A Broken Frame

A Broken Frame
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)		 A Broken Frame
(1982)		 Construction Time Again
(1983)
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
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[2]

Melody Maker 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.[3]

Cover image

The cover artwork 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 Ukrainian and Russian art, especially the work of Kazimir Malevich, and German romantic art.[4][5] Griffin has displayed on his website a gallery of alternative images from the same shoot.[6]

It was featured on the cover of Life Magazine's 1990 edition of "World's Best Photographs 1980 - 1990".[7]

Track listing

All tracks written 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

2006 re-release

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

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

Charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 56
Swedish Albums Chart[9] 22
UK Albums (OCC)[10] 8
US Billboard Pop Albums[11] 177
Chart (2006) Peak
position
French Albums Chart[12] 1941

1Re-release chart position

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Album credits

Depeche Mode
Production

Marsheaux cover version

A Broken Frame
Studio album by Marsheaux
Released 18 January 2015 (2015-01-18)
Length 45:00
Label Undo Records
Marsheaux chronology
Inhale
(2013)		 A Broken Frame
(2015)		 Ath.Lon
(2016)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Release Magazine[14]

In 2015, the Greek synthpop duo Marsheaux released a complete cover version of A Broken Frame on Undo Records. While the reviewer for Release Magazine wrote that this version was not "anything essential" but well done, other reviews were more detailed.[14] The Electricity Club found influences of And One in the cover of "The Sun & the Rainfall" and concluded that Marsheaux had "used unconventional sounds and vocals to make this record their own".[15] Reviews from Germany noted that Marsheaux had elaborated on the assetts and downsides of the original release. According to Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, the kitschy sides of the early Depeche Mode album were deliberately uncovered in tracks like "The Meaning of Love" while the Sonic Seducer lauded Marsheaux's darker and slower interpretation of this song.[16][17]

References

  1. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "A Broken Frame – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  2. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 229–30. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  3. ↑ Sutherland, Steve (25 September 1986). Depeche Mode: A Broken Frame. Melody Maker.
  4. ↑ Burrows, Tim. "A Broken Frame at 30". The Quietus. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Brian Griffin interview". Electricity Club. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Griffin, Brian. "Album covers: Depeche Mode". Brian Griffin Photography. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Featured Album Cover Artist Portfolio – Brian Griffin".
  8. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Depeche Mode – A Broken Frame" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Discography Depeche Mode". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  10. ↑ "Depeche Mode | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 7 Sep 2013.
  11. ↑ "Depeche Mode > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  12. ↑ "Discographie Depeche Mode". LesCharts.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  13. ↑ "British album certifications – Depeche Mode – A Broken Frame". British Phonographic Industry. 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
  14. 1 2 Carlsson, Johan. "Marsheaux – A Broken Frame". Release Magazine. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  15. ↑ Goss, Monika Izabela (29 January 2015). "Marsheaux A Broken Frame". The Electricity Club. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  16. ↑ Reinke, Stefan (10 February 2015). "Marsheaux verpassen Depeche Mode eine Frischzellenkur". Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  17. ↑ Karstedt, Jörn. "Marsheaux 'A Broken Frame'". Sonic Seducer. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
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