Depeche Mode "Black Celebration (Germany, Mute Records, 846-818)"

Black Celebration is the fifth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 March 1986 by Mute Records. Daniel Miller devised “a plan to capture the essence of the dark works” that Martin Gore created because Martin Gore had no intention of compromising the mood that his demos had set. With the release of the album, Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones presented Black Celebration which they produced to be more like an environment rather than a collection of songs. Their production created “a tech-noir future dystopia” that “glitters of gloom.”

Black Celebration reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, and has been cited as one of the most influential albums of the 1980s. To promote the album, the band embarked on the Black Celebration Tour. Three years after its release, Spin ranked it at number 15 on its "25 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.

The album was promoted by the single "Stripped" released 10 February, and was followed by "A Question of Lust", released 14 April, "A Question of Time" released 11 August. Instead of "Stripped", "But Not Tonight" was released as a single in the US, due to its more commercial appeal on 22 October.

The band wanted to change their working routine yet again to make sure that things would not lead to boredom or lack of production. Daniel Miller stated: "I was a bit frustrated because I couldn't get the guys to think about working in different ways." He admired the working methods of the German film director Werner Herzog, which meant that the band had "lived the album", meaning they attended the studio every day and worked endlessly on the songs and production. Miller felt that he wanted "a kind of intensity", as he had felt that production was slowing down since their debut Speak & Spell, which had snappy recording and production, with the exception of Construction Time Again, which he claims was due to there being "so many new things going on.".

With regard to the recording processes and song formation, samples were yet again at the forefront of the sound. Gareth Jones stated that they would always use their own samples and tried to avoid using samples from other sources. For example, the opening title track initially was to have samples of Winston Churchill saying "A brief period of rejoicing" because they enjoyed "that idea of a brief moment of rejoicing." However, instead of sampling Churchill saying it, they had Miller say the quote instead. He said that, though they admired hip hop, they had no desire to sample in the same fashion. "We didn't want to collage other people's work and drop it into Martin's songs. We used samplers to grab real sounds from the real world to make sure our samples were original." On the song "Fly on the Windscreen", Jones recalled: "You can hear a rather young sounding Daniel again saying 'over and done with.' The breath sample noise at the start is interesting too." On Alan Wilder's Shunt website, in the Q&A section, he stated that these "breath samples" were in fact Miller saying "'Horse' repeatedly very fast."

The tour began with a European leg, starting in Oxford, England in late March 1986 and finishing in Rüsselsheim, West Germany in late May. A North American jaunt followed in early June, commencing in Boston and culminating mid-July in Irvine, California. Shortly after the North American leg, the group headed to Japan to play three dates.

In early August, the group began a second run of European shows, starting in Fréjus, France. The group performed four additional dates in France, as well as two shows in Italy, before wrapping up the tour in Copenhagen.

Book of Love joined the tour as the opening act on 29 April in Hanover, West Germany, and continued for the rest of the first European leg and throughout all tour dates of the North American leg (ending on 15 July)

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted. All lead vocals by Dave Gahan, except where noted

1. "Black Celebration" 4:55
2. "Fly on the Windscreen – Final" 5:18
3. "A Question of Lust" Gore 4:20
4. "Sometimes" Gore 1:53
5. "It Doesn't Matter Two" Gore 2:50
6. "A Question of Time" 4:10
7. "Stripped" 4:16
8. "Here Is the House" Gahan/Gore  4:15
9. "World Full of Nothing" Gore 2:50
10. "Dressed in Black"   Gahan/Gore  2:32
11. "New Dress" 3:42

Total length: 41:01

Depeche Mode "Some Great Reward (Italy, Mute Records, CDOR-9211)"

Some Great Reward is the fourth studio album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 24 September 1984 by Mute Records. The album peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 51 in the United States, and was supported by the Some Great Reward Tour. This also saw the band using samplers, much like they did in their previous studio album Construction Time Again (1983), which they would continue to use in their following studio albums Black Celebration (1986) and Music for the Masses (1987).

Additionally it also saw the band addressing more personal themes such as sexual politics ("Master and Servant"), adulterous relationships ("Lie to Me"), and arbitrary divine justice ("Blasphemous Rumours"). "Blasphemous Rumours" was released as a double A-side with "Somebody".

This was the first album where they achieved chart success in the US with the single "People Are People" which reached No. 13 on the charts in mid-1985 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a Top 20 hit in Canada. It was also the first album that peaked at a higher position on a chart that was not from the band's home country as it peaked at No. 1 in Germany.

