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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Speak & Spell

Depeche Mode

1981

Speak & Spell

Album Summary

Speak & Spell is the debut studio album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 29 October 1981 by Mute Records in the UK, and Sire Records in the US. It was the band's only album to feature founding member Vince Clarke. The album peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, and was ranked number 991 in the 2000 book All Time Top 1000 Albums. The album's cover, a "puzzling" picture of a swan wrapped in plastic, was designed by Brian Griffin and earned him a "brazingly inflated" £1000 fee (about £4,800 today). The band had agreed to not show their faces on their album cover, wanting the quality of the artwork to reflect their seriousness as musicians. Griffin would also shoot the cover artwork for Depeche Mode's follow-up album, A Broken Frame (1982).

Wikipedia

Rating

3.1

Votes

39

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Reviews

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Sep 21 2025
5

Wow I knew Vince Bell was involved with the founding of Depeche Mode, but hadn’t really investigated the group much when he was involved. This gave me a whole new perspective on the group… how interesting to go back to the origins of both later Depeche Mode and Erasure… not two groups you’d normally consider in the same moment.

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Oct 01 2025
4

Great to hear again

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Sep 18 2025
3

The debut album of Depeche Mode is a nice synth-pop album. It has three good songs: "New Life", "Puppets" and "Just Can't Get Enough". Other songs vary between instantly disposable pop ("What's Your Name?"), subpar produced songs ("I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead") or forgettable tracks (sorry, I can't remember which). All in all it's ok, but you can better listen to their later work.

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Sep 18 2025
2

Depeche Mode had at least one album in the main list, why add another? Eh. Anyway, this is exactly what you'd expect from these guys: knockoff Kraftwerk/Gary Numan noises, very dated. And the disconnect between the sound and visual of the album cover is pretty big. 2.5/5.

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Sep 20 2025
2

Some fun tracks here and there, but everything this band has released ages so poorly in a modern light. The dominant synth melodies and accents are a bit grating and haven’t been included on any hardware released past 1990, and the repetitive songwriting doesn’t help matters either.

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Sep 18 2025
3

I really enjoyed the second song and the second to last, but Depeche Mode was never my scene. This album doesn’t bother me as much as Violator, but it won’t be going in my library (except for those two aforementioned songs). Good album, though. Well done. 3/5

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Sep 20 2025
3

80’s synth pop for me is usually very hit or miss as it can sound very dated and silly. This album exceeded those expectations and I enjoyed it overall. Solid 3/5

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Sep 21 2025
3

I love Depeche Mode and rated both albums on the main list 5. Speak & Spell sounds like junior high to me, which is a good thing, and Just Can't Get Enough is certainly an iconic representation of the era. Generally speaking, though, they definitely have not yet hit their stride with this album. I agree with a previous reviewer who pointed out the album art (which is quite arresting) and album content seem unrelated, and I would further say the album title is also unrelated to either (beyond just "electronic"). Or maybe there's something deep here and I'm just not getting it?

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Sep 25 2025
3

Some big hits and big misses

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Oct 02 2025
3

Bing bong hop on it disco style... disco beat and hump pump greatness perhaps if you are into it. I mean it's depeche mode. Interesting to put a lesser album of theirs here when the original list already has multiple. Nevertheless, it's good music.

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Oct 02 2025
3

Stand alone this is a good album, but it just feels a bit flat vs their later entries and no way near the same league as violator. Stand alone id include it in the list, but I’d argued the best of Depeche mode is already well represented.

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Sep 22 2025
2

Not a fan. 2 stars.

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Sep 22 2025
2

The first album from Depeche Mode was about as I expected full of synth and lyrically unique. Not nearly as good as violator but this album still has a couple good songs and shows glimpses of their later talent. Most new wave is also just not for me. 5.4/10

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Sep 28 2025
2

Idk man, so silly

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