Depeche Mode - Construction Time Again

 

I am not sure where I purchased "Construction Time Again", Depeche Mode's third album, but the label on the LP cover shows I paid £5.49 in WH Smith. I think bought it after liking the two hit singles from the album, which I thought signaled that the band had moved away from being purveyors of candyfloss electro-pop to having a lot more gravitas and became someone to be taken more seriously. 

Indeed, the first single "Everything Counts" had been a revelation, with the chorus being sung by Martin Gore, who's higher voice was in stark contrast to the more dead-pan tone of lead singer Dave Gahan, With lyrics about corporate greed, the video featuring the Wuppertal mono-rail and the use of woodwind & horn instruments giving the music a quirky, slightly Arabic feel, it was a far cry from "I Just Can't Get Enough" ! Gahan's dancing in the video was clearly the blue-print for Rick Astley though........

The follow-up "Love, in Itself" also demonstrated a greater maturity, with a rich layer of sound, the occasional use of real instruments such piano and acoustic guitar, as well as again featuring the horns, and an uplifting chorus despite the gloomy lyrics.

Now however, I had no recollection of any of the other songs on the album and my memory was that I'd liked a couple of the album tracks, although I couldn't remember which ones, and that overall it was a patchy LP with the two singles being the highs, but with some low moments.

"Love, in Itself" opens side 1, and remains a classic piece of music, and I had forgotten about the almost jazzy-like piano in the middle eight.

"More Than A Party" has a frantic piano and synths intro which could be used in a chase scene in a horror movie but the rest of the song is terrible.

"Pipeline" is the longest song on the LP at nearly six minutes, and has the line from which the album takes its title. It is extremely slow, with a vaguely Chinese style rhythm, the sounds of a hammer on a pipeline and ghostly backing vocals. Its unusual and hardly catchy, but worth a listen.

The side closes with the outstanding "Everything Counts". I still like the lines "The turning point of a career in Korea being insincere. The holiday was fun-packed, the contract still intact" from the first verse.

Side 2 begins with "Two Minute Warning", which actually goes on for over four minutes. With underlying toe-tapping Kraftwerk style rhythms and a strong hook for the chorus it is one of the better moments on the LP.

"Shame" also features the sound of a hammer on a pipe and has an eerie synth sound, but it is slow and plodding, and whilst it is could only be Depeche Mode, it is instantly forgettable.

"The Landscape Is Changing" sees the return of the horns in the intro ans is one of the better tunes on "Construction Time Again" as Depeche Mode show the eco-friendly credentials, but although the lyrics are well intended they come across as trite. "I don't care if you are going nowhere, just take good care of the world"

"Told You So" is perhaps the best of the rest on "Construction Time Again" in that it is the most straightforward danceable electronic/pop song on the album with a sing-along ending of the verse into the chorus "Everybody's waiting for judgement day, so they can go, told you so". Had there been a third single from the album, this would probably have been it.

"And Then....." is slow and dull but saved by a reasonable chorus. A hour later though I had totally forgotten it and had to play the track again. I can now say the synth riff if vaguely similar to the bass riff in Jonathan Richman's "Egyptian Reggae" whilst the melody hints at "Leave In Silence". Despite saying that though, I am still struggling to remember how it goes !

The album ends with a one minute reprise on "Everything Counts", just in case you had forgotten how it went, with one tinny synthesizer playing notes of the chorus, accompanied with the vocal.

In summary, "Construction Time Again" isn't a bad album but my original view essentially remains. Two classic singles, a couple of decent album tracks and some interesting moments mixed with the bland.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Love, in Itself
2. More Than A Party
3. Pipeline
4. Everything Counts

Side Two :

1. Two Minute Warning
2. Shame
3. The Landscape Is Changing
4. Told You So
5. And Then....

Released : 1983
UK Chart Position : No 6

Singles :

Everything Counts ( No 6 - 1983 )
Love, in Itself ( No 21 - 1983 )

The Cure - Disintegration

 

Whilst South Park may have declared Disintegration to the be best Cure album ever, for me the accolade was merely it had the best one side of a Cure album. I found the first 5 songs on the album to be outstanding, but despite several attempts, I found very little to like on side 2, thinking it to essentially be just noise, and abandoned any further attempts to get into it. Let's see if I find any difference 30+ years later.

"Plainsong", the opening song, is perhaps my favourite all time song by The Cure, whilst the next 4 tracks would be somewhere in the top 20. Such is the popularity of "Plainsong" it remains the regular opener of live concerts even after all the years since its release, and is the fulfillment of the development from "The Funeral Party" and "One More Time". It is probably their finest demonstration of the formula of majestic keyboards and melodic bass lines before leading into the wistful vocal.

At over 8 minutes long, "Pictures of You" epically shimmers along in the traditions of anthems such as "Just Like Heaven" and "A Night Like This". It has a great guitar riff that I can happily listen to over and over again.

In many ways "Closedown" is very similar to "Plainsong" but the drumming has much more urgency and to the fore. There is still the hypnotic synthesizer and great guitar playing. Unsurprisingly, it is also one of my favourites.

"Lovesong" is out of kilter with the rest of the album in so far as it has a positive tone and might even be considered a pop song. At around 3 and a half minutes, it is the shortest song on the album. It was covered by Adele and I read in one of the Sunday newspapers that her mother was a big The Cure fan. After recording the song Adele took it home to play to her mum, seeking her approval, only to be told "Love, you've murdered it !"

"Lullaby" has a jerky rhythm, plucked violin and a scary vibe. "The Spiderman is having me for dinner tonight". The award winning video is suitably in a horror-movie theme.

"Fascination Street" brings side one to a close. It was never a track that I liked, but listening to it again now it wasn't so bad. With loud drums, a typical driving bass and screeching guitar it could easily be a song on "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me", or even "Pornography" ! Oddly, it was released as a single in the US but not in the UK.

"Prayers For Rain" has a slow intro, almost Japanese style guitar, nice keyboard motif, but it is let down by a lack of a melody.

"The Same Deep Water As You" is over nine minutes long. The pace is slow, there is a nice texture to the music but essentially it's dull. Strangely, some say it is one of the best ever songs recorded by The Cure.

Hearing "Disintegration" was a bit of a surprise as it had a toe tapping intro, and whilst hardly memorable it was listenable. It wasn't what I was expecting....

"Untitled" was also a shock. Beginning with a church organ style synthesizer before pleasant plucked guitar it was quite pretty and something to chill-out to. I also liked the slow fade out.

The re-listening of the album has lead to a major reappraisal. Whilst the first 5 songs are still outstanding, the rest are nearly nowhere as poor as I had imagined, and whilst hardly great, are much better than to be dismissed as "noise". I won't be rushing to replay them anytime soon though !

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Plainsong
2. Pictures of You
3. Closedown
4. Lovesong
5. Lullaby
6. Fascination Street

Side Two :

1. Prayers For Rain
2. The Same Deep Water As You
3. Disintegration
4. Untitled

Released : 1989
UK Chart Position : 3

Singles :

Lullaby ( 5 - 1989 )
Lovesong ( 18 - 1989 )
Pictures of You ( 24 - 1990 )