing their thing, that it took DM a while to be counted as significant artists. But one thing I love about them is they really did start out as a group playing music for their mates and peers to dance to in clubs. I listen to Speak and Spell with that in mind.
“Don’t You Want Me” came out within a few months of Speak & Spell and I’d hardly consider that in any way more sophisticated or grave than anything on the latter. Whatever was left of the supposedly serious iteration of Human League was gone by 1981. And let’s not forget where OMD went within a few years, either.
Agreed. Compare 'Being Boiled' or 'Empire State Human' with 'The things Dreams are made of' or later 'Fascination'. 'Dare' is a great album but is as poppy and as kid-friendly as Speak and Spell, probably moreso. I can see kids buying that album long before S&S... As regards OMD, I actually think Junk Culture and Crush are decent. Not as good as the debut or A+M, but decent.
Exactly, and more deliberately cloying than anything on S&S, too. I do like HL but there’s no denying everything coming from that camp around that time was designed solely for mainstream exposure.
That's the difference. As good as Dare is, you can smell the money hunt a mile off. You don't get that with Speak and Spell. In fact you get the feeling when listening to it that DM didn't really even expect to have the success they had with it. Just a couple of lads mucking about playing music.
Early synth-pop was either dramatic and spooky (especially indies) or childishly playful. Some artists, like THL, switched from one side to another. My favourite year for synth-pop was 1983; not too early but not too late. I love Naked Eyes from the UK and Trans-X from Canada around that time.
I'd actually argue that the whole middle section of the album Dare, from "Darkness" through "Seconds" (and maybe even including "The Sound of the Crowd") is considerably edgier than S&S and I'm intrigued that people don't hear this as more sophisticated or adult than the bulk of S&S. That said, whoever said that this was it for the Human League was kind of right. Dare was a landmark synth pop album and the reason why the Human League are even part of the conversation. Whereas S&S is not a landmark album and is generally only spoken of as a footnote on the history of a band that made landmark albums later. So in a sense... the Human League won the battle; Depeche Mode won the war.
For some bands, Speak & Spell would be hailed as their first and best album yet where DM went afterwards eclipsed S&S quickly, to the point that S&S - which is a great record of its type - is somewhat overlooked or embarrassing (well, we haven't got to the worst songs on it yet). As pointed out above, S&S really is the sound of four children mucking about with synthesisers making pop music for people to dance to.
He became their primary songwriter in 1982 and delivered "Everything Counts" in 83 and the near-entirety of Some Great Reward by 84. That's a pretty fast learner by any metric I'd say.
It really does remind me of the kind of short, snappy, hook laden albums of The Ramones - just played on synths. Much like labelmates The Silicon Teens, which uninformed rumour at school had it was Depeche. When really it was Daniel Miller and Frank Tovey.
yep, like I said, a few years later. A Broken Frame isn't particularly good but he was learning. By Construction Time Again he started to really come into his own.
Some good points. I actually forgot that 'Sound of the Crowd' was on that album. However I would argue against the statement that HL wouldn't be talked about only for Dare. Travelogue and Reproduction are very good early synth records. Bit rough, but definitely not worthy of forgetting in the conversation about early British electronic music Anyway back to the Mode. 'Puppets' anyone?
