Black Celebration is the fifth studio album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 March 1986 by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the US. Recorded in London and West Berlin, it was produced by Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones. At the prompting of Miller, the band recorded the album using the "live the album" ethos inspired by the film director Werner Herzog, which led to considerable tension between the band and both Miller and Jones, resulting in neither being involved in the production of subsequent Depeche Mode albums.
The album was promoted by the singles "Stripped", "A Question of Lust", and "A Question of Time". In the US, "But Not Tonight" was released as a single instead of "Stripped". In support of the album, Depeche Mode embarked on the five-month-long Black Celebration Tour across Europe, North America, and Japan, which ran from early to mid-1986.
Black Celebration is considered by critics as the start of a four album series of well-regarded Depeche Mode albums, continuing with Music for the Masses (1987), Violator (1990) and Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993). Three years after its release, Spin ranked it as the 15th-greatest album of all time, and the UK's Radio X in 2011 cited it as one of the most influential albums of the 1980s. Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor later cited Black Celebration as a source of inspiration for his album debut, Pretty Hate Machine (1989).
Black Celebration is the fith album of Depeche Mode and it's the first one that shows the potential of the band. Of course Music for the Masses, Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion, but these are submitted already (though Faith and Devotion just now). The album has great songs in "Black Celebration", "A Question of Lust", "A Question of Time" and "Stripped". Also the Martin Gore sung ballads "Sometimes", "It Doesn't Matter Two", "World Full of Nothing" are there, worth to be skipped asap. All in all it's a bit inballanced, but gives a good impression of great things to come.
I didn’t really get on board with Depeche Mode until Violator several years after this one was released. While I never added this to my music library I did hear it fairly regularly through college when my friends were playing music.
Great album that I think I like even more today. While if limited to 1001 albums I’d have chosen Violator, having an ever-expanding user list means there is plenty of room for this too!
Listened to this album numerous times in the 80s. The fact that they just use one of their greatest songs from that period (But Not Tonight) as a b-side says it all.
Solid new wave, but not Depeche Mode's best. Still, solid music
Favourite songs: New Dress, Breathing in Fumes, Fly on the Windscreen, Stripped, A Question of Time, Black Celebration
Least favourite songs: It Doesn't Matter Two, World Full of Nothing, Black Day
4/5
I want to like Depeche Mode more than I do. There is high talent and execution at play no doubt. Their palette is a little too monochrome to my ears though, and it's lyrically smart but never really sticks with me, beyond a general sense of emo angst.
I actively disliked Depeche Mode back in the 80s, but my views have mellowed over time. I don't hate this, I can sort of appreciate that they were trying to do something different. Still don't love it, but it's an interesting listen nonetheless. 3 stars.
Usually a Depeche Mode fan, but this LP felt much more plodding and uninspired than their usual output. Though the tempo picks up in the back half, the album is still saturated with lethargic ballads that kill any momentum it might have had. Just feels a bit long and bloated for what it is, the band clearly learned some lessons on this one before making Violator a few years later.
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