Get the Balance Right!
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Get the Balance Right!
| cover = DepecheModeGetTheBalanceRight.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Depeche Mode
| B-side = The Great Outdoors!
| released = {{Start date|1983|1|31|df=yes}}{{cite web |url=http://www.depechemode.com/discography/singles/07_getthebalanceright.html |title=Official Depeche Mode web site single information |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-date=6 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606170223/http://www.depechemode.com/discography/singles/07_getthebalanceright.html |url-status=dead }}
| recorded = December 1982
| studio = Blackwing (London)
| venue =
| genre = Synth-pop{{cite book|title= Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983|first=Richard|last=Evans|date= August 6, 2024|chapter= 1983.2|page= 424|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-1-915841-45-2
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EID8zgEACAAJ}}
| length =
- 3:12 (7″/single version)
- 7:56 (12″ version)
| label = Mute
| writer = Martin L. Gore
| producer =
- Depeche Mode
- Daniel Miller
| prev_title = Leave in Silence
| prev_year = 1982
| next_title = Everything Counts
| next_year = 1983
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|zfiISFiozg8|"Get the Balance Right!"}}}}
}}
"Get the Balance Right!" is the seventh single by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 31 January 1983.{{cite book |last1=Christopher |first1=Michael |title=Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band |date=2020-12-28 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-5400-8 |page=94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKgKEAAAQBAJ&dq=Get+the+Balance+Right!+depeche+mode+single&pg=PA94 |access-date=29 May 2021 |language=en}} Recorded at Blackwing Studios in December 1982, it is the first Depeche Mode single with Alan Wilder as an official band member; Wilder also co-wrote the B-side track "The Great Outdoors!" with Martin Gore. It is also one of the first Depeche Mode songs to feature guitar; according to Andy Fletcher, the guitar was processed through a synth and phased out of time to make it sound more interesting.{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Jonathan |title=Stripped: The True Story of Depeche Mode |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2004 |isbn=1-84449-415-2 |pages=245}}
"Get the Balance Right!" was not included on the following album Construction Time Again (although it appears on the deluxe edition of the album), but does appear on the American compilation People Are People and the compilation The Singles 81→85.
B-sides
The B-side is "The Great Outdoors!", an instrumental written by Gore and Wilder. It was featured on the Broken Frame Tour as the introduction theme for selected shows, after an incident with their Revox machine that destroyed almost all of their previous intro, "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)".{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}
Included on the 12″ releases is "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (live), the first live recording released on a Depeche Mode single. A limited edition 12″ of the single was released, which features more live tracks: "My Secret Garden", "See You", and "Satellite". It was the first Depeche Mode single to have a limited edition.
Music video
In the music video, Wilder lip-syncs the first lines of the song, even though Dave Gahan is the lead singer. The director Kevin Hewitt made the assumption that Wilder was the singer and the band was too embarrassed to point out his mistake.{{cite book |title=Stripped: Depeche Mode |last=Miller |first=Jonathan |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84772-444-1 |location=London |pages=151}}
Track listings
All songs written by Martin L. Gore, except "The Great Outdoors!" which was written by Gore and Alan Wilder.
= 7″ vinyl single =
UK: Mute / 7Bong2
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Get the Balance Right!
| length1 = 3:12
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title1 = The Great Outdoors!
| length1 = 5:01
}}
= 12″ vinyl single =
UK: Mute / 12Bong2
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Get the Balance Right!
| note1 = Combination mix
| length1 = 7:56
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title1 = The Great Outdoors!
| length1 = 5:01
| title2 = Tora! Tora! Tora!
| note2 = live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London
| length2 = 4:00
}}
UK: Mute / L12Bong2 (Limited edition)
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Get the Balance Right!
| length1 = 3:12
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title1 = My Secret Garden
| note1 = live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London
| length1 = 7:28
| title2 = See You
| note2 = live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London
| length2 = 4:11
| title3 = Satellite
| note3 = live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London
| length3 = 4:28
| title4 = Tora! Tora! Tora!
| note4 = live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London
| length4 = 4:00
}}
US: Sire / 0-29704
Released 7 September 1983. The first two tracks on side two are listed as one track on the sleeve, when they are actually two separate tracks.
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Get the Balance Right!
| note1 = Combination mix
| length1 = 7:56
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title1 = The Great Outdoors!
| length1 = 5:01
| title2 = Tora! Tora! Tora!
| note2 = live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London
| length2 = 4:00
| title3 = Get the Balance Right!
| note3 = edited mix [same as the original version]
| length3 = 3:12
}}
= CD single =
UK: Mute / CDBong2
Released 25 November 1991, from the Singles Box Set #2.
US: Sire/Reprise 40295-2
Released 26 November 1991, from the Singles Box Set #2.
US: Reprise CD BONG 2 (R2 78890A)
Released 30 March 2004, from the Singles Box Set #1 reissue.
{{Track listing
| title1 = Get the Balance Right!
| length1 = 3:12
| title2 = The Great Outdoors!
| length2 = 5:01
| title3 = Get the Balance Right!
| note3 = Combination mix
| length3 = 7:56
| title4 = Tora! Tora! Tora!
| note4 = live, recorded 25 October 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London
| length4 = 4:00
}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for "Get the Balance Right!" ! scope="col"| Chart (1983) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{single chart|Ireland2|16|song=Get the Balance Right|rowheader=true|access-date=4 May 2022}} |
| {{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|13|artist=Depeche Mode|artistid=20192|rowheader=true|access-date=4 May 2022}} |
| scope="row"| UK Indie (OCC){{cite book |last=Lazell |first=Barry |chapter=Depeche Mode |chapter-url=http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/d.htm |title=Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums) |publisher=Cherry Red Books |year=1997 |isbn=0-95172-069-4 |access-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605132747/http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/d.htm |archive-date=5 June 2011}}
| 1 |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboarddanceclubplay|31|artist=Depeche Mode|rowheader=true|access-date=4 May 2022}} |
| {{single chart|West Germany|38|songid=19023|artist=Depeche Mode|song=Get the Balance Right!|rowheader=true}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://archives.depechemode.com/discography/singles/07_getthebalanceright.html Single information from the official Depeche Mode website]
- [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r171463|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]
{{Depeche Mode}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Martin Gore