Depeche Mode - Rate and Discuss Your Favorite Albums

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by George P, Oct 6, 2016.

  1. ukozcd

    ukozcd Jedi

    Location:
    Australia
    100% agree, perhaps a future box set....
     
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  2. bhasenstab

    bhasenstab Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    My top three were Some Great Reward, Black Celebration, and Violator. So may standout tracks on those three, and even the non-album singles from this era (e.g., Shake The Disease, etc.) are really firing on all cylinders.

    For me, things dropped off pretty quickly after SOFAD, and I sort of lost touch with the band and their music. But this thread has convinced me I need to "modernize" -- at least a little bit. (Probably get Ultra and Playing The Angel, at least.)
     
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  3. Some Great Reward was the first album I listened to from DM. I liked it so much all their other albums paled in comparison.
     
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  4. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    Songs Of Faith And Devotion is a different album than Violator. It doesn't end the same way because it doesn't start the same way or continue the same way.

    "Sweetest Perfection", "Waiting for the Night", "Blue Dress", and "Clean" are all pretty integral and help form the kind of pervy concept to the album.
     
  5. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
  6. thegoldenyear

    thegoldenyear Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Although I'd have Speak nicking Construction at the wire, this post runs rather close to my POV.

    I suppose I'd bell-curve the 1-to-3 star blanket over the post-1984 records to a 2-to-3 star ranking - I admire their resolve after the rough middle nineties and I like all the characters in the band, things which I find help a little with enjoying the later records - but ultimately Depeche is a limited, if effective, talent.
     
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  7. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    One of the most ultimately perfected selfish songs ever written...:laugh:
     
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  8. jimhb

    jimhb Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO, USA
    Black Celebration
    Music for the Masses
    Some Great Reward
     
  9. friendofafriend

    friendofafriend Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Jordan, UT
    For some reason I've been listening to DM more lately. I've realized that they have never really, in my opinion, made up for the loss of Alan. I think Martin has written a lot of good songs since SOFAD, even if the overall quality of the songwriting is weaker per album. But it also feels to me like there is some particular quality to the production and sound, especially on the albums Some Great Reward through SOFAD that was due to Alan's work and since he left, it is just missing which also brings down the overall quality of all post Alan albums. Plus they need to stop putting songs co-written by David on the albums and replace them with cool Gore instrumentals like the ones on his latest solo album. I'd be fine if they used Gahan's songs as b-sides.

    I'd go so far as to say I think I'd like the band better now if Gahan had left instead of Wilder. Don't get me wrong, I love his singing and the sound of his voice, but I'd also be ok if Martin just sang lead on all the tracks, and I think their albums sounded better and had a tighter feel to them when Alan was in the band. But the biggest thing is that I'd be willing to reluctantly give up David's vocals if that were the only way to get rid of his songwriting.
     
  10. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    ?
    Suffer Well, I Want It All and (Nothing's Impossible-My favorite from the album) are all excellent Dave co-writes
    As much as I enjoy Gore's vocals, I wouldn't want him full time. Counterfeit EP for me was enough :laugh:
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
  11. vertigone

    vertigone Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    Exactly. 1 or 2 ballads sung by Martin works well, but his vocals can't carry an album like Dave's.
     
  12. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    Agreed that Dave is an essential DM component. I also agree that Alan was as well.

    I don't mind Dave's writing that much, but perhaps that's because Martin has steadily lowered the bar in regard to his own writing after Ultra (in my opinion)
     
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  13. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    Ok, but you cited his best contributions here Cory.

    Want to brag about the three turds he submitted for SOTU? :laugh:
     
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  14. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    You caught me, that album sucked.
    I don't even think they tried
    You know Jeff, I think I've only listened to a few times over the years
    I do enjoy In Sympathy and Perfect, I need to revisit
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
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  15. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    My favorites are MFTM, Violator, and PTA, in that order.
     
  16. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I wish there was a true audiophile mastering of the album, but musically it is one of my favorites. I have the UK first press 2xLP, it's cut loud as hell also. Dunno if the later reissue by Rhino/Mute was a bit more even handed or not.
     
