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PERSONAL?
JESUS!
[Q,
March 1997. Words: Phil Sutcliffe.]
"There haven't been many guitar solos."
Summary: Potted discography of Depeche Mode albums, with sleeve shots and reviews. Somewhat satirical, and look out for the sympathetic Alan Wilder references. [983 words]
View pages: page 1
Try
also: "User's Guide: Depeche Mode"
[Kingsize,
June 2001]
"Reach
Out, Touch Mode - The History" [Melody Maker, 3rd April 1993]
SPEAK & SPELL
(1981, Number 10)
A start which scared the hell out of A Flock Of Seagulls. Mostly written by
Vince Clarke who was soon off to Erasure, although Martin Gore's odd Big Muff
was a taster for things to come. They all looked absolutely lovely, but sounded
a bit plinky in truth. Very Essex, quite New Romantic. лл
Leathery lyric: "New life, new life"
Key track: Just Can't Get Enough
A BROKEN FRAME
(1982, Number 8)
Things were slowly beginning to take shape, but there was still little
indication of what was to come. Martin Gore does everything. More gloom than
perversion. Farewell New Romantics, hello being a touch Teutonic. Not quite
there. ллл
Leathery lyric: "Going to lock myself in a cold black room / Going to
shadow myself in a veil of gloom"
Key track: Leave In Silence
CONSTRUCTION TIME AGAIN
(1983, Number 6)
Ha! A stride is hit. New boy Alan Wilder writes a song (Two Minute Warning).
No jollity whatsoever and folk begin to notice Depeche Mode were not as other
groups. Impressively Stakhanovite sleeve imagery. The fear of nuclear war is
everywhere. Brr. Positively Prussian. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Do you ever get that feeling / When the guilt begins to
hurt?"
Key track: Everything Counts
SOME GREAT REWARD
(1984, Number 5)
Just the one Alan Wilder tune (If You Want). Elsewhere, Martin Gore gets
personal: Master & Servant brought S&M into the charts, Blasphemous
Rumours upset God and Somebody is, quite frankly, a personal advertisement.
Recorded, inevitably, in Berlin. лллл
Leathery lyric: "I'd put your leather boots on / I'd put your pretty
dress on."
Key track: People Are People
THE SINGLES '81-'85
(1985, Number 6)
Straightforward chronological compilation that shows their musical ascent
from the dabbling Essex kids who bashed out Dreaming Of Me to the tortured souls
of It's Called A Heart. As if governed by a mixture of magic and cliche, the
best was yet to come. So British the Americans retitled it Catching Up With. лллл
Leathery lyric: "I can't stand this emotional violence..."
Key track: they all have their place
BLACK CELEBRATION
(1986, Number 4)
Really dark. Even by comparison. No Alan Wilder songs. Martin Gore at his
most scary and most adult. Part contact-mag fare, part lost little boy, part
cynical overload. Ideal soundtrack for anti-Stalin 'documentary'. Muscovites
liked this one. Probably. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Death is everywhere / There are flies on the windscreen
for a start."
Key track: A Question Of Lust
MUSIC FOR THE MASSES
(1987, Number 10)
Illusory loss of sales momentum, but America began to get interested. Still
no Alan Wilder songs. Swinging, layered tunes meant that Depeche Mode, briefly,
became lightweight. Dance music featured slightly. Mixed in Denmark, so this is
their Danish album. All bands have one eventually. ллл
Leathery lyric: "I'm as safe as houses / As long as I remember who's
wearing the trousers."
Key track: Strangelove
101
(1989, Number 5)
Recorded at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in 1989. Obviously much more a band
effort. Slightly unnerving to hear fans singing along to everything like mad
Americans. For a live album, unbelievably exciting. California lives and
squeals. No extra songwriting royalties for Alan Wilder. лллл
Leathery live moment: The first few bars of Strangelove pretending to be Word
Up by Cameo.
Key track: A Question Of Lust
VIOLATOR
(1990, Number 2)
Still their biggest seller, despite absence of Alan Wilder songs. Dark as
ever, but 101 and the rogering of America had bred more confidence. The result
was Depeche Mode's smoothest album to date, made for humping around the stadiums
of the world. Drugs were involved at some point. Globally. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Let me show you the world in my eyes."
Key track: Personal Jesus
SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION
(1993, Number 1)
Band photos on the sleeve! Alan Wilder had no songs here. More rocky than
usual and there's uillean pipes on Judas. Gahan was beginning to look like Perry
Farrell: trouble in anyone's book, but Gore's songs were still up for it.
Recorded in Spain.
лллл
Leathery lyric: "I'm not proud of what I do / When I come up / When I
rush / I rush for you."
Key track: Condemnation
SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION LIVE
(1993, Number 46)
Somewhat overlooked affair detailing, in exact running order, Songs Of Faith
& Devotion in a live setting. Hardly a disaster, but ultimately pointless.
They do sound like gods though. Recorded in Copenhagen, Milan, New Orleans and
Lievin (wherever that is). Other-worldly. ллл
Leathery live moment: Those operatic backing vocals on I Feel You
Key track: Judas
When they got bored...
RECOIL
HYDROLOGY PLUS 1+2
(1988, did not chart)
Frustrated by lack of songwriting opportunities, Alan Wilder turned himself
into Recoil. Very ambient they were too. The first two mini-albums, Hydrology
and 1+2 are sensibly thrown together on one CD. A bit like Depeche Mode without
the vocals and the interesting bits. Drivel. л
Leathery lyric: Doh!
Key track: hard to tell, but there's much scraping on 1
BLOODLINE
(1992, did not chart)
Much better, mainly because vocalists (Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy, Curve's
Toni Halliday, pre-metal Moby and a lengthy Bukka White sample) flesh out
Wilder's doodlings, and Faith Healer is really rather good.
ллл
Leathery lyric: "Broken limbs fill a body full of badness"
Key track: Faith Healer
MARTIN L. GORE
COUNTERFEIT
(1989, Number 51)
An affectionate six-song cover version orgy. Dazzled by the prospect of
unfettered power (even more unfettered power), Gore did everything himself and
filled the tiny coffers of Sparks (Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth), Comsat
Angels (Gone) and Durutti Column (Smile In The Crowd). He's a serviceable singer
and "L" stands for Lee. Unsurprisingly, there's pubic hair on the
inner sleeve. ллл
Leathery lyric: "When she's on her best behaviour / Don't be tempted by
her favours."
Key track: Motherless child