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Everything Counts › Released

1983

Everything Counts" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their third studio album, Construction Time Again (1983).[7] A live version of the song was released in 1989 to support the band's live album 101. The original single reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, whereas the live version reached No. 22.

"Everything Counts"Single by Depeche Modefrom the album Construction Time AgainB-side"Work Hard"Released11 July 1983[1]RecordedMay 1983StudioThe Garden, LondonGenre

Synth-pop[2][3][4]

industrial pop[5]

new wave[6]

Length

3:58 (7″/single version)

4:19 (album version)

7:18 (12″ version)

LabelMuteSongwriter(s)Martin L. GoreProducer(s)

Depeche Mode

Daniel Miller

Gareth Jones

Depeche Mode singles chronology"Get the Balance Right!"
(1983)"Everything Counts"
(1983)"Love, in Itself"
(1983)Music video"Everything Counts" on YouTube

Background and themes

Live performances and re-release






Music videos

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The music video for "Everything Counts" was directed by Clive Richardson in West Berlin. The band returned to Richardson after not being satisfied with the work of Julien Temple for the A Broken Frame singles. Richardson had previously directed the video for "Just Can't Get Enough" two years earlier. According to Wilder, "It was felt that after the Julien Temple years, we needed to harden up not only our sound but also our image. Clive had lots of new ideas which didn't involve stupid storyboards where we were required to act."[9]

In the original music video, the marimba, the melodica, and the shawm are played by Wilder, Gore, and Andy Fletcher, respectively. The shawm, however, is produced by a synthesizer on the studio recording, but the band used the real shawm in the music video and television performances, for show. In this video, frontman Gahan for the first time appeared with blonde hair, losing his natural black hair colour.

The live video was directed by D. A. Pennebaker. The video not only includes portions of the live performance but also various references to the money made from merchandise and ticket sales at the concert, humorously connected to the song's theme of corruption and greed.

B-side

Song versions

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Remixes

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On the original release, there was only one remix available. The 12″ version of the single is called "Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts)", although sometimes (such as on the US release of Construction Time Again) it is referred to simply as the "long version".

The live re-release of the single, however, contains a plethora of mixes, from a variety of remixers, despite the fact that the standard 7″ and 12″ versions contained no remixes. This release is first Depeche Mode single to be released in a 10″ vinyl format; the A-side of the 10″ version is the "Absolut mix", remixed by Alan Moulder (certain versions refer to this mix as the "Alan Moulder mix"). The B-side included the original release's 12″ version as well as the "reprise", a 55-second reprisal of the song's chorus originally placed following the final track ("And Then...") on the Construction Time Again album. Specifically, it is the ending of "Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts)" with the beat removed.

The limited edition 12″ version is the "Bomb the Bass mix", remixed by Tim Simenon and Mark Saunders. Simenon would eventually be used by the band as a producer, for their ninth studio album Ultra (1997).

B-side remixes

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A variety of mixes of other songs would appear on these single releases as well. On the 1983 release, the 12″ B-side contains an extended version of "Work Hard" titled the "East End remix".

Two remixes of "Nothing" appear on the 1989 release as well, including the "remix edit" (sometimes referred to as the "US 7″ mix" as it was the 7″ B-side to the US-only single "Strangelove '88") and the "Zip Hop mix" by Justin Strauss.

A remix of "Strangelove" also appeared on the B-side of the limited edition 12″ vinyl, referred to as the "Highjack mix" by Tim Simenon and Mark Saunders, who also mixed the A-side.

Critical reception

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Ned Raggett of AllMusic said that "Depeche's proto-industrial/dance/breakbeat anthem still cuts right to the quick, a note-perfect combination of electronic innovation," and complimented Gahan's "increasing abilities with a fuller singing voice."[7]

Jason Heller of The A.V. Club described the song as "a clouded pop gem that dissolves from crystalline, sophisticated synthesizer patterns into lullaby-level singsong." He also praised the vocals, calling them "a hard/soft vocal dynamic that plays up the strengths of each and underscores the sensitive-cyborg vibe that pulses through the song."[10]

Track listing

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1983 release

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7": Mute / 7Bong3 (UK) & Sire / 7-29482 (US)

"Everything Counts" – 3:58

"Work Hard" – 4:21

12": Mute / 12Bong3 (UK) & Sire / 0-20165 (US)

"Everything Counts" (In Larger Amounts) – 7:18

"Work Hard" (East End remix) – 6:57