Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell (CD)

All Music Guide

Though probably nobody fully appreciated it at the time perhaps least of all the band Depeche Mode's debut is at once both a conservative, functional pop record and a groundbreaking release. While various synth pioneers had come before Gary Numan, early Human League, late'70s Eurodisco, and above all Kraftwerk all had clear influence on Speak and Spell Depeche became the undisputed founder of straightup synthpop with the album's 11 songs, light, hooky, and danceable numbers about love, life, and clubs. For all the claims about "dated" '80s sounds from rock purists, it should be noted that the basic guitar/bass/drums lineup of rock is almost 25 years older than the catchy keyboard lines and electronic drums making the music here. That such a sound would eventually become ubiquitous during the Reagan years, spawning lots of crud along the way, means the band should no more be held to blame for that than Motown and the Beatles for inspiring lots of bad stuff in the '60s. Credit for th...e album's success has to go to main songwriter Vince Clarke, who would extend and arguably perfect the synthpop formula with Yazoo and Erasure; the classic early singles "New Life," "Dreaming of Me," and "Just Can't Get Enough," along with numbers ranging from the slyly homoerotic "Pretty Boy" to the moody thumper "Photographic," keep everything moving throughout. Gahan undersings about half the album, and Gore's two numbers lack the distinctiveness of his later work, but Speak and Spell remains an undiluted joy. Ned Raggett, All Music Guide Read more Less