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Depeche Mode “Momento Mori”

sfilzen — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:45:25 +0000

Depeche Mode “Momento Mori” 2023. Their 15th studio LP is darkly ambient and aptly titled: it’s very death-orientated, coming on the heels of the tragic death of Andy Fletcher, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. It went to #2 in the UK and #14 US. Honestly I wasn’t super-jazzed on their latest release…until we saw them last night in Chicago at the United Center and had the opportunity to hear them play a few of the tracks live. Truly amazing, gorgeous and lush; from Momento Mori their performance included “The Cosmos is Mine” and “Wagging Tongue” as the concert openers – also the LP’s openers. “Wagging Tongue” was the second single released from the album and it’s one of my favorite tracks (again, after seeing it live). It’s also the first Martin Gore-Dave Gahan writing collaboration that has made it as a single release and has an early 80’s synth sound (that shows up on a few other tracks as well). “Wagging Tongue” went to #54 in the UK. They also played “Ghosts Again,” which was the first single released; Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler co-wrote the song with Gore and it hit #20 in the UK (#9 on the US alternative chart). I also like the dark meets sparkly dream pop groove of “Never Let Me Go.”

The concert overall was just incredible. It’s been over 30 years since I’ve seen Depeche Mode perform – 1990 in Milwaukee on their World Violation tour for the masterpiece Violator; I also saw them in Chicago in ’86 touring for another masterpiece: Black Celebration. Besides playing songs from their new record, I was delighted with their picks from their old catalog, including songs from Violator, Music for the Masses, Black Celebration, Construction Time Again, and Speak & Spell. There were so many top moments last night! But to narrow it down a bit: “Policy of Truth,” “World in My Eyes” as a tribute to Andy Fletcher, “Everything Counts,” Gore’s acoustic version of “Dressed in Black” (that one surprised me!), “Stripped” and then I was just beyond about the final 3 songs of the encore: “Just Can’t Get Enough” “Never Let Me Down” and “Personal Jesus.”

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Depeche Mode “Music For the Masses”

sfilzen — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:41:00 +0000

Depeche Mode “Music For the Masses” released 35 years ago today, September 28th, 1987. DM’s sixth LP instantly transports me back to the fall of my junior year in high school, walking through the halls with the cassette in my (off-brand) Walkman just days after its release. I still have that cassette but it hasn’t been played since October ’87 when that off-brand player munched the tape.

Music For the Masses went to #10 in the UK and to #35 in the US. Depeche Mode released the first single, “Strangelove,” a few months before the album, in April ‘87. It hit #16 in the UK and a more uptempo version (“Strangelove ‘88″) made it to #50 in the US. “Never Let Me Down Again,” which was released as a single in August ‘87, hit #63 in the US and #22 in the UK. It was then and remains now one of my favorite Depeche Mode songs ever: it’s danceable and dramatic, atmospheric, and gorgeous with odd emphases and lyrical punctuations. “Behind the Wheel” was the third single, a track that at one point in the 80’s Spin ranked at #30 in their Greatest Singles of Alltime. I love it and while it’s not on the LP version, the extended “Route 66” mashup makes it even better; the “Route 66” version went to #61 on the US singles chart and to #3 on the Dance chart. “Nothing” is another favorite, full of darkness and nihilism, and the stark desperation of “I Want You Now” is heart-wrenching. “Little 15,” the album’s final single, pretty much freaked me out with its dense, creepy funhouse synths and menacing lyrics.

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Depeche Mode “A Broken Frame”

sfilzen — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 13:16:49 +0000

Depeche Mode “A Broken Frame” released 40 years ago today, September 27th, 1982. Mute Records. Their second album, which made it to #8 in the UK but barely whispered onto the US charts at #177, marked the departure of former primary songwriter Vince Clarke and Depeche Mode’s turn toward the dark side. While a few tracks retain the bright synthpop sound of Speak & Spell (the singles “See You” and “The Meaning of Love” #6 UK and #12 UK, respectively), most of the album goes more shadowy, yet still not quite as the dark as the industrial sound they’d develop on their next LP, Construction Time Again. I really love the mysterious sounds of “Leave in Silence” (#18 UK) that leads off with with vaguely menacing vocals oh-ohing in minor and the edgy danger of “My Secret Garden” and “Monument.”

