Depeche Mode - Song By Song/Album By Album Discussion Thread.

I quite like the song.

 

I hear you. I was one of the few that quite liked Peace

 

I'm a little surprised at the reaction go Come Back. I've always liked the song, though I'll admit that by this point I've probably heard it all I need to. Starting with Playing the Angel, DM seemed to incorporate one sort of "space rock" track in the middle of the album. With Playing the Angel, that was I Want It All, and with SOTU, Come Back fits that slot. Maybe it's not what everyone wants from DM, as it eschews dancey beats for something a little more static, but I thought it was cool that they started branching out, stylistically.

 

In case anyone is interested, they have announced the latest of the 12" Singles Box Sets, this time for Playing The Angel.

Depeche Mode

 

Track 9 on Sounds Of The Universe is Spacewalker. A slight, insubstantial 2 minute instrumental - the type of thing that would be an untitled interstitial in the Alan era, gets its own (undeserved) title and slot on the album - possibly to make the album feel longer and better value for money ("Oh look it's got 13 songs on!"). I can't bring myself to get excited about this, which might as well be an unused intro for the live show. Er.. 1.5/5?

 

Track 10 meanwhile is a Depeche single that almost was, Perfect. I think this got as far as promo CD / remix stage, but was never played live. Like Peace, it has some of the most optimistic lyrics and a generally sunny, positive sound, which is probably most unlike Depeche. There's a verse, where Gahan sings "I didn't shoot, I didn't pull the trigger / It wasn't me I'm just a plain and simple singer" which is almost as clunky and rubbish a lyric as any Depeche have ever recorded. I like it for its own merits, which are, if you forget its by Depeche Mode - and thus, forget the very high bar they have set historically with their work, this sounds pretty good. So 3/5. Never played live, never issued as a single, they got as afr as US promo CD's which are staggeringly expensive to get if you can even find any!

Here's an unofficial video :

 

Here's the "Electronic Periodic Dark Drone" remix from the super mega boxset of Sounds Of The Universe.

 

And here's one of the Roger Sanchez mixes that got a release on the Hole To Feed / Fragile Tension CD's or 12"s.

 

Perfect

This is one of the songs I like most on the album. The lyrics aren't challenging, but I like the simple synth backing for the verse, and the way the guitar appears for the chorus. The chorus is more memorable and catchy than some here.

This reminds me of earlier DM, and in a good way. In parts.

Perhaps more could be made of the arrangement, and I think that certain other arrangers/producers would have more of this (don't ask me who ). But, this is a good solid track and I can imagine it being a single.

But, it's not a career highlight. It's a good and listenable DM song.

3.8/5

Spacewalker

This is a reasonable instrumental. It has a melody. It's not a fantastic melody, and if it had lyrics it might be a bit 'lounge-y'. And not in a sleazy 'lounge' way, but straight-forward.

It's OK. I wouldn't seek it out. Again, I think more could be made of this with better production. This to me sounds like what I'd expect from a Martin demo, not a finished track.

3.0/5

 

Spacewalker is one of those little interludes that never even used to get a title. 2.5/5

Perfect is a decent enough album track and better than Peace and Hole to Feed. 3.5/5

 

Perfect

I like it, the mixes are not bad.

I managed to source these for a reasonable price not long after release...



There is also the 1 track US promo CD Single with an exclusive edit on that. It clocks in at 3.54.

 

The Perfect 1 track is at discogs for a bargain price of 1000 euros.

Depeche Mode - Perfect (CD, US, 2009) For Sale | Discogs

 

Spacewalker is kind of a waste. Yes, they've long since featured brief instrumental interludes on their albums, but most of the time those can be evocative, mysterious, creepy, or something. In this case, every time I get to this part, it sounds like goofy circus music to me. The only good it does is lets me know that my favorite song on the album is coming up....

...which is Perfect. It starts off simply enough, sounding quite a bit like "Situation" from Yazoo. But it quickly develops its own identity, and has a nice little lyrical story at its center. This also again features more of Gahan and Gore's "sweet" harmonies that they showed earlier on the album. Honestly, it seems this would have been a far better single than Peace. I also quite like the bridge, with the "I didn't shoot, I didn't pull the trigger, it wasn't me, I'm just a plain and simple singer..." I think it's a really nice fit between melody and lyric there.

