History Music / SpeakAndSpell

* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Photograph" into "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* HoYay: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] on "What's Your Name?"

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Probably one of the more extreme examples in popular music. Thanks to this being the only album to feature Vince Clarke as primary songwriter (as opposed to Martin Gore, who took over songwriting duties after Clarke left), the songs are a lot bouncier and more minimalist than Depeche Mode's later, more brooding work, and there's an unusually high presence of SillyLoveSongs. The album is also more straightforward SynthPop compared to the sample-heavy and {{industrial}}-influenced work of most of their later material.

* NewWaveMusic: This album explores the genre at its kitschiest, something that Vince Clark would carry into his later work post-Depeche Mode.

* UpdatedReRelease: Mute Records' first CD reissue of the album adds in the "cold-end version" of "Dreaming of Me", the 12" mix of "Just Can't Get Enough" (originally included on the US release in lieu of the 7" version), and the [[BSide B-sides]] to the album's associated singles as bonus tracks. The US CD, meanwhile, keep the tracklist unaltered from the 1981 US LP.

''Speak & Spell'', released in 1981, is the debut studio album by English SynthPop band Music/DepecheMode. Their first and only album with keyboardist and songwriter Vince Clarke, who departed the following year, the album stands as [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness a significant contrast]] to the material that the band would later become famous for. Owing to Clarke's personal songwriting preferences, the music on the album is much more minimalistic and bubbly compared to Depeche Mode's later brand of moody AlternativeDance, with SillyLoveSongs all throughout the record. Only two songs on ''Speak & Spell'' were written by the band's longer-lasting chief songwriter Martin Gore, those being "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff".

** The album title itself is a shout-out to the Toys/SpeakAndSpell line of toy computers, which earned a PeripheryDemographic among electronic musicians for the ability to modify it for use as a synthesizer.

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarII: The attack on Pearl Harbor that led to America's entry into the war is the focal point of "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

* ExcitedShowTitle: "Boys Say Go!" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

* CutAndPasteTranslation:
** The US release of the album by Creator/SireRecords cuts "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead", replaces the original versions of "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough" with the 12" remixes, and sticks "Dreaming of Me" in-between "Puppets" and "Boys Say Go!" (the song was considered for the UK release, but was left off because it was much less successful than "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough") The timestamps for each song left intact also differ between the UK and US release, largely because of the inherent difficulty that comes with approximating the length of analog recordings.
** "Dreaming of Me" replaces "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead" on some German LP releases.
** The 12" mix of "Just Can't Get Enough" and an alternate mix of "Dreaming of Me" were later included on Mute Records CD releases of the album, while Sire [=CDs=] retain the US LP tracklist.

* VariantCover: The album's US release [[https://img.discogs.com/pVhl08MlC4fOstvFi8WALzMq3A8=/fit-in/600x599/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-6388389-1418004125-8283.jpeg.jpg altered]] the front cover art to slightly re-center the photo and replace the original logotype for the band name and album title with one based on the crown design on the back cover. Five years later, Mute Records would create [[https://img.discogs.com/32aXd3iliGL7AAaSBt9Gje9Xdhs=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-61242-1208450521.jpeg.jpg another new cover]] for their CD release of the album, featuring a zoom-in on the swan in the photo against a black backdrop.

Upon its release, ''Speak & Spell'' was met with rave critical reviews, with journalists praising the album's minimalist yet commercially accessible music and their sense of artistic vitality. The band, meanwhile, were less kind about the album, viewing it as an OldShame in later years; in particular, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher ranked "What's Your Name?" as their least favorite Depeche Mode song. In addition to being a critical success, ''Speak & Spell'' fared quite well commercially in Europe and Australia, peaking at No. 10 on the UK Albums chart and No. 28 on the Australian Albums chart. In the US, meanwhile, the band were relegated to cult status at best, a trend that would only start to dissipate with the charting of ''Music/SomeGreatReward'' in 1984.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The very fact that there's a song on this record titled "Big Muff"[[note]]for those SeparatedByACommonLanguage, "muff" is British slang for a vagina[[/note]].

