Depeche Mode

simes1970

simes1970

Even although I have found a thread concerning Violator, thought it was about time DM had a thread to themselves and all the groups music. For me I think I had bought all the singles upto Get The Balance Right before realizing that I loved the band. As with all groups there are one or two tracks that you're not going to like but on the whole since 1981 i cannot fault them. So to celebrate 2013s Delta Machine thought I would rate the studio albums(not remixes hits or Live) in order of preference and at a later date will jot down my favourite 20 DM tracks but that may take a while as I can change my mind daily!

1 Black Celebration
2 Violator
3 Songs Of Faith & Devotion
4 Music For The Masses
5 Delta Machine
6 Some Great Reward
7 Ultra
8 Construction Time Again
9 Sounds Of The Universe
10 Playing The Angel
11 Speak & Spell
12 Exciter
13 Broken Frame

This is not to say that being in last place I don't like Broken Frame it just means at the moment it's bottom of the list but it does include some great tracks such as Leave In Silence and Sun & The Rainfall
 
Amnesia

Amnesia

Here's my list:
1. Violator
2. Songs of Faith and Devotion
3. Music For The Masses
4. Some Great Reward
5. Ultra
6. Speak & Spell
7. Black Celebration
8. Construction Time Again
9. Exciter
10. A Broken Frame

I can't rate the last three. Beyond the odd decent single they're a big murky mess to me. Violator is close to flawless, and image-wise they were perfection at that point.
 
Omar God

Omar God

Thanks sime1970 for starting a DM thread. I'm about a third way through Monument, so this thread couldn't have come at a better time as I'm very much in a Mode mood these days.

So here's an albums rate -

1. Some Great Reward
2. Music For The Masses
3. Violator
4. Speak & Spell
5. A Broken Frame
6. Black Celebration
7. Playing The Angel
8. Ultra
9. Delta Machine
10. Construction Time Again
11. Exciter
12. Sounds of The Universe
13. Songs of Faith & Devotion

Out of all their albums SoF&D is the one I've always had a bit of a problem with. I didn't like it much on it's release and it's one I hardly listen to, in fact I played it a few months ago and thought how dated it sounded. Saying that, Wilder's remix for In Chains sounds like it could have been lifted straight from the SoF&D album and it sounds a million times better than the SotU's version.

Here's a Mode top ten singles rate -

1. Get The Balance Right
2. New Life
3. Enjoy The Silence
4. Shake The Disease