The tour was the band's longest to date. A concert held at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle in Hamburg, West Germany, was recorded and issued as a video release titled The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985). The European release featured 16 songs, while the North American version featured 11 songs. The video has not yet seen a DVD release.

American synth-pop and electronic band Book of Love were the opening act for all 15 tour dates of the North American leg of the tour.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted. All lead vocals by Dave Gahan, except where noted

1. "Something to Do"  Gahan/Gore   3:45
2. "Lie to Me" 5:04
3. "People Are People" Gahan/Gore   3:52
4. "It Doesn't Matter" Gore 4:45
5. "Stories of Old" 3:12
6. "Somebody" Gore 4:26
7. "Master and Servant" 4:13
8. "If You Want" Wilder 4:40
9. "Blasphemous Rumours" Gahan/Gore   6:21

Total length: 40:18

Depeche Mode "Construction Time Again (Germany, Mute Records 846-807)"

Construction Time Again is the third studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 22 August 1983 by Mute Records. It was the band's first album to feature Alan Wilder as a member, who wrote the songs "Two Minute Warning" and "The Landscape Is Changing". The album's title comes from the second line of the first verse of the track "Pipeline". It was recorded at John Foxx's Garden Studios in London, and was supported by the Construction Time Again Tour.

The album was preceded by the single "Everything Counts", released on 11 July and reached No. 6 on the UK Charts and was also promoted by the single "Love, in Itself", which was released on 19 September and reached No. 21 on the UK Charts.

In January 1983, shortly before the release of the "Get the Balance Right!" single, songwriter Martin Gore attended an Einstürzende Neubauten concert, giving him the idea to experiment with the sounds of industrial music in the context of pop.

This album introduced a transition in lyrical content for the group. Construction Time Again would include a bevy of political themes, sparked by the poverty Gore had seen on a then-recent trip he had taken to Thailand.

Producer Daniel Miller, has explained the recording process as "a massive leap forward". Due to the band, as well as Miller, having an urge to change up their processes they decided to change which studio they would work in, which was decided to be John Foxx's Garden Studios in London, and they also met Gareth Jones, who had worked with John Foxx on his album Metamatic (1980). Initially, Jones was reluctant to work with the group as he felt they were too commercial and viewed them as 'pop' and 'lightweight', which he saw as an issue. However, John Foxx had persuaded Gareth to work with the band as he felt that due to his appreciation for Mute Records' musical output, such as Daniel Miller's "Warm Leatherette" the band would be worth while as Miller was their producer and they were a Mute label artist. Jones would provide contributions to further albums such as, Some Great Reward (1984) and Black Celebration (1986).

With regards to the heavy amount of sampling, the band would sample various 'found' sounds, such as toy instruments or other objects like stones and objects found in construction sites which they would manipulate using the Synclavier. Bandmate Alan Wilder said “You can take the purest voice in the world, and fool around with it digitally until it’s the most evil, monstrous sound. Or you can take a moose fart and make it beautiful.” Daniel Miller recalled "Martin (Gore) would turn up with some toy or some other weird instrument and we just started recording it, sampling it, doing shit with it." He looked back on the recording process as one of the most enjoyable he has been through stating "I sit at home with my synthesizers making great noises, but when you can put those experiments into the pop form that’s thrilling.”

The tour, which took place in Europe, began in September 1983 in Hitchin, England. Following an initial leg of dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland, a second leg in December reached Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and West Germany.

In March 1984, the group performed its first dates in Italy and Spain. The final date was a one-off show in June supporting Elton John in Ludwigshafen, West Germany, where "People Are People", the lead single from their next album, made its live debut on the special set. A tour in support of the act's subsequent studio release, Some Great Reward, followed in September.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted. All lead vocals by Dave Gahan, except where noted

1. "Love, in Itself" 4:29
2. "More Than a Party" 4:45
3. "Pipeline" Gore 5:54
4. "Everything Counts" Gahan/Gore/Wilder   4:20
5. "Two Minute Warning" Alan Wilder 4:13
6. "Shame" Gahan/Gore   3:51
7. "The Landscape Is Changing" Wilder 4:49
8. "Told You So" 4:26
9. "And Then..." 4:35
10. "Everything Counts (Reprise)" (hidden track) 1:05

Total length: 42:27

Orgy "Vapor Transmission"

Vapor Transmission is the second album by American Industrial rock band Orgy. It was released on October 10, 2000.