Regarding the background to the album, Depeche Mode first courted around a number of labels, and in turn were courted by a number of big names in the music industry. However, not wanting to commit to the proposed multi-album contracts, the band turned them all down, eventually settling with nascent indie label Mute Records after grabbing the interest of head Daniel Miller, who had attended one of their gigs. The first result of this was the single "Dreaming of Me", which peaked at number 57 on the UK Singles chart; while this didn't equate to groundbreaking success, it was still big for a band as green as Depeche Mode, encouraging them to record and release the singles "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough", each of which were a successively greater success for the band. With "New Life", the band were able to make their first appearance on ''Series/TopOfThePops'', and "Just Can't Get Enough" proved to be the band's BreakthroughHit in Britain, charting at number 8 on the UK Singles chart and leading to the release of ''Speak & Spell'' the following month.

''Speak & Spell'' produced two singles: "Dreaming of Me" (in the US only[[note]]the single was released in both the US and the UK, but was only included on the US release of ''Speak & Spell''[[/note]]), "New Life", and "Just Can't Get Enough".

* NonAppearingTitle: "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead", "Puppets", "Big Muff" (on account of it being an {{instrumental}}), and "Any Second Now (Voices)".

** The album itself is a shout-out to the Toys/SpeakAndSpell line of toy computers, which earned a PeripheryDemographic among electronic musicians for the ability to use it as a synthesizer, given the right modifications.

* SynthPop: A hallmark album of the genre.

''Speak & Spell'' produced two singles: "Dreaming of Me" (in the US only), "New Life", and "Just Can't Get Enough".

* UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode: "Tora! Tora! Tora!", an uncharacteristically dour song about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on an album otherwise littered with bouncy, upbeat tracks. Tellingly, it was one of only two songs on the album written by Martin Gore, who would play a big role in developing Depeche Mode's DarkerAndEdgier direction after Clarke's departure.

* WordSaladLyrics: A heavy feature of this album.

Upon its release, ''Speak & Spell'' was met with rave critical reviews, with journalists praising the album's minimalist yet commercially accessible music and their sense of artistic vitality. The band, meanwhile, were less kind about the album, viewing it as an OldShame in later years; in particular, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher ranked "What's Your Name?" as their least favorite Depeche Mode song. In addition to being a critical success, ''Speak & Spell'' fared quite well commercially in Europe, and Australia peaking at No. 10 on the UK Albums chart and No. 28 on the Australian Albums chart. In the US, meanwhile, the band were relegated to cult status at best, a trend that would only start to dissipate with the charting of ''Music/SomeGreatReward'' in 1984.

* NewWaveMusic: This album explores the genre at its kitschiest.

* IAmTheBand: If comparisons between ''Speak & Spell'' and Vince Clarke's work with Music/{{Yazoo}} and Music/{{Erasure}} are any indication, he basically ''was'' Depeche Mode on this album.

!!UK Tracklist:

!!US Tracklist:

** "Tora! Tora! Tora!" is one to the [[Film/ToraToraTora of the same name]], in both title and subject matter.

''Speak & Spell'', released in 1981, is the debut studio album by English SynthPop band Music/DepecheMode. Their first and only album with lead vocalist and songwriter Vince Clarke, who departed the following year, the album stands as [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness a significant contrast]] to the material that the band would later become famous for. Owing to Clarke's personal songwriting preferences, the music on the album is much more minimalistic and bubbly compared to Depeche Mode's later brand of moody AlternativeDance, with SillyLoveSongs all throughout the record. Only two songs on ''Speak & Spell'' were written by the band's longer-lasting chief songwriter Martin Gore, those being "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff".

** The album itself is a shout-out to the Toys/SpeakAndSpell line of toy computers.

* CutAndPasteTranslation: The US release of the album by Creator/SireRecords cuts "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead", replaces the original versions of "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough" with the 12" remixes, and sticks "Dreaming of Me" in-between "Puppets" and "Boys Say Go!" (the song was considered for the UK release, but was left off because it was much less successful than "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough"); "Dreaming of Me" also replaces "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead" on some German LP releases. The 12" mix of "Just Can't Get Enough" and an alternate mix of "Dreaming of Me" were later included on Mute Records CD releases of the album, while Sire [=CDs=] retain the US LP tracklist.

** The album itself is a shout-out to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speak_%26_Spell_(toy) Speak & Spell]] line of toy computers.