A Broken Frame

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A Broken Frame
A broken frame (Depeche Mode album - cover art).jpg
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released 27 September 1982
Recorded December 1981–July 1982 at Blackwing Studios in London
Genre Synthpop
Length 40:55
Label Mute / Sire (US and Canada)
Producer Depeche Mode and Daniel Miller
Depeche Mode chronology
Speak & Spell
(1981)Speak & Spell1981		 A Broken Frame
(1982)		 Construction Time Again
(1983)Construction Time Again1983
Singles from A Broken Frame
  1. "See You"
    Released: 29 January 1982
  2. "The Meaning of Love"
    Released: 26 April 1982
  3. "Leave in Silence"
    Released: 16 August 1982

A Broken Frame is the second studio album by the British group Depeche Mode, released in 1982. The album was written entirely by Martin Gore and recorded after the departure of Vince Clarke, who had left the band to form Yazoo with singer Alison Moyet. Alan Wilder was part of a second tour in the United Kingdom occurring prior to the release of this album, but he had not officially joined the band yet, and thus, does not appear on the album.

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars[1]
Melody Maker negative[2]

Melody Maker's noted that, A Broken Frame "- as its name suggests - marks the end of a beautiful dream". Reviewer Steve Sutherland considered that the songs of A Broken Frame "sound like puerile infatuations papering over anonymity" with "weary words". He found that "Shouldn't Have Done That" is the only "ambitious departure" from their previous work.[2]

Cover

The cover is a photograph, but is intended to resemble a painting. It depicts a woman cutting grain in an East Anglian field, near Duxford in Cambridgeshire. It was taken by Brian Griffin (who had previously done the cover photograph for Speak & Spell and press photos for the band) using a mixture of natural and artificial lighting. Griffin cited as inspirations Russian art, especially the work of Kazimir Malevich, and German romantic art.[3][4] Griffin has displayed on his website a gallery of alternative images from the same shoot.[5]

It was featured on the cover of Life Magazine's 1990 edition of "World's Best Photographs 1980 - 1990".[6]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Martin Gore. 

1982 release: Mute / Stumm 9 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "Leave in Silence"   4:51
2. "My Secret Garden"   4:46
3. "Monument"   3:15
4. "Nothing to Fear"   4:18
5. "See You"   4:34
6. "Satellite"   4:44
7. "The Meaning of Love"   3:06
8. "A Photograph of You"   3:04
9. "Shouldn't Have Done That"   3:12
10. "The Sun & the Rainfall"   5:02
1982 release: Sire / 23751 (U.S.)
No. Title Length
1. "Leave in Silence"   6:28
2. "My Secret Garden"   4:46
3. "Monument"   3:15
4. "Nothing to Fear"   4:18
5. "See You"   4:34
6. "Satellite"   4:44
7. "The Meaning of Love"   3:06
8. "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden"   4:20
9. "A Photograph of You"   3:04
10. "Shouldn't Have Done That"   3:12
11. "The Sun & the Rainfall"   5:02
  • Some original US CD copies of the album tacked on the intro of "The Sun & the Rainfall" onto the end of "Shouldn't Have Done That", making "The Sun & the Rainfall" 4:54.
  • All compositions by Martin Gore.
  • Dave Gahan sings lead vocals on all songs except "Shouldn't Have Done That" which is a duet with Gore. "Nothing to Fear" and "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden" are instrumental.

2006 re-release

Mute: DM CD 2 (CD/SACD + DVD) / CDX STUMM 9 (CD/SACD)

  • Disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer. The track listing is identical to the 1982 UK release, except "Satellite" which is 4:43 long and contains a slight edit, or error, at the beginning of the track.
  • Disc 2 is a DVD which includes A Broken Frame in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo plus bonus material.
Bonus Tracks (in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM Stereo)
No. Title Length
11. "My Secret Garden" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, October 25, 1982)) 7:28
12. "See You" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, October 25, 1982)) 4:11
13. "Satellite" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, October 25, 1982)) 4:28
14. "Nothing to Fear" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, October 25, 1982)) 4:28
15. "The Meaning of Love" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, October 25, 1982)) 3:14
16. "A Photograph of You" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, October 25, 1982)) 3:21
Bonus Tracks (in PCM Stereo)
No. Title Length
17. "Now, This Is Fun"   3:27
18. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)"   4:07
19. "Excerpt From: My Secret Garden"   3:14

Additional Material:

  1. "Depeche Mode 1982 (The Beginning of Their So-Called Dark Phase)" [27 Minute video]

Vinyl

Selections From A Broken Frame (Vinyl, 12", Promo)
No. Title Length
1. "Leave In Silence"   6:28
2. "A Photograph Of You"   3:04
3. "My Secret Garden"   4:45
4. "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden)"   4:20

All songs were written by Martin Gore.

Charts and certifications

Album credits

Depeche Mode
Production

References

  1. ↑ Raggett, Ned. A Broken Frame at AllMusic
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ "Suchergebnis". Charts-Surfer.de. Retrieved 24 February 2009. Note: User must define 'neuer suchbegriff' search parameter as "Depeche Mode".
  8. ↑ "Discography Depeche Mode". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  9. ↑ "Depeche Mode | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 7 Sep 2013.
  10. ↑ "Depeche Mode > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  11. ↑ "Discographie Depeche Mode". LesCharts.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter A Broken Frame in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
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