Well, I added Speak and Spell, A Broken Frame and Construction Time Again to my mp3 player, while keeping Some Great Reward, Black Celebration and Music For the Masses, so I've got pretty much all of Depeche Mode's 80's output together and in order (technically I think the early singles for Violator were out in fall of 1989, but I consider that a part of the early 90s, and a different phase of Depeche Mode's evolution anyway.
This now covers three of the stages that I identify: 1) the Vince Clark penned, happy-go-lucky pop music, 2) the transitional, socially conscious Martin Gore efforts (including a period where he still penned a few songs that deliberately sounded sorta like Vince Clark songs) and 3) the darker, personal depression bits of the last three albums I had mentioned. Of course, elements of the styles blend together somewhat; it's a continuous evolution, not one marked by sudden breaks (well, except for Vince Clark leaving the band after Speak and Spell obviously.)
It's fun to hear all six of those albums back to back and watch (listen to?) the evolution of Depeche Mode. I can see why the band themselves now thinks much of their early output is cheesy and they don't like to play it; much of it is pretty cheesy. Then again, they don't do a concert but that they end with "Just Can't Get Enough" and "Everything Counts" and they haven't for years. I guess they can still mine from the early material where it's justified.
Too bad they have such a negative opinion of other classics like "People Are People" these days, though. I mean; c'mon. That song was a major hit.
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