Overlooked - Speak and Spell

In these heady days of 80s nostalgia, bordering on worship, there are lots of names thrown around: Gang of Four, Kraftwerk, PiL, the Pixies. The list goes on. In my book however, there's a holy quad of 80's bands that stand above the rest. Their influence resonates throughout the sonic landscape, even today. Even tiny school children, not born until after 9/11 know their songs. New Order. The Cure. Duran Duran. And Depeche Mode.

DM are one of the few bands out there that were relevant in '81 and still sound relevant in '08. It might seem like I'm heaping an overly generous portion of praise on them, but go back and listen to their singles collections. Then look me in the eye and try to deny that every band that uses a synthesizer since the 80s hasn't been influenced by them. They set the standards.

Going all the way back to their first album, Speak and Spell, we can see the roots of the band that is to come, but we can also a see a band that might have been. Martin Gore and Dave Gahan have become the heart of DM over the years (not to diminish Mr. Fletcher). But their first outing also had Dave Clarke, who would go onto Yazoo and Erasure fame. His lighter sensibilities were at lead when it came to writing the songs for Speak and Spell and it shows. Tracks like "Just Can't Get Enough" and "Dreaming of Me" have more in common with many Erasure tracks then they do with "Personal Jesus" or "Barrel of a Gun". Who knows where the band would have gone had Clarke stayed with them.

But that doesn't eclipse the importance of this album. Speak and Spell is quite possibly the first real introduction of entirely synthesized music into the pop genre. That's not to say they pioneered anything, but they certainly refined synth-based music in a way that made it palatable to the dancefloor masses for the first time.

Almost every track on Speak and Spell is a gem. Not many debuts can claim that kind triumph. And as good as it was, Clarke's leaving didn't kill DM, it freed them up. Once Gore took over writing duties the band took a darker turn and began forging what would become one of the most iconic bands the post-arena rock world had ever seen. Violator seems to be, for many people, a turning point for the band. Going from underground scenesters to pop megastars. But the band didn't soften their sound, or broaden it. They just kept evolving, kept getting better (and kept going into rehab). They moved from being a great synthpop band, to just being a great band.

Speak and Spell often gets over shadowed by Black Celebration or Music for the Masses, or the aforementioned Violator. But listen to "Photographic" from S&S. It's still a fantastic track today - 27 years after it's release. I might get called on this one, but I doubt anyone will be listening to Vampire Weekend and crying their genius in 2035.

MP3 - Depeche Mode - Photographic

Purchase through Amazon - Speak and Spell

Depeche Mode