The first 1000 pressings (as well as the Japanese release) of the album included a bonus track known as "The Spectrum", which starts at the 6 minute mark of the last track "Where's Gerrold". Some packages of this album included an enhanced CD that contained a demo version of the song "Stitches," a remix, and a video for the single "Fiction (Dreams in Digital)". The aforementioned single received significant radio play upon release, reaching number 6 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. A second single, "Opticon", had more moderate success, and was featured on the soundtrack to the 2001 horror film Valentine. "Suckerface" and "Eva" were also released as promotional singles.

Vapor Transmission largely continues the style heard on Candyass. However, while the electronic effects remain prominent, heavily distorted guitars are slightly de-emphasized with a strong focus on melody.

Track listing

1. "Vapor Transmission (Intro)" 2:15
2. "Suckerface" 3:28
3. "The Odyssey" 2:56
4. "Opticon" 2:58
5. "Fiction (Dreams in Digital)" 3:25
6. "Eva" 5:02
7. "107" 4:14
8. "Dramatica" 3:33
9. "Eyes-Radio-Lies" 3:58
10. "Saving Faces" 4:06
11. "Re-Creation" 3:32
12. "Chasing Sirens" 3:59
13. "Where's Gerrold" 4:11

Total length: 47:35

Early pressing version

1. "Where's Gerrold" (Contains "The Spectrum" as a hidden track at 6:11) 10:33

Total length: 53:57

"The Spectrum" was later featured on the compilation album MTV: The Return of the Rock, Vol. 2.

Another song recorded during these sessions was "Sonic", among other demos.

"Where's Gerrold" is named for a visitor at the recording home of Orgy. He can be seen on the Trans Global Spectacle DVD, holding a pierced teddy bear.

"Eva" is named after the album's co-producer Josh Abraham's mother, who died during the recording of the album.

Depeche Mode "Black Celebration (Canada, Sire Records, CD 25429)"

Black Celebration is the fifth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 March 1986 by Mute Records. The album further cemented the darkening sound created by Alan Wilder, which the band later used for the acclaimed and globally successful albums Music for the Masses, Violator, and Songs of Faith and Devotion; a sound that was initially hinted towards on their albums Construction Time Again and Some Great Reward.

The album entered the UK charts the week after its release at no. 4, making it their most successful to date and their highest placed album of the decade in their native country. The band said in 1998 during an interview available on The Videos 86–98 DVD, Black Celebration has been cited as one of the most influential albums of the 1980s. To promote the album, the band embarked on the Black Celebration Tour. 

Three years after its release, Spin ranked it at number 15 in its list of "The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time." 

In 2007, Black Celebration was re-released with a bonus DVD. It was released as a part of the third wave of re-issues (along with Construction Time Again). The first CD was remastered and (except in the US) released on a CD/SACD hybrid. The bonus DVD includes the B-sides in addition to the singles and B-sides for "Shake the Disease" and "It's Called a Heart", two songs that were recorded shortly before the album and were released too early to be put on the album. There are also several live versions of some of the songs from Black Celebration. The album is released the way it was originally intended and ends with "New Dress" (not "Black Day" or "But Not Tonight"). 

Like the other re-issues, the DVD includes a documentary on the album. The title ("The Songs Aren't Good Enough, There Aren't Any Singles and It'll Never Get Played on the Radio") is Martin paraphrasing Daniel Miller about his demos for Black Celebration in the film. The double-documentary discusses both The Singles 81→85 and Black Celebration, its more challenging commercial success (especially the song "Stripped") and all five related singles. It also includes a plethora of behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Black Celebration and the ensuing tour. Highlights include the band meeting The Cure, and behind the scenes footage of several of the music videos. The documentary is nearly an hour long. 

It was released 20 March 2007 in the US, 26 March in the UK and 2 April in the rest of Europe. 

The remastered album was released on "deluxe" vinyl on 2 April 2007 in Europe and on 11 September 2007 in the United States.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except "Black Day" written by Gore/ Wilder/ Miller.

Side one

1. "Black Celebration" 4:55
2. "Fly on the Windscreen – Final" 5:18
3. "A Question of Lust" 4:20
4. "Sometimes" 1:53
5. "It Doesn't Matter Two" 2:50

Side two

1. "A Question of Time" 4:10
2. "Stripped" 4:16
3. "Here Is the House" 4:15
4. "World Full of Nothing" 2:50
5. "Dressed in Black" 2:32
6. "New Dress" 3:42

Total length: 41:01