Depeche Mode – A Broken Frame | The 12" Singles

Hello everyone! Does anyone know what print run this box was released in Europe and the US? And where can I check this official information?

Bit of a thin box, especially when compared to some of the later ones, but what could they do ? We only had the 3 singles, and I wouldn’t want them to mix up the S&S and ABF eras. Although both incarnations of the group represent the poppy side of DM, they’re still different beasts.
SQ ? Sound great. I’ve got the original See You and Leave In Silence 12”s, and apart from the mono mix of See You, they sound identical to my ears.
Now, This Is Fun sounds like it was quickly made up in the studio, and doesn’t have much of a melody. It’s definitely a B side.
The extended Meaning Of Love is ok. I can’t stand the song, TBH, but the break in the middle, and the little electronic riffs make for a more interesting end result. The B side is the Development mix of the lovely Oberkorn. Used by the band as an intro as they came on stage, the long version is an almost Tangerine Dream-esque piece of early 80s electronica. Atmospheric and moody. Back in those days, DM had a message service where fans could send in things for the band to sign, as well as ask questions. Oberkorn must have made an impression because my one letter to the service asked Martin what inspired the track. I received a reply from Jo, Dave’s wife of the time who ran the service, saying Martin just liked the sound of the name 🤣. I’m not sure what I was expecting but certainly something more revolutionary than that ! It’s a pity I lost the letter years ago. All I’ve got now is a little metal badge of the wheatsheaf that I bought from the merchandise stand at the shows I went to.
The Leave In Silence 12” complete with tasteful textured sleeve has the excellent Longer version as well as the fairly dull Quiet Mix, and Further Extracts from My Secret Garden. This is my favourite of the 3 12”s.
ABF seems to get quite a lot of flak, not only from the band. Shame. For me it’s the best of the pre BC albums. It’s got one of the best album covers ever, and the tour was stunning. I enjoyed those shows more than any Devotional show, or what came after.
If you’re tempted with this, it pops up cheap every now and again. Certainly cheaper than buying mint condition originals.

I’ve been looking at this singles box for weeks. Anyone know what the heck that is suppose to be on the cover? I can’t figure it out!

Hi there,

Excuse me from posting in each box set, but I am looking to see where I'll get a response from first. In regards to the box, I am not really interested in the box or bonuses besides the singles themselves. So my question is, should I purchase the original releases, or are these the better purchase?

It absolutely makes no sense to release the same 12inch vinyls "faithfully" all over and over without adding all the fantastic bonus tracks from the CD Singles. The corresponding CD singles always had nice additional tracks from that time, so why now, on the "complete" A Broken Frame record Box, the bonus tracks still are missing from vinyl? It don't get the logic behind it, i's a shame. Mute would sell much more of the greatly designed boxes by including all missing official 12inch bonus tracks.

The Vinyl of the song "See You" sounds in MONO.

Can someone if Leave In Silence has the canvas textured sleeve like the original ?

Hey, y'all looking forward to the Construction Time Again box?

Seeing that DM only released two singles (Everything Counts / Love In Itself) from that LP, what else can we expect?

All three L12 live 12"? A bit much, no?

I received the box this weekend, I listened to them a lot and this is my review.
The packaging, box and cover are impeccable. The vinyls too. The issue that worries me a little is "the sound". Yes, they sound good, but not as much as I expected. It has too much "digital flavor". Yes, it is a more open and more powerful sound, but, yes, it is "too powerful" and sometimes it feels a bit distorted. It completely lost that "analog" feeling of the original vinyls. Sometimes it sounds too bright, as if they had done a cutting with a 16 bit CD. But hey, for collectors and fans of the band like me is fine. But if you expect to buy them to be able to listen to an "audiofilic experience" better do not do it. The best? The in wav 16bit, especially the version of "Leave In Silence (Quieter)", sound very good.
In summary, the best of these editions are, 1- The boxes and covers and 2. your digital in wav to 16 bits. Well, for fans like me it's fine. Haha.

Big scratchs on Oberkorn :-( So sad. Shame to kill an issue like this with a bad pressing.