On The Road Again: Depeche Mode "Construction Time Again (Germany, Mute Records 846-807)"

viernes, 10 de noviembre de 2023

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