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Title: Two quality singles do not make an album
Review: To say that there are only two songs worth hearing on Depeche Mode's second album, A Broken Frame, would be a bit of an exaggeration, but without a doubt the band suffered from the sophomore jinx here. It's not that the songs are consistently unlistenable; in fact they're pleasant enough, but nothing on the album stands out like its first single, "See You." Even the album's one other highlight, "The Meaning of Love," sounds like a Speak & Spell outtake. Keeping in mind that Martin Gore would churn out many singles as good or better than any on Speak & Spell in the years following A Broken Frame, it seems that rather than missing Vince Clark, Depeche Mode and Gore were just at a creative low point here. Only hardcore Depeche Mode fans need this, casual fans and neophytes should go for The Singles 81>85 instead.
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