One record at a time: 66. Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame

My first experience of listening to Depeche Mode was the compilation album "The Singles 81-85". The album begins with catchy and original pop songs such as "Dreaming of Me", "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough". Despite Martin taking over as main songwriter in 1982, things continue in much the same vein with "See You" and "The Meaning of Love". 

Then we encounter a real watershed moment. "Leave In Silence" dispenses with the sugary pop and applies a much darker veil. As the opening track on second album "A Broken Frame", this song makes a strong statement: "Vince is gone, we can do it on our own terms and things are going to be different."

The changes come not only from the composition, but also from the production techniques used. "Speak and Spell" makes heavy use of new technology such as the PPG Wave, Simmons SDS-V and the TR-808. So whilst this record was put together by largely the same team, it sounds very different to its predecessor.

"My Secret Garden" and "Monument" have some very naive lyrics but the music is accomplished and expertly produced. Dave's vocals aren't delivered with much confidence on this record and tracks such as "A Photograph of You" and "Satellite" reveal their fragility. Yet when you consider how young and relatively inexperienced the band were in 1982 this can easily be forgiven. 

Instrumental "Nothing To Fear" is a grossly underrated composition that deserves better than being confined to this album. I fantasise about the day someone at Sony finds a master tape featuring an unused extended version and releases it. "The Sun and the Rainfall" remains a credible composition that forms the perfect ending. Yes this album is a bit twee and mawkish in places, but it doesn't deserve to be reviled and ignored by its creators. 3/5

One record at a time: 65. Depeche Mode - Speak and Spell

OK deep breath and stay strong people because we are about to be caught in the tangled web that is the Depeche Mode back catalogue. I have no doubt the next 15 posts will bring a fair share of highs and lows. There will be disagreements, disenchantment and more than a few tears. We will lament at what could have been and rejoice in what was. All human life is scattered amongst the detritus.

Obviously we kick off with debut "Speak and Spell" which is presented here as the 2007 remastered 'deluxe heavy vinyl'. The sound is generally good with punchy bass and only the occasional attack of sibilance. There was no digital download with this record, but I don't remember that being commonplace back in 2007. It certainly doesn't concern me as I have several versions of the album on CD anyway (I also have an original pressing of the LP somewhere too).

No sooner has the needle hit the wax than the naive analogue beauty of "New Life" begins to emanate from the speakers. I can't tell you how exciting this music was to me when I first heard it circa 1988. Whilst I was a bit late to the Depeche Mode party, this record stood up against much more contemporary material because it was so damn good. The analogue synths on "I Sometime Wish I Was Dead" and "Puppets" are programmed to absolute perfection and the melodies are amazingly strong. Yes, the triumvirate of "Boys Say Go!", "Nodisco" and "What's Your Name?" may sound twee nowadays, but I'd rather listen to them than almost anything the band have produced since 2005.

The flip side of the record features some of the band's best early work including "Tora! Tora! Tora!", "Any Second Now (Voices)" and the grossly underrated "Big Muff". Quite how such wonderful sounds were coaxed from such rudimentary synthesisers remains a mystery to me. But when you consider the talents of John Fryer, Eric Radcliffe, Vince Clarke and Daniel Miller were at the controls, maybe it shouldn't be that surprising.  

Whilst this is an album the band have seemingly disowned (I doubt they refuse the royalty cheques however) it remains a credible and highly polished piece of synth pop. During live performances I hate the way Dave repeatedly introduces "Just Can't Enough" as being "for the fans". It's almost as if he's saying, "We think this song is s**t but we'll lower ourselves to play it for you." Yet, this is one of their biggest and most enduring hits. Nobody is singing "Heaven" or "Where's the Revolution" in karaoke bars or at football matches I can tell you that much.

