Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell (Remastered) [EAC-FLAC] [RePoPo]

******************************************************************************* Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell ******************************************************************************* This torrent contains both the Audio CD in its remastered stereo form, plus a short video. Some kind of a "making of" of the album. The video is presented in XviD with .mp3 sound. There are spanish and english subtitles already ripped and a subpack which also includes subs in Deutsch, Français and Italiano. You should rip it yourself (I currently use SubRip on Windows). Note: There's no 5.1 audio here. I repeat: there's no 5.1 audio here. Only 2.0 regular stereo album. CD: Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell [2006 Remastered] 01. New Life [0:03:46.59] 02. I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead [0:02:18.23] 03. Puppets [0:03:56.50] 04. Boys Say Go! [0:03:08.27] 05. Nodisco [0:04:15.69] 06. What's Your Name? [0:02:45.41] 07. Photographic [0:04:43.31] 08. Tora! Tora! Tora! [0:04:38.57] 09. Big Muff [0:04:24.45] 10. Any Second Now (Voices) [0:02:35.04] 11. Just Can't Get Enough [0:03:44.60] 12. Dreaming Of Me [0:04:01.51] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ALLMUSIC REVIEW ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is an extract, you can read it in full here: http://www.earvolution.com/2006/06/depeche-mode-remastered.asp Though probably nobody fully appreciated it at the time -- perhaps least of all the band! -- Depeche Mode's debut is at once both a conservative, functional pop record and a groundbreaking release. While various synth pioneers had come before -- Gary Numan, early Human League, late-'70s Euro-disco, and above all Kraftwerk all had clear influence on Speak & Spell -- Depeche became the undisputed founder of straight-up synth pop with the album's 11 songs, light, hooky, and danceable numbers about love, life, and clubs. For all the claims about "dated" '80s sounds from rock purists, it should be noted that the basic guitar/bass/drums lineup of rock is almost 25 years older than the catchy keyboard lines and electronic drums making the music here. That such a sound would eventually become ubiquitous during the Reagan years, spawning lots of crud along the way, means the band should no more be held to blame for that than Motown and the Beatles for inspiring lots of bad stuff in the '60s. Credit for the album's success has to go to main songwriter Vince Clarke, who would extend and arguably perfect the synth pop formula with Yazoo and Erasure; the classic early singles "New Life," "Dreaming of Me," and "Just Can't Get Enough," along with numbers ranging from the slyly homoerotic "Pretty Boy" to the moody thumper "Photographic," keep everything moving throughout. David Gahan undersings about half the album, and Martin Gore's two numbers lack the distinctiveness of his later work, but Speak & Spell remains an undiluted joy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AN EARVOLUTION REVIEW ON THE REMASTERS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The remaster includes remixed stereo versions of the original recordings, additional songs, 5.1 surround sound and DTS versions on DVD, and a "Behind the Music" style "mini-film." However, because it was the record that kicked things off for the band, I'll focus on Speak and Spell. Depeche Mode were unique when Speak and Spell was originally released and not simply because they disposed of the guitar, bass, and drum and replaced them with synthesizers. Thier uniqueness stemmed from matching all these sounds with their finely crafted pop songs. Vince Clarke, Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore manned the synths behind David Gahan's innocent vocals. "Just Can't Get Enough", a Depeche Mode classic and arguably their most recognizable tune on Speak and Spell, still has that heart thumping beat. That first record also included Depeche Mode classic's "New Life" and "Dreaming of Me." Clarke's songs range from fluffy dance party song's to extremely dark and menacing. On the remaster they include the not so subtle, but upbeat, tale of heartbreak "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead". The homoerotic "Boys Say Go" and "What's Your Name?" are almost laughable after 25 years of debate on the "sexuality" of Depeche Mode. The songs hold up as instrumental's, but I can't imagine Gahan or Gore even entertaining such light fare. "Puppets" and "Photographic" are much more indicative of the template that Gore would adopt in future Depeche Mode songs. These are the hidden gems of Speak and Spell. Gore's infancy as a song writer is on full display for their first album. The forgettable "Big Muff" follows the somber "TORA! TORA! TORA!" - which is solid enough for repeat listens and hints ever so slightly at the musician that Gore would become. Gahan's vocals which seemed muffled on the original release gain a little more strength on the stereo remaster and are completely liberated in the 5.1 and DTS versions. More than on any other Depeche Mode release Gahan comes across more as a figurehead rather than a front man, especially on the aforementioned "Boys Say Go" and "What's Your Name?." For pure and casual Depeche Mode fans, the retrospective mini-film Do We Really Have to Give Up Our Day Jobs?, makes this remaster worth it's weight. Clarke, Fletcher, Gore, and Gahan are positively giddy when they remember the genesis of Depeche Mode. Clarke, of course, left after Speak and Spell and went on to form Yazoo (Yaz in America) and later the hugely successful Erasure. Twenty five years has dispelled any acrimony that occurred at the time. Clarke's leaving the band is only mentioned in a textual epilogue at the close of the mini-film. One of the other highlight's of the mini-film is the interview with Brian Griffin who conceptualized the cover photo for Speak and Spell. He owns up to the fact that the cellophane covered swan is a bit over the top and finally admits he has no idea what he prompted him to submit such a horrible cover to the band, though the band seem to give him a pass. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOME WIKIPEDIA INFORMATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This was the only Depeche Mode album with Vince Clarke as a member of the band. Clarke wrote most of the songs for the band, before departing to form the synthpop duo Yazoo with Alison Moyet and later, the duo Erasure with Andy Bell. The album is significantly lighter in tone and melody than their later work, a direction which can largely be attributed to Clarke's writing. After he left, Martin Gore would take over songwriting duties, writing almost all of the band's material. Later albums written by him would explore darker subjects and melodies. The album title alludes to the then-popular "Speak & Spell" electronic toy. When interviewed by Simon Amstell for Channel 4's Popworld programme in 2005, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher both stated that the track "What's Your Name?" was their least favourite Depeche Mode song of all time. 2006 RE-RELEASE The album was re-released on 3 April 2006 (along with Music for the Masses and Violator) as part of Mute's extensive Depeche Mode reissue schedule. This special edition release was a double disc set that included a Hybrid SACD/CD and a DVD. This format included the album in 5 formats - multi-channel SACD, stereo SACD, PCM stereo CD, DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1. In the United States, the album was not re-released until June 2, 2006. The US version was only a CD rather than a SACD/CD Hybrid, though it still included the DVD which was identical to the European one (barring some different copyrights and logos). The re-release somewhat preserves the album as it was originally intended. As such, while it is mostly the same as the British version, North America got a completely new version with some songs that have never been released there. For example, "New Life" was the original version, not a remix, and "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead" finally debuted in North America. However, "Dreaming of Me", the band's very first single which was not on the original album, was put at the end. The four bonus tracks on the original CD release in the UK, were left off of the re-issued CD, but were on the DVD. Also included was a 28 minute documentary about the making of the album entitled Depeche Mode: 1980–1981 (Do We Really Have To Give Up Our Day Jobs?) featuring interviews with the group (including Vince Clarke) and other relevant presonnel such as Daniel Miller. There is various footage of the group's appearances on Top of the Pops including their very first appearance from 1981 performing "New Life". There is also vintage BBC footage of the Speak & Spell Tour from the same year. The remastered album was released on "deluxe" vinyl in March 2007. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOME TRACKS REVIEWED AT ALLMUSIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW LIFE by Stewart Mason The opening track from Depeche Mode's debut album, "New Life" does a fine job of introducing the band's early sound, a mixture of Euro- disco beats, Kraftwerk- inspired synth textures, and the sort of shameless pop hooks that would largely disappear from the band when primary songwriter Vince Clarke left shortly after this album's release. The song's instantly memorable chorus (not to mention the clever evocation of the Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout" at the end) is an early indicator of Clarke's unapologetic love of catchy tunes and ear-grabbing gimmicks, which he would go on to refine in Yazoo and Erasure, but the ultra- modern electronic arrangement, created by the band in association with Mute Records head and experimental composer Daniel Miller, balances Clarke's devotion to ABBA with an of-the-moment sonic palette. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DREAMING OF ME by Stewart Mason Depeche Mode's first single wasn't a chart success -- in fact, it was such a flop that it wasn't included on the U.K. edition of their debut album, Speak & Spell, and only made it onto the U.S. version because someone at Sire Records apparently felt a bit queasy about the song called "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead," which "Dreaming of Me" replaced -- but it's a charming slice of synth pop that neatly sets the agenda of the Vince Clarke-led edition of the band. Despite the chilly modernism of the all- electronic production, which producer/solo artist/ Mute Records owner Daniel Miller made sure was entirely au courant, "Dreaming of Me" is a distinctly catchy pop song, with a twinkling musical hook and a winsome chorus that Dave Gahan and Martin Gore sing in an absolutely angelic harmony. Remember that in 1980, when this single was released, the closest that the new wave of British electronic music had come to a truly catchy pop single was perhaps Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "Enola Gay," and songs like Miller's own "Warm Leatherette" were much closer to the norm. "Dreaming of Me," though it wasn't a success at the time, was an early harbinger to a new rapprochement between what had previously been a defiantly anti- commercial backwater of the post-punk underground and the Top of the Pops. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH by Ned Raggett Light, breezy, throwaway, and all the better for it, "Just Can't Get Enough" was Vince Clarke's triumphant moment with Depeche Mode, both putting the band on a firm enough footing to strike out even higher and confirming Clarke's own songwriting genius. If the desire is for synth pop, this is almost certainly it. While the early '80s saw England gripped with the synth wave, Depeche, with this song, overtly married happy, romantic pop sentiments with clean, crisp technology like nobody beforehand -- and the amount of those following who used this as a model can't be counted. The true mark of the song's success is that 20 years and a technological revolution on, nothing about the track sounds specifically dated, it's just a great pop song, sung excellently by David Gahan, backed with fine harmonies. The beat is big and sharp without being pummeling, its dancefloor appeal immediate and obvious, the sweet synth melodies spiralling throughout the track with the greatest of ease. If Depeche had been a straight- up rock band, this would be a " power pop classic," but the truth is, as recorded, it was the power poppiest of them all, so intrinsically identified with band and era that the group plays it to this day, long after Clarke's departure. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EAC LOG EXTRACT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 4 from 23. January 2008 EAC extraction logfile from 28. July 2009, 22:10 Depeche Mode / Speak & Spell [2006 Remastered] Used drive : HL-DT-STDVD-RAM GSA-H55N Adapter: 0 ID: 0 Read mode : Secure Utilize accurate stream : Yes Defeat audio cache : Yes Make use of C2 pointers : No Read offset correction : 102 Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes Used interface : Installed external ASPI interface Gap handling : Appended to previous track Used output format : User Defined Encoder Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s Quality : High Add ID3 tag : No Command line compressor : F:Archivos de programaExact Audio CopyFLACFLAC.EXE Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "DATE=%y" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" -T "COMMENT=%e" %s -o %d ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACCURIP REPORT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Verification date: 29/07/2009 10:00:16] [Disc ID: 00133fbe-00b59cf9-950a630c] Track [ CRC ] Status 01 [8252baf1] (10/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 02 [bbc724b9] (11/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 03 [948d3a72] (11/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 04 [6910dc6a] (11/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 05 [2ca471af] (11/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 06 [5eebbb40] (11/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 07 [1e469f7c] (11/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 08 [c324bae2] (11/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 09 [30817972] (11/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 10 [4c47d123] (11/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 11 [57f1baf1] (11/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 12 [6f589c72] (11/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #3 Offsetted by -12: 01 [829ebc75] (54/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 02 [63a1a35d] (53/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 03 [3218f106] (53/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 04 [d666496a] (53/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 05 [004f7e23] (52/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 06 [f20321f0] (53/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 07 [885a8e49] (53/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 08 [80cf66d9] (52/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 09 [23c55d66] (53/79) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 10 [c58487c4] (52/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 11 [8f42d2a8] (52/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 12 [6bf389b8] (52/78) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ (A REQUEST) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's usual to post comments only to complain about a torrent which doesn't work in your configuration. It's normal, after a few hours/days downloading and expecting a release, to feel deceived if it doesn't work properly, and expressing this is legitimate. I've often found one comment (negative) on a movie/CD downloaded by 2000+ people, and since that single negative feedback, people simply stop downloading and therefore, sharing. But a few times it was due not to the torrent itself, but to some issues on the downloader side (not updated codecs, misused tools...), and that's unfair for the person who took the time to share it for free. IF YOU FIND THIS RELEASE DESERVES TO BE RECOMMENDED TO OTHERS, HELP BY DROPPING A LINE AFTER YOU'VE CHECKED IT. This way, You'll help in keeping the torrent alive, almost as much as keeping it in your HDD until a 1:1 ratio is reached. Thanks ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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naked_mugwump (2009-08-01)

Many thanks for this!
Here's hoping the sound isn't just simply compressed and made louder for this re-issue...I'll report back.
I dunno, I always liked the Swan cover. That's deep stuff, man :)

naked_mugwump (2009-08-01)

Many thanks again--"I Sometimes Wish I was Dead" is a great little track!
As to the sound, vis a vis the original CD, it's much louder, and the dynamics are squashed.
It's not my can of beans--I love having the drum track in "Puppets" viscerally whallop the ears, for example, like it does on the original CD. On the re-issue, the drums kind of meekly try to assert themselves over everything else in the mix, which is all kind of at the same volume, which drains the excitement out of it for me personally.
But please don't take my word for it: you might like the compression--by squishing things, vocals really are brought out, and that's kind of a nice presentation.
Did I mention "I Wish I was Dead" is cool?
Thanks again to the uploader!

degsey (2009-08-02)

Thanks...have seeded to at least 1:1

mauro145 (2009-08-21)

gracias.