Construction Time Again

Construction Time Again
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released 22 August 1983
Length 49:43
Label Mute/ Sire
Producer
Depeche Mode chronology
A Broken Frame
(1982)		 Construction Time Again
(1983)		 Some Great Reward
(1984)
Singles from Construction Time Again
  1. "Everything Counts"
    Released: 11 July 1983
  2. "Love, in Itself"
    Released: 19 September 1983
  3. "Told You So"
    Released: January 1984 (Spain; promotional only)

Construction Time Again is the third studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 22 August 1983 by Mute Records.[1] This was the first Depeche Mode album with Alan Wilder as a full band member, who wrote the songs "Two Minute Warning" and "The Landscape Is Changing", as well as the B-side "Fools". The title comes from the second line of the first verse of the track "Pipeline". It was supported by the Construction Time Again Tour.

The album was recorded at John Foxx's Garden Studios in London, engineered by Gareth Jones (who had also engineered Foxx's 1980 album Metamatic) and mixed at the Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin.

Background and themes

In January 1983, shortly before the release of the "Get the Balance Right!" single, songwriter Martin Gore attended an Einstürzende Neubauten concert, giving him the idea to experiment with the sounds of industrial music in the context of pop.[2]
"Pipeline"
A 30-second sample of "Pipeline" demonstrating the use of sampled sounds to construct a melody as well as a demonstration of the more socially conscious lyrics the group sang on this album.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

This album introduced a transition in lyrical content for the group. Construction Time Again would include a bevy of political themes, sparked by the poverty Gore had seen on a then-recent trip he had taken to Thailand.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Austin Chronicle[3]
PopMatters5/10[4]
Q[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

NME hailed the album, saying that "Everything Counts" "is Mode's best ever single, and undeniably one of their biggest hits. [...] It sold because it combines edgy and poignant melodies held in thrilling tension; a tough, urgent dancebeat; and a gleamingly modern sound with an element of quirkiness to mark it out in the crowd. And the same goes for every other track on the album." Reviewer Matt Snow qualified Alan Wilder's composition "Two Minute Warning", as "a haunting melody whose transition from verse to chorus explodes in one of those breathtakingly uplifting moments." He concluded with this sentence: "Depeche Mode have made a bold and lovely pop record. Simple as that."[7]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Martin L. Gore, except where noted.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Love, in Itself"   4:29
2. "More Than a Party"   4:45
3. "Pipeline"   5:54
4. "Everything Counts"   4:20
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
5. "Two Minute Warning"  Alan Wilder 4:13
6. "Shame"    3:51
7. "The Landscape Is Changing"  Wilder 4:49
8. "Told You So"    4:26
9. "And Then..."    5:39

2007 collector's edition bonus DVD

A short film
No. Title Length
1. "Depeche Mode: 1983 (Teenagers Growing Up, Bad Government, and All That Stuff)" (written and produced by Roland Brown; directed by Ross Hallard and Phil Michael Lane) 38:56
Construction Time Again (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo)
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
2. "Love, in Itself"    4:29
3. "More Than a Party"    4:46
4. "Pipeline"    5:55
5. "Everything Counts"    4:21
6. "Two Minute Warning"  Wilder 4:13
7. "Shame"    3:52
8. "The Landscape Is Changing"  Wilder 4:49
9. "Told You So"    4:27
10. "And Then..."    4:40
11. "Everything Counts (Reprise)" (hidden track)  0:59
Additional tracks (PCM Stereo)
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
12. "Get the Balance Right!"    3:17
13. "The Great Outdoors!"  Gore, Wilder 5:04
14. "Work Hard"  Gore, Wilder 4:24
15. "Fools"  Wilder 4:17
16. "Get the Balance Right!" (Combination Mix)  8:01
17. "Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts)"    7:22
18. "Love, in Itself.4"    4:40

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Construction Time Again.[8]

Charts

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[9] 82
Dutch Albums Chart[10] 32
French Albums Chart[11] 16
German Albums Chart[12] 7
New Zealand Albums Chart[13] 44
Swedish Albums Chart[14] 12
Swiss Albums Chart[15] 21
UK Albums Chart[16] 6

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Germany (BVMI)[17] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Raggett, Ned. "Construction Time Again – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Dave (14 January 2005). "The Landscape Is Changing". Q: 78–83. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  3. ↑ Gray, Christopher (15 June 2007). "Reissues". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Keefe, Michael (9 May 2007). "Depeche Mode: Black Celebration". PopMatters. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Depeche Mode: Construction Time Again". Q (107): 138–39. August 1995.
  6. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 229–30. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  7. ↑ Snow, Matt (27 August 1983). "Uplifting New Buildings". NME.
  8. ↑ Construction Time Again (LP liner notes). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1983. STUMM 13.
  9. ↑ "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. 39 (9). 29 October 1983. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Construction Time Again" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Archived from the original (select "DEPECHE MODE" and click "OK") on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Depeche Mode, Construction Time Again" (in German). charts.de. Media Control. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Construction Time Again". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Construction Time Again". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Construction Time Again". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "1983 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. 3 September 1983. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Depeche Mode; 'Construction Time Again')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "British album certifications – Depeche Mode – Construction Time Again". British Phonographic Industry. 10 November 1983. Retrieved 14 June 2014. Enter Construction Time Again 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

External links

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