Day 0669 - Violator

Depeche Mode "Violator" (1990)

 
After making several albums, and getting good at what they did, th'Mode decided to pare things back on their first album of the 90s.   Band-member Martin Gore described how the group had become bored with the extensive pre-production and discussions on album 'sound' that they would usually undertake before working on a release.  They decided instead to work things out on the fly in the studio with new producer Flood (New Order, Ministry, Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey, NIN etc.)

Apparently Depeche Mode were a big influence on Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, and I can hear it.  The synthline in first track "World in my Eyes" bears more than a passing resemblance to that band's sound.  The album mostly goes for sparse, but moody synth arrangements.  "Waiting for the Night" and "Clean" provide slightly fuller arrangements.

Oh it also has "Personal Jesus" on it.  Most people would at least be familiar with that or the so-so Marilyn Manson cover of it a few years later.

Day 0475 - More Specials

The Specials "More Specials" (1980)

 
The Specials had helped launch the ska craze in the UK. The label 2-tone records, started by Specials keyboardist and songwriter Jerry Dammers would go on to release music from artists such as Madness, the Beat, and Elvis Costello (only one single for EC though).

The band were exhausted from touring and were hoping to make a few changes for their second album in order to keep things interesting.

The first few tracks stick to the ska/reggae formula, but towards the middle of the album you start to get the kitschy sing-along of "Pearl's Cafe" and hard funking of "Sock it to em JB". The album works with passages of exotica and some noodling around with different keyboard textures. The mix of styles would go on to influence the 90s trip-hop explosion through artists like Portishead, Massive Attack and others.