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Rating: What does it mean to come from a city like Basildon, practically built to measure with photocopy buildings, arranged in sequence to accommodate the overflow population of nearby London, devoid of interests other than being the birthplace of the inventor and agronomist Jethro Tull (hence the name of the namesake progressive rock band)?
One hundred thousand inhabitants who get out of bed, enter the factory or office, leave, go to the pub, maybe get drunk and, if they have them, return every night to their families or their four-legged friends. A greyness that surrounds you but that you also carry within, in your soul, which can gradually take over you, insidious, without jolts, unless you do something about it.
But someone in Basildon decided to react. They took that gray and cloaked it in black, almost to challenge and belittle it. Some guys who, to achieve this, started with a synth-rich, danceable pop, and by the fifth album, they are now ready for a change. The "black celebration" covers the tracks with a gothic and dark atmosphere like never before, and there is a deeper exploration of the sonic nuances. Therefore, metallic, industrial effects, the new wave brushing against post-punk, melody drawing from the past but dressed in more painful moods. Everything seems harder to digest for the ears, but it's just the beginning of maturity, of delving deeper and discovering one's potential.
In fact, from here, Depeche Mode will refine and expand their still-unexpressed souls more and more, continuing to do so despite depressions, heart arrests, and suicide attempts. A record that marks an extraordinary turning point in the musical landscape of the time, charting the path to follow for a genre, new wave, that has had and still has other wandering knights, but which with them will find in the long term the true torchbearers.
For us listeners, what remains in our heads is the single-like perfection of the chorus of "A Question of Lust," the contagious post-punk rhythm of "A Question of Time," as well as the winning refrain of "Stripped," a song emblematic of many future developments of the band, where a love story (black, obviously) is embraced with politics and the complexity of arrangements.
P.S.: in this vinyl edition, released in Canada and the United States, a closing "But Not Tonight" appears that adds nothing to the already elevated content, but which was wanted by the record label to present it as the opening single instead of the aforementioned "Stripped."
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Black Celebration (04:57)
Let's have a black celebration
Black celebration
Tonight
To celebrate the fact
That we've seen the back
Of another black day
I look to you
How you carry on
When all hope is gone
Can't you see
Your optimistic eyes
Seem like paradise
To someone like
Me
I want to take you
In my arms
Forgetting all I couldn't do today
Black celebration
Black celebration
Tonight
To celebrate the fact
That we've seen the back
Of another black day
I look to you
And your strong belief
Me, I want relief
Tonight
Consolation
I want so much
Want to feel your touch
Tonight
Take me in your arms
Forgetting all you couldn't do today
Black celebration
I'll drink to that
Black celebration
Tonight
05 It Doesn't Matter Two (02:47)
As I lay here with you
The shame lies with us
We talk of love and trust
That doesn't matter
Though we may be the last in the world
We feel like pioneers
Telling hopes and fears
To one another
And oh, what a beautiful feeling
Inside of me
It might last for an hour
Wounds aren't healing
Inside of me
Though it feels good now
I know it's only for now
The feeling is intense
You grip me with your eyes
And then I realise
It doesn't matter
06 A Question of Time (04:09)
I've got to get to you first
Before they do
It's just a question of time
Before they lay their hands on you
And make you just like the rest
I've got to get to you first
It's just a question of time
Well now you're only fifteen
And you look good
I'll take you under my wing
Somebody should
They've persuasive ways
And you'll believe what they say
It's just a question of time
It's running out for you
It won't be long
Until you do
Exactly what they want you to
I can see them now Hanging around
To mess you up
To strip you down
And have their fun
With my little one
It's just a question of time
It's running out for you
It won't be long
Until you do
Exactly what they want you to
It won't be long
Until you do
Exactly what they want you to
Sometimes I don't blame them
For wanting you
You look good
And they need something to do
Until I look at you
And then I condemn them
I know my kind
What goes on in our minds
It's just a question of time
It should be better
It's just a question of time
It should be better with you
It's just a question of time
07 Stripped (04:16)
Come with me
Into the trees
We'll lay on the grass
And let the hours pass
Take my hand
Come back to the land
Let's get away
Just for one day
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Metropolis
Has nothing on this
You're breathing in fumes
I taste when we kiss
Take my hand
Come back to the land
Where everything's ours
For a few hours
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Let me hear you
Make decisions
Without your television
Let me hear you speaking
Just for me
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Let me hear you speaking
Just for me
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Let me hear you crying
Just for me
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Let me hear you speaking
Just for me
08 Here Is the House (04:16)
Here is the house
Where it all happens
Those tender moments
Under this roof
Body and soul come together
As we come closer together
And as it happens
It happens here
In this house
And I feel your warmth
And it feels like home
And there's someone
Calling on the telephone
Let's stay home
It's cold outside
And I have so much
To confide to you
With or without words
I'll confide everything
Here is the house
Where it all happens
Those tender moments
Under this roof
Body and soul come together
As we come closer together
And as it happens
It happens here
In this house
So we stay at home
And I'm by your side
And you know
What's going on inside
Inside my heart
Inside this house
And I just want to
Let it out for you
And I feel your warmth
And it feels like home
And I feel your warmth
And it feels like home
Here is the house
Where it all happens
Those tender moments
Under this roof
Body and soul come together
As we come closer together
12 Breathing in Fumes (06:05)
Nothing of this
I taste when we kiss
Come back to the land
For a few hours
Let me see you stripped down to the bone
I taste when we kiss
I taste when we kiss
You're breathing in fumes
I taste when we kiss
Let me see you stripped down to the
I taste when we kiss
I taste when we kiss
Let me see you stripped down to the
I taste when we kiss
I taste when we kiss
Let me see you stripped down to the
Come back to the land
Come back to the land
Let me see you stripped down to the bone
Breathing in fumes
I'm breathing in fumes
Breathing in fumes
You're breathing in fumes
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Other reviews
By biaspoint
Dark and very distant voices, almost subliminal, the ticking of a bell growing louder and louder, deep and sinister sounds intertwining in a healthy harmony.
Anyone who has not yet had the chance to listen to it and is a fan of this genre cannot let it slip away.
By ApriGliOcchi
"Black Celebration is the beginning of a darker period... an album continuously postponed but that will then mark a turning point for Depeche Mode."
"You can't change the world, but you can change the facts, and if you change the facts you can change points of view..."
By Stefano90
Black Celebration is an incredible container of great music, no track seems exempt from the others, they are all perfectly constructed together.
New Dress is Gore’s compositional peak and one of the absolute tops of the band, the masterpiece within the masterpiece.
By paolofreddie
"Black Celebration is one of the most representative pieces of the dark wave, an anthem to this genre."
"It is by fighting for love that people stay united."
