The album.
The singles. The songs. The tour(s).
See You
With Vince
Clarke leaving, the future of the band didn't seem particularly bright at the
end of 1981: they needed a new songwriter (Martin Gore being the obvious choice
having written a few songs, 2 of them included on the first album), an
additional keyboard player for live gigs (a slightly overaged, 22-year old
bloke from London, Alan Wilder filled that position), and a hit single to prove
to the record-buying public that they were still worthy of attention. Their
first release as a trio in January 1982 was a song that Martin wrote before even joining the band, matched with a video (the first of four in a row)
they feel so embarrassed about that they never included it on any official
releases, and supported by some TV appearances that clearly show how naïve they
were at the time, saying yes to virtually everything. The song itself isn't too
special, but it did well, rising to #6 in the UK (their highest chart position at
the time) and proving that they can survive.
Now, This Is Fun
The B-side
is a quite unusual track with some weird tempo-changes and no chorus, with the
1983 live version sounding better than the original.
See You Tour
Shout
I Sometimes
Wish I Was Dead
Boys Say Go!
Puppets
See You
Big Muff
Now, This
Is Fun
Ice Machine
New Life
Tora! Tora!
Tora!
The Meaning
Of Love
Just Can't
Get Enough
What's Your
Name?
Photographic
Dreaming Of
Me
I Like It
Television
Set
February –
May 1982
From the
debut album-era, only 2 songs are left out: the instrumental "Any Second Now",
which was used as show opener is replaced by "Shout" (the only released song from
that era not played before), and "Nodisco" is gone. The 2 new tracks from the
current single, plus the next single ("The Meaning Of Love") are added, and a new
cover ("I Like It") is played in the encore. The 3rd encore
("Television Set") was only played occasionally. After the UK leg, the band played shows in Europe and North America as well.
The Meaning Of Love
Second
single, April 1982. This quite short and very poppy track was already familiar
to fans who attended recent shows, and it's still not very far in style from
the first album. Not one of my favourites, but I don't mind it either.
Oberkorn (It's A Small Town)
This
instrumental was a much better indicator of what was to come: quite melancholic
and beautiful, favouring mood over dance rhythms (no drums – I mean drum machines
– at all in the song). This is also their first song where the 12" version really adds
something, it works equally well in 4 minutes and 7 and a half minutes.
Leave In Silence
Third
single, August, 1982. A
very remarkable release in my opinion, and not only because the song is very
good. This is the first time for the band to present their darker, more serious
side on a single A-side (resulting in their lowest UK chart position since
Dreaming Of Me at #18), also their first single with their own unique catalogue
number (BONG), and the first time they alter their songs beyond simply
extending them: the 12"
included a "quieter" version of "Leave In Silence", which sounds like a lullaby,
and the B-side was a faster, instrumental version of the track "My Secret
Garden" from the forthcoming album. Later CD releases and the somewhat longer 12" version "Further Excerpts
From: My Secret Garden" shows it was meant to be more up-tempo, but the 7" label indicates that "Excerpts
From: My Secret Garden" could be played at both 33 rpm (resulting in a slower
version) and the usual 45 rpm. The sleeve is also a step forward compared to
previous releases.
A BROKEN FRAME
September,
1982.
Probably
the band's least favourite LP in their catalogue, Martin commented that it isn't
cohesive enough for him, which is understandable from his point of view: not
being the most prolific writer in the world, they used some of his compositions
from years earlier (like See You). Oddly enough, if you look at the lyrics, it's
almost like a concept album, with most songs dealing with some sort of
disappointment. For me, it's still a huge improvement over the first album,
with the band definitely moving forward and becoming more interesting, including
a couple of highlights and a few missteps, and a beautiful sleeve (which I
thought was a painting when I first saw it).
Leave In Silence
The first
highlight comes early, a wonderful opening track that sets the mood for the
album perfectly. Hearing it live in 2006 was unforgettable, and the fact it
worked so well with just a piano and a voice speaks volumes.
My Secret
Garden
A nice
album track, turned into a memorable show opener with an extended intro.
Monument
A more
experimental piece. It took me a few decades to warm to this song, and though
it never became a favourite of mine, I really enjoy it now.
Nothing To Fear
Probably my
favourite instrumental from the early years (besides Oberkorn), great melody
and drum pattern.
See You
Side 1
finishes with the biggest hit of the era, a song very much of its time, but
there's nothing wrong with that.
Satellite
A more
unusual track including some slight reggae elements, I quite like it, but it's
not the most memorable moment of the record.
The Meaning Of Love
This more
up-tempo pop song sounds almost out of place on the album, and not being
sandwiched between the most memorable tracks helps.
A Photograph Of You
My least
favourite song from this album, it feels like they were trying too hard to come
up with something "happier", and the whistling in the middle didn't do any good…
Shouldn't Have Done That
Another
weird one showing the band's more experimental side. Not the kind of song that
grabbed me immediately, but it's always great to have something unusual.
The Sun & The Rainfall
The closing
song is the second highlight, providing a perfectly framed album called "A
Broken Frame". The melody is so hauntingly beautiful that you can't help loving
it (even my mum called this her favourite DM song once while I was listening to
it), and it felt so familiar even when I first heard it, like it was always
there, and they just captured it in this song.
A Broken Frame Tour
Oberkorn
> My Secret Garden
See You
Satellite
New Life
Boys Say Go!
Tora! Tora!
Tora!
Nothing To
Fear
Leave In
Silence
Shouldn't
Have Done That
Monument
The Meaning
Of Love
Just Can't
Get Enough
A
Photograph Of You
The Sun
& The Rainfall
Shout
Photographic
Dreaming Of
Me
October –
December 1982 (UK & Europe)
March –
April 1983 (North America & Far East)
The tour
where they started to experiment with the songs: the opening "Oberkorn" segues
into "My Secret Garden" with a longer intro, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" is based on
the album version for the first time, "Just Can't Get Enough" is extended, and
there are some more subtle changes to various songs.
For the
1983 dates, "Monument" was replaced with the new single "Get The Balance Right!",
the mid-show instrumental was changed from "Nothing To Fear" to "Big Muff" (not
a good change in my opinion) and "A Photograph Of You" was dropped from the
set. The second encore ("Dreaming Of Me") was not played on all dates.
Get The Balance Right!
Non-album
single, January 1983
This single
is usually considered to be part of the "Construction Time Again" era, being
the first time Alan Wilder was involved in the studio work after becoming a
proper band member, but it is also the last single recorded at Blackwing
Studios with engineers Eric Radcliffe and John Fryer, an ongoing tradition from
the very first single, so it signifies both an end and a start. I decided to
include it here not only because the song became part of the live set, but also because
I felt that stylistically it belongs here. The band doesn't think too highly of
this song (and the video), but it's one of my favourites from their early work,
with the live version recorded in front of a very enthusiastic audience by the
BBC in October 1983 being especially great, a clear highlight in that show for
me. This was also their first single with 2 different 12" releases, the first time
they released live recordings, and the 12" version of the song became quite
influential.
The Great Outdoors!
An
instrumental track on the B-side, which could be a follow up to the excellent "Oberkorn",
but not an improvement.
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