Gun to my head, does this compare with DM's best tracks? Well, probably not. But to me it's an example that while their best days may have been (and continue to be) behind them, they are still able to create some worthwhile additions to their catalog. This track helped to elevate SOTU for me, and remains one of my favorite latter-era DM songs. It's just too bad they didn't see fit to promote this song more, either as a single or in live performances.

 

“Sapcewalker” is the laziest track in DM history and that’s all I have to say about is piece of filler.

As for “Perfect”, while it is far from a Depeche Mode classic, I think it would have been a far better choice as the album’s 2nd single. It feels like the much more honest antidote to “Wrong” than “Peace”. The line “I’m just a plain and simple singer” is definitely odd – it’s an extremely rare piece of autobiographical 1st person writing from Martin – but it rings much more true than anything Dave’s working so hard to sell in “Peace”. Unlike the alleged best-thing-Martin’s-ever-written, “Perfect” is effortless and, dare I say, human. Solid mid-tier track for me.

 

Spacewalker:
Should have been either an uncredited track or tucked away on some B-side
1,5/5

Perfect:
Slightly vanilla and like a weaker version of In Sympathy, probably due to the rather tedious production of this album. It's an adequate filler and better than some other offerings on this record.
2,75/5

 

According to rumours a new album and European stadium tour will be announced on October 4th.

 

Wow!

 

Well, that's interesting, for a few reasons.

Are they really at "stadium level" these days? Other than 101, I thought they were solidly in the arena/large shed level.

And I'd assume that anything they do in Europe would be followed by a tour through the US, right?

Good news all around, though--or at least so it seems!

 

2009 and 2013 and 2017 were a mix of stadiums, outdoor shows, and festival headlines in Europe, so likely the same mix this time around. I've seen some very likely dates, but no point spreading any rumours I'm not 100% confident about. In the US they will likely be arena/sheds.

 

Ah--maybe they tend to pull larger crowds in Europe than in the US. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case.

Between this and the U2 rumors, it looks like I may need to start saving up for 2023 concerts now!

 

I don't know if this had the edit on it.
But the mixes are great. Been listening to them all week long.

Depeche Mode “Perfect” Rare 10 Remix New Cd Promo | eBay

EMI RECORDS PROMO CD FROM BRAZIL WITH ALL THE MIXES ON

includes


1. RADIO EDIT

2. ROGER SANCHEZ RADIO EDIT

3. RALPHI & JODY DEN BROEDER RADIO MIX

4. RALPHI ROSARIO AND CRAIG J RADIO MIX

5. ROGER SANCHEZ EXTENDED VOCAL MIX

6. RALPHI & JODY DEN BROEDER CLUB

7. RALPHI ROSARIO AND CRAIG J CLUB

8. ROGER SANCHEZ DUB

9. RALPHI ROSARIO DUB

10. ORIGINAL VERSION

they also have the fragile tension single mixes too:
Depeche Mode “Fragile Tension” Rare 7 Remix New Cd Promo | eBay

1 Fragile Tension (Radio Mix)
2 Fragile Tension (Laidback Luke Remix)
3 Fragile Tension (Stephan Bodzin Remix)
4 Fragile Tension (Solo Loves Panorama Mix)
5 Fragile Tension (Kris Menaces Love On Laserdisc Mix)
6 Fragile Tension (Kris Menaces Universe Remix)
7 Fragile Tension (Peter Bjorn And John Remix)


later
-1

 

Yes a much cheaper unofficial option.

 

If actually happening that would be fantastic. No idea how an album would sound without Alan and Andy but I'm looking forward to it. Hope they find a producer that understands what made Depeche Mode different and who honours that.

Regarding live shows as a synth based Duo: Erasure are doing that for a very long time now, so why not Dave and Martin

 

And, live DM has gone from a 5 piece band to a 4 piece. So, even if Andy is not replaced, they won't need to put as much on the tape as Erasure does. (And live Erasure typically has backing vocalists).

 

Whilst it's debatable what, if anything Fletch did onstage, a 4 piece live Depeche would be slightly weird for me after 25 years as a 5 piece.

I can't imagine they will have recorded and completed an album in the past three months alone - in all probability, the recording would have started with Fletch present earlier in the year.