  17. jamesc

    jamesc Senior Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Funny, because I just happened to listen to SOTU yesterday for the first time in years and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I guess anything sounds great after trying to force feed yourself Delta Machine for several years. Still love Should Be Higher though. :)
     
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  18. SweetTea

    SweetTea Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tampa, FL

    Couldn't agree more. The best songs on Delta Machine were Dave's songs.

    I also like SOTU. It's no Ultra but DM doesn't make bad albums.
     
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  19. Yost

    Yost “It’s only impossible until it’s not”

    This seems to be the perfect thread to praise the first Singles 81 -> 85 compilation CD. Last week I found one in the used CDs bin and it sounds so much better than the new Singles 81>85 compilation from 1998. Unbelievable! It's only that I like the artwork of the remaster better.

    PS. Why is the track listing on the back of the original compilation in the wrong order? I first thought I found a misprint, but then I learned that all the versions of this album have the mixed up track listing.
     
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  20. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    You should hear it on vinyl James - I was stunned how great all the analog blips and bleeps sounded!
     
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  21. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    probably my favorite band overall. (and damn you for confining me to only 3 albums in the poll lol) I find everything released up to an including Violator to be virtually flawless. as Gahan (and the rest of the band) began to disintegrate in the period that coincided with SOFAD, things get a bit spotty. there's plenty of greatness in the DM catalog after 1990 - Ultra in particular is fantastic - but they never again reached the heights they did with Wilder (or Clarke for that matter; I picked Speak & Spell as one of my three albums for the poll).
     
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  22. Marc 74

    Marc 74 Senior Member

    Location:
    West Germany,NRW
    Not all had it mixed up. The Vinyl editions in general had the "incorrect" list. The Intercord CDs in the 80s had the track list in order while later reissues of the INT 846.817 CDs returned to the mixed up ones.
     
  23. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    To date "Black Celebration" is still the DM album with most Gore lead vocals: A stunning four:

    Question of Lust, Sometimes, It Doesn’t Matter Two, World Full of Nothing
     
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  24. StevenC

    StevenC SUEDE > Both Oasis AND Blur.

    I'm a massive fan. Discovered them with Some Great Reward at 14. Here are my honest scores in 2017
    • Speak & Spell (1981) 2.9. Didn't age well at all. UK edition is best as it includes "I Sometmes Wish..."
    • A Broken Frame (1982) 2.9, my highlight "My Secret Garden"
    • Construction Time Again (1983) 3.1, my highlight "The Landscape Is Changing"
    • Some Great Reward (1984) 4.6, huge leap forward. Only version of "Somebody" to listen to.
    • Black Celebration (1986) 4.8, US edition score, "But Not Tonight" a perfect album closer.
    • Music for the Masses (1987) 4.4, "Nothing" a real gem here.
    • Violator (1990) 5.0, one of my favorite side B's Ever. Love "Blue Dress"
    • Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993) 4.0. "Rush" is epic.
    • Ultra (1997) 3.6, bit of a drop off but love "Useless" and "it's no good"
    • Exciter (2001) 3.2, not my fave.
    • Playing the Angel (2005), 4.1, their back. "Precious" and "Lillian" return to classic DM.
    • Sounds of the Universe (2009) 3.3. Love "Wrong", "Come Back", "Corrupt"
    • Delta Machine (2013), 3.2. Bit of a let down
    • Spirit (2017) 3.9. A grower. Loved by most DM fans, hated by conservatives. "You Move" is amazing played very loudly.
     
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  25. gohill

    gohill Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow, UK
    The 'Black Celebration/Music For The Masses/Violator' run is imperious and my choice. One of the best 3 consecutive albums by any band ever. The albums before that were all consistently good with many great moments but they reached another level with 'Black Celebration' and held that for 3 albums. SOFAD was also very good, though a little drop off (but not much). Since then there has been a decent amount of good music with some strong songs but inconsistent albums for various reasons which we all know about. However the new one 'Spirit' is getting constant play from me, which has not happened for a good few albums so they may have managed to get back to the level of SOFAD which i did not expect to happen and is pretty great news really.
     
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