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Depeche Mode “People Are People”

sfilzen — Mon, 09 May 2022 17:33:40 +0000

Depeche Mode “People Are People” 1984. US/Canada-only compilation album. Today, May 9th, is DM singer Dave Gahan’s 60th birthday (b. David Callcott, 1962). Sire Records released People Are People to the North American market prior to DM’s fourth LP Some Great Reward (September ’84) to help generate more interest in the band and expose the audience to both new and earlier singles. The soonish-to-be hit single “People Are People” leads off the record (it finally charted in the US in May ’85, going to #13). There are a couple of tracks from the their third album Construction Time Again: “Love, In Itself” (#21 UK), “Told You So” and “Pipeline” plus two Construction-era tracks: the ’83 non-album single “Get the Balance Right!,” (#13 UK), “Work Hard” which was the B-side to “Everything Counts” (#6 UK) and the extended version of that single, “Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts).” There’s only one A Broken Frame related song, “Now This is Fun,” which was the b-side to “See You” (1982, #6 UK). I have all of these tracks on other albums, singles and/or 12″ singles but People Are People is a nice addition to my Depeche Mode stash; Allmusic calls it a release that is “solely for the hardcore fans.”

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Johnny Marr “Spirit Power & Soul (Vince Clarke Remix)”

sfilzen — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 20:05:29 +0000

Johnny Marr “Spirit Power & Soul (Vince Clarke Remix)” Record Store Day 2022 limited edition release, 12″ single, pink vinyl. A perfect pairing: the ex-Smiths guitar master and the ex-Depeche Mode/Yazoo synthpop powerhouse together at last. “Spirit Power & Soul,” released at the end of August 2021, was the lead single from Marr’s latest LP Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 (2022). The track was already dance-floor ready but Clarke’s remix has brought it to another level, adding in his best 80’s dark synthpop sound and a heavier industrial-dance beat. The flipside has the lovely guitar-forward “Human,” with whispers of Marr’s signature jangle and Smiths-melancholia. “Human” is the last track on Fever Dreams Pts 1-4.

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Depeche Mode “Speak & Spell”

sfilzen — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 17:25:01 +0000

Depeche Mode “Speak & Spell” released 40 years ago today, October 5th, 1981. I’ve written about Speak & Spell before (and probably will again) as it is one of my favorite DM albums: it’s the perfect snapshot of early 80′s synthpop and helped set the sound of the era. One of my top DM songs ever leads off the album: “New Life” which went to #11 in the UK; the version that appears on Speak & Spell appears on the 7″ though I am partial to the 12″ version. “Dreaming of Me,” the lead single from the album, went to #57 in the UK though did not appear on the UK album variants (this copy is an 80′s era US release). The third and final single from the LP was “Just Can’t Get Enough” which is a total Depeche Mode classic, probably one of their best known and loved early tunes. It went to #8 and scored a chart placement in the US at #26 on the Dance Charts. I also really love “Boys Say Go!,” the slightly sinister “Nodisco” and “Photographic” (well, the rest of the album, too). Speak & Spell went to #10 in the UK and #192 in the US. It also marks the first and last album with Vince Clarke who at the time was the primary songwriter for Depeche Mode; Martin Gore took over that role and steered the band into a darker, industrial sound (which I also adore).

