Depeche Mode “Never Let Me Down Again” 1987. Monday July 23rd, will be primary DM songwriter Martin Gore’s birthday (b. 1961). (I’m outta here next week, heading off to the deep woods of Wisconsin to commune with nature and probably lots of mosquitos.) Gore wrote “Never Let Me Down Again,” the second single released from Music for the Masses and my favorite track from that album. It hit #22 in the UK and #63 in the US. It’s so dark and so so beautiful. This 12″ single has three versions of the track: the “Split Mix,” the “Aggro Mix” and the “Tsangarides Mix” (remixed by Chris Tsangarides, producer and sound engineer known mainly for his work with heavy metal bands like Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy; he died earlier this year). “Split” is really long, clocking in at over 9-½ minutes, with an extended – and somewhat menacing – techno instrumental coda that follows what is essential the standard single version. “Aggro” starts with an appropriately aggravated synth riff before the beat kicks in, heavier than the original, and then snippets of the main melody and lyrics peak through the hypnotic layers of electronica. “Tsangarides” isn’t much different from the single version, just a bit of extra noise from the rhythm section (kinda like an industrial tambourine if there is such a thing).

The flipside has two versions of “Pleasure, Little Treasure,” which also appears on Music for the Masses, “Glitter Mix” and “Join Mix” (the latter remixed by Paul Kendall and John Fryer). “Glitter” is super fast with fragmented vocals, reversed and delayed. “Join” has a factory-line industrial beat; on the downbeat there’s an effect that mimics the sound of what I imagine is what a smokestack puff would be.