We'll come back to this topic repeatedly I'm sure, but I hate the way Depeche Mode have morphed into some sort of a rock act. I haven't listened to this album for many years and hearing it now sparks a strong sense of nostalgia for a simpler time: a time when Depeche Mode were good. 4/5

One record at a time: 64. Daft Punk - Discovery

The realisation that I bought the CD of "Discovery" over twenty years ago is quite sobering. In 2001 Daft Punk were in their ascendancy and electronic music was vanquishing the Britpop monster that had plagued us for too long. The CD was king and it was as convenient and robust a format as we could ever need. Nobody seemed to know how best to harness the internet and my "Daft Club" online membership card which was included with initial copies of the album went unused.

Today, everything is gone. The band have packed up, "Daft Club" is defunct and CDs no longer sell. The internet and streaming have swallowed everything and only a few of us are left clinging onto the life raft of physical media. Still, we have the music and the memories.

This is by far my favourite Daft Punk album and the only one I own on vinyl. I bought this double album in 2014 for about twenty pounds from eBay and it seems to be repressed at fairly regular intervals.

There are only two possible scenarios if you haven't come across opening track "One More Time" before. Firstly you could be deaf (and apologies if you are as I am not being facetious) or secondly you have spent the last twenty years living in a vacuum which was under a rock located in a soundproof cave (here I really am being facetious). The second track "Aerodynamic" is simply a series of arpeggios that have no right to be as entertaining as they are. "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" are the archetypal French house grooves that are so catchy they are impossible to resist. The pacing on this album is great as by the time the Linn Drum and disco sample madness of "Crescendolls" has beaten us into submission we are ready to take a break with the laid back vibes of "Nightvision". 

The pounding house is resurrected with "Superheroes" which slices up a Barry Manilow song into an annoying mess. A similar mash up recipe is used on "High Life" but it is only perfected with standout "Face To Face". My favourite track is "Voyager" which is slightly less sample driven and sounds like the band actually had a hand in writing the music rather than manipulating an Akai sampler. Elsewhere there are flashbacks to old school house, eighties pop and seventies funk which are all coated in Daft Punk's secret formula. Not a perfect album, but it has been refreshing to go back to real electronic music after listening to so many rock orientated efforts of late. 4/5

One record at a time: 63. Coldplay - Everyday Life

I bought "Everyday Life" when it was released in 2019 in the form of this double silver vinyl that came with a pin badge. On receipt of my purchase I downloaded the digital files and listened to them precisely once. I haven't listened to album since and the vinyl remains mint and unplayed.

Whilst reviewing Coldplay's previous album I had no idea what one of the tracks was supposed to be. Well, this is an album full of tracks that I have no idea what they are supposed to be.

I have listened to the digital files again for this post but I can find nothing worthy of comment and see no reason to ever open the vinyl. Absolutely nothing happens on this record and it is devoid of any interest for lovers of electronic music. You'll be unsurprised to hear I didn't buy follow up "Music of the Spheres". No more Coldplay for me. 0/5

One record at a time: 62. Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams

Having quite enjoyed "Ghost Stories" I was left susceptible to the relentless promotion for the follow up album "A Head Full of Dreams" a year later.  As a result, I purchased this double, coloured, limited edition vinyl when it was released in 2015.

The title track is the opening cut and it is the usual high quality, uplifting anthem we have come to expect from Coldplay. They must have written this and sat back knowing they had an instant hit. "Birds" always sounds like its about to segue into "Don't Get Me Wrong" by The Pretenders and unfortunately I'm not a fan of either song. Beyoncé guests on the catchy "Hymn for the Weekend" which closes the first side of the record.

"Everglow" is one of those reflective and maudlin songs that doesn't have enough to interest me despite some electronic drums. Chris's ex-wife features on backing vocals for this track leading me to understand why some people criticise Coldplay as "bringing baggage" that distracts from the music.

