In
case you missed it – Depeche Mode:
Construction
Time Again and Black Celebration reissue reviews
Construction Time Again
****1/2
out of 5
Black Celebration
****1/2
out of 5
Rhino/Reprise/Mute
Records
If
you looked at Depeche Mode’s recorded output as one long & gloomy novel,
their first two albums would be the forward and preface, respectively, while Chapter
One would begin with 1983’s Construction
Time Again. While Speak and Spell
and the rather excellent A Broken Frame
gave an inkling of what the band may have been capable of, Construction Time Again undoubtedly established the group as
pioneers in the emerging synth-rock movement. From this point forward, Depeche
Mode’s use of technology, combined with Martin’s Gore’s growing songwriting
prowess would influence generations of musicians and DJ’s alike. With Daniel
Miller and Gareth Jones in the producer’s chair and then-new member Alan Wilder
asserting his talents, the group used the digital sampler as an instrument
rather than the exotic and incredibly expensive new toy that it was in 1983.
From
the start, Construction Time Again is a much tougher sounding record than their
previous two outings. The drum machines are set for pounding, rather than
plinking beats, resulting in an album which is primed for the dance floor. Most
of the album is quite up tempo – for Depeche Mode that is – but it is the
quality of the material mixed with Martin Gore’s questioning (and sometimes
sarcastic) lyrics which elevate the tracks from simply being pop-chart fodder.
The album also takes a few experimental detours
which show the band’s fascination with creating sounds and textures not heard
before on a pop record. The most successful is the stunning, six-minute Pipeline; a sonic
tour de force consisting of percussive sounds – the band literally would bang
on glass, metal and wooden objects – that were sampled and then fed into a computer
to be manipulated into something otherworldly.
Adding in the hit singles Everything Counts
and Love in Itself and Construction Time Again remains not only
one of Depeche Mode’s finest albums but one of the finest albums of 1983.
Following the release of their 1984 hit, People
Are People and a 1985 hits compilation, the music world was primed for
Depeche Mode to break through to the masses. But no one would have predicted that
the band would have responded with the cryptic and appropriately titled, Black
Celebration.
Pushing their fascination with samplers even
further, the album was a sonic masterpiece full of rich textures, beautifully
strange sounds and a diverse track listing that ranged from angst-ridden paeans
of sexual yearning (Stripped, A Question of Time) to aching ballads
(A Question of Lust, the gorgeous World Full of Nothing).
Instead of sounding like the work of a band that is
on the precipice of world-wide fame and acceptance the album kicks off with the
macabre one-two punch of the title track followed by Fly on the Windscreen.
This is not too say that the album wallows in uncertainly, quite the opposite,
this is the work of a band that is finally comfortable in their own skin,
content to write about the “fringe elements” of society – death, suicide,
sexual deviancy, etc. Simply put, when the second song opens with the following
lyric, “Death is everywhere…” you know this is not going to be smooth sailing.
But Depeche Mode has always mixed the morbid with classic pop song structures.
While the album may have helped some to feel
justified in dubbing them, “Depressed Mode”, the sales figures would argue that
their music connected in a way that other bands of the early 80’s synth-pop
movement did not. By bravely writing about difficult subjects and courting the
outsider, Black Celebration remains one of the high-water marks, out of
many, in Depeche Mode’s catalog.
Both of the above are part of Rhino Records fantastic
reissue campaign which remastered Depeche Mode’s catalog in single and
double-disc editions. The sound quality is fantastic without being overly
compressed – gone are the tinny sounds of earlier CD versions. If you have the money,
the double-disc version is the way to go. The second disc is a DVD which contains
a roughly 30 minute documentary on the making of the album from all involved in
its creation. The disc also has audio only tracks such as the b-sides from the album’s
singles and the entire album itself in 5.1 surround sound. The surround sound
versions are stunning and simply a must hear! While stereo albums mixed in
surround are something of a mixed bag – a revelation at best, a mild curiosity
at worst – these albums are firmly in the former category. After all, who doesn’t
want to surround themselves in audio doom & gloom?
