12/18/2008

Goodbye 1983!


Before the final "Happy 25th Birthday" of 2008, Waist High would like to say "Happy 25th Birthday" to the great 1983 releases that we were just not able to get to: Colour By Numbers, Let's Dance, "Electric Avenue," The Alarm, Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), War, "Don't Talk To Me About Love," You and Me Both, Reach The Beach, Porcupine, and the ever fabulous "Shiny Shiny."

Greatest of all, 1983 was the year Construction Time Again was released. The third studio album from Depeche Mode, "saw a dramatic shift in the group's sound, due in part to the introduction of the Synclavier and Emulator samplers," in addition to the band's previously-used analogue synthesizers.

Contruction Time Again was the first Depeche Mode album with Alan Wilder who joined after the departure of Vince Clarke. Alan was known as the band's "only trained musician." The non-album single "Get the Balance Right!" was "Wilder's first musical contribution to the band."

Depeche Mode are one of the longest-lived, most successful and influential bands to have emerged from the New Wave era. They have had 44 songs in the UK Singles Chart, and it is estimated that they have sold over 91 million records worldwide.

In 2007, all 10 of Depeche Mode's studio albums were released as part of
THE REMASTERS series.

"The first CD was remastered and (except in the USA) was released on a CD/SACD hybrid. The bonus DVD includes the B-Sides in addition to the single and B-Side for 'Get the Balance Right,' a one-off single recorded a little bit before the album. The album is released the way it was originally intended and doesn't include the bonus extended mix of 'Everything Counts,' but it does keep the reprise, and gives it its own track like the original. On some CD releases, it was a hidden track after 'And Then...'"

The Construction Time Again "DVD includes a documentary on the album. The double-documentary discusses both 'Get the Balance Right' and Construction Time Again, its two singles, the making of the cover, the lyrics, and the sampling aspect of the album. It also discusses Alan Wilder and Gareth Jones, a new member and a new engineer (respectively) and their impact on Depeche Mode's new sound. It also includes footage of the Construction Time Again tour. The documentary also has excerpts from the music video for 'Get the Balance Right,' which has so far been unreleased."

Material:
wikipedia.org, waisthigh.net, & depechemode.com