Things kick up a gear with "Adventure of a Lifetime" which feels like a track where producers StarGate finally got to flex their muscles. "Fun" is an interesting track but I have no idea what "Kaleidoscope" is meant to be. "Army of One" sounds like StarGate were left alone with ProTools whilst the band went down to the pub - and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The only other track of note is "Up&Up" which supposedly features Noel Gallagher on guitar. What Noel was able to contribute that Jon or a session musician couldn't muster I'm not sure. The annoying guitar solo at the end certainly sounds as irritating as Oasis, so maybe it was that. Three good songs do not an album make. 2/5

One record at a time: 61. Coldplay - Ghost Stories

Love them or loathe them, you can't ignore Coldplay. As I remember this album got quite a slating in the press when it was released. The review in The Quietus was so childish and scolding that I deleted their URL from my bookmarks and have never returned. This is not to say I am a massive Coldplay fan, but I won't dismiss an entire album just because some of the lyrics reference the breakdown of the singer's relationship.

This is the standard European 180g vinyl and, as an Optimal Media pressing, it sounds very good indeed. This is another purchase that stems from the beginning of an era when I stopped buying CDs in preference to vinyl. I have even resisted the temptation top buy a second hand CD of this album in a charity shop for £1 recently.

The first track "Always In My Head" is a nice atmospheric opening that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Whilst standout track "Magic" may have a driving electronic beat, it retains the dream pop feeling and is simply a great tune. "Ink" is a bit more disappointing and sounds like a reject from a Sting album. The next track features beats by Timbaland and an interval that I've heard elsewhere; but I quite can't place it. Still its better than appropriating a Kraftwerk melody. Side one finishes with "Midnight" which is quite a haunting track that slowly emerges from its crystallise into a beautiful piece of electronic music.

I regard the b-side of this album as a bit of a disappointment. "Another's Arms" has the first lyric that made me cringe a little and "Oceans" is an acoustic guitar driven song that, despite a sprinkling of electronica, doesn't ever really get started. The only real highlight on the flip side is the ubiquitous "A Sky Full of Stars". This songs has an anthemic chorus and despite being produced by Avici, it retains enough rock stylings to keep the mainstream happy. The last track is labelled as "O" on the sleeve and seems to be two songs, "Fly On" and "O" with two minutes of silence inserted between them. Despite a promising start, I always feel a little let down at the end of this album. If the second side was as good as the first, this would have been an amazing collection of songs. 3/5

One record at a time: 60. Cocteau Twins: Heaven Or Las Vegas

We move from one Scottish band to another. Whilst I have heard all of the Cocteau Twins' albums, this is the only one I consider worthy of purchase. 

Sometime back in the early 90's I was given a cassette of this album and I enjoyed it very much. My gift was an original copy and not just a blank C90 with the album recorded onto it (I would never condone home taping obviously *cough*), but unfortunately I lost it.

It's rather curious that I have no recollection of the exact circumstances under which I was given the tape and I have no idea how it fell out of my possession either. It is as if it came into my life, delivered its message and moved on. I like to think that cassette is now treasured by someone else; but I suspect it met a less satisfactory end.

In 2020 I had tired of only owning digital files of this album and I decided to purchase a nice new copy on vinyl. This was advertised as a remastered "HD audio" 180g vinyl that suggested it would be audiophile heaven. 

However, this record is more like audiophile hell. This is the noisiest new record I own and one of the worst pressings I have ever heard. The needle drop is one of the quieter elements of surface noise and there are constant crackles and random attacks of sibilance throughout playback. As the record spins I find myself repeatedly looking at the needle expecting to see a big ball of dust and debris clogging it up. Really I should have returned it, but my experience is that a replacement is likely to be just as bad. I've seen on Discogs that other owners have a much better experience and don't report any issues, but for me this record verges on unlistenable. I don't even understand what HD audio is outside of a home cinema or computer context. How can you have a HD vinyl?

Anyway, the music on this record is rather magical. Yes, I have an aversion to guitars, but Robin doesn't use them to create the typical rock sound. The guitars on these tracks are played cleverly and drenched in effects that transform them into expressive and imaginative instruments. The contention is that there is no synthesizer on this album and I dare say there is an element of truth in that. But make no mistake there are a lot of electronic sound sources and effects creating the same end result. I like the fact that there is no drummer in the band and they relied entirely on a drum machine and Robin's programming skills. There isn't a bad song on this album which makes it highly suited to vinyl: you don't feel the need to skip about. The only issue with the vinyl experience is this terrible pressing. 4/5