Martin Gore has famously noted that Depeche Mode stopped worrying about its future when the first post-Vince Clarke-departure single, "See You," placed even higher on the English charts than anything else Clarke had done with them. Such confidence carries through all of A Broken Frame, a notably more ambitious effort than the pure pop/disco of the band's debut. With arranging genius Alan Wilder still one album away from fully joining the band, Frame became very much Gore's record, writing all the songs and exploring various styles never again touched upon in later years. "Satellite" and "Monument" take distinct dub/eggae turns, while "Shouldn't Have Done That" delivers its slightly precious message about the dangers of adulthood with a spare arrangement and hollow, weirdly sweet vocals. Much of the album follows in a dark vein, forsaking earlier sprightliness, aside from tracks like "A Photograph of You" and "The Meaning of Love," for more melancholy reflections about love gone wrong as "Leave in Silence" and "My Secret Garden." More complex arrangements and juxtaposed sounds, such as the sparkle of breaking glass in "Leave in Silence," help give this underrated album even more of an intriguing, unexpected edge. Gore's lyrics sometimes veer on the facile, but David Gahan's singing comes more clearly to the fore throughout -- things aren't all there yet, but they were definitely starting to get close.
Who would have thought that a band that had just lost its songwriter, key instrumentalist, and leader would have been able to continue without so much as an electronic blip? Most of the press thought that Depeche Mode were a dead duck without the influence of mentor in Chief Vince Clarke, who bizarrely decided to quit following the success of 1981's "Speak And Spell" and form a duet with Soul s...
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The ??Broken Frame?? album is kind of a mixed bag. This song here for instance, even at the age of 14 I wasn't sure if I found it silly or not. Now I'm older and wiser and I simply went and decided that it is a perfectly o.k. song. Some trivial things need to be said, too.I have a live version of this on vinyl, too... on this weird little series of 12-inches with a 45 and a 33 side. Got all 3 o...
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Everybody has music they love to listen to while driving and A Broken Frame, the second album from Depeche Mode is what Ive been cranking up on my car stereo when Ive been cruising around lately. Ive been a fan of DM since I was about 11 or 12, thats when I first saw their video for "People Are People". Remember the one where they're on that battleship? This 1982 album was re-released last year...
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??Someone will callsomething will falland smash on the floor...without reading the textknow what comes nextseen it beforeand it's painful??Oh baby. Some kind soul posted Depeche Mode's ??A Broken Frame?? on the M... From the comments, it seems both the band and the critics like the album least of all. I always liked it though... this song in particular... never woulda thought 20 years ago how ...
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The ??Broken Frame?? album is kind of a mixed bag. This song here for instance, even at the age of 14 I wasn't sure if I found it silly or not. Now I'm older and wiser and I simply went and decided that it is a perfectly o.k. song. Some trivial things need to be said, too.I have a live version of this on vinyl, too... on this weird little series of 12-inches with a 45 and a 33 side. Got all 3 o...
More >
Everybody has music they love to listen to while driving and A Broken Frame, the second album from Depeche Mode is what Ive been cranking up on my car stereo when Ive been cruising around lately. Ive been a fan of DM since I was about 11 or 12, thats when I first saw their video for "People Are People". Remember the one where they're on that battleship? This 1982 album was re-released last year...
More >
Who would have thought that a band that had just lost its songwriter, key instrumentalist, and leader would have been able to continue without so much as an electronic blip? Most of the press thought that Depeche Mode were a dead duck without the influence of mentor in Chief Vince Clarke, who bizarrely decided to quit following the success of 1981's "Speak And Spell" and form a duet with Soul s...
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Leave in Silence |
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| 2 My Secret Garden |
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| 3 Monument |
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| 4 Nothing to Fear |
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| 5 See You |
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| 6 Satellite |
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| 7 The Meaning of Love |
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| 8 Further Excerpts from: My Secret Garden |
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| 9 A Photograph of You |
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| 10 Shouldn't Have Done That |
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| 11 The Sun & The Rainfall |
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 "A Broken Frame")