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Depeche Mode “Blasphemous Rumours”

sfilzen — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 16:11:51 +0000

Depeche Mode “Blasphemous Rumours” 1984. 12″ single, Mute Records. Today, July 23rd, is Martin Gore’s 60th birthday (b. 1961). Depeche Mode released “Blasphemous Rumours” and “Somebody” (both on their ‘84 LP Some Great Reward: “Somebody” sung by Martin Gore) as a compromise double-sided single after religious groups were outraged by the lyrical content of “Blasphemous Rumours” – a girl tries to commit suicide, finds God and then is killed by a car. A priest from Depeche Mode’s hometown of Basildon went so far as to rebuke the band for suggesting that “God has a sick sense of humor.“ The double-single made it to #16 on the UK single charts. “Somebody” appears on this 12″ on Side B as a live track, along with “Two Minute Warning” and “Everything Counts” (from DM’s 1983 album Construction Time Again). “Ice Machine” goes back to the Vince Clark days of Speak & Spell where it is the B-side to “Dreaming of Me.” Depeche Mode recorded the live tracks at The Empire Theatre in Liverpool on September 29th, 1984.

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Depeche Mode “A Question of Time”

sfilzen — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 19:04:52 +0000

Depeche Mode “A Question of Time,” the third single from Black Celebration which was released 35 years ago today, March 17th, 1986. This 12″ single on Mute Records has the Extended Remix of “A Question of Time,” a longer, slightly faster version of the dark industrial dance synthpop track that appears on the Black Celebration. The 7″ single version (also faster than the album’s) went to #17 in the UK and to #34 on the US Dance chart. Side B has three live tracks, recorded on April 10th, 1986 at the Birmingham N.E.C., two from Black Celebration: “Black Celebration” and one of my favorites “Stripped,” plus “Something to Do” from their ‘84 album Some Great Reward.

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Martin L. Gore “Counterfeit e.p.”

sfilzen — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 16:11:00 +0000

Martin L. Gore “Counterfeit e.p.” 1989. Today, July 23rd, is Martin Gore’s birthday (b. 1961) so I’m spinning his first solo project outside of Depeche Mode. It’s a six-song release of covers that hit #102 in the UK and #3 on the US dance charts, all Gore’d up (or, rather, down) into darkly lush synthpop. Though Gore only sings occasionally for Depeche Mode albums, his voice is really lovely and distinct, which does have the side-effect of most of the songs on Counterfeit reminding me of tracks like “Somebody” and “A Question of Lust.” I especially like “Smile in the Crowd” (originally recorded by UK post-punks/Factory Records act The Durutti Column, 1983), the more industrial goth “Gone” (originally by another UK post-punk band, Comsat Angels in 1981; Depeche Mode played their first official concert supporting Comsat Angels at the Bridgehouse in London on September 24th, 1980) and “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” (originally by US glam rockers Sparks in 1974). Depeche Mode as the whole band also released a cover version of “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” in 1987 on flexidisk as a fan-club only Christmas special release.

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Depeche Mode “Speak & Spell”

sfilzen — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 21:29:13 +0000

Depeche Mode “Speak & Spell” 1981. Today, July 3rd, is original DM member Vince Clarke’s 60th birthday (b. Vincent Martin, 1960). Clarke was the primary songwriter for Depeche Mode’s debut album; he left the band after its release to form Yazoo. Speak & Spell is one of my favorite DM albums, mainly for Clarke’s lighter songwriting touch (though I also really really love Depeche Mode’s later, darker material mostly penned by Martin Gore): it is the perfect snapshot of early 80′s synthpop. Pretty much one of my top DM songs leads off the album: “New Life” which went to #11 in the UK; the version that appears on Speak & Spell appears on the 7″ though I am partial to the 12″ version. “Dreaming of Me,” the lead single from the album, went to #57 in the UK though did not appear on the UK album variants (this copy is an 80′s era US release). The third and final single from the LP was “Just Can’t Get Enough” which is a total Depeche Mode classic, probably one of their best known and loved early tunes. It went to #8 and scored a chart placement in the US at #26 on the Dance Charts. I also really love “Boys Say Go!,” the slightly sinister “Nodisco” and “Photographic” (well, the rest of the album, too). Speak & Spell went to #10 in the UK and #192 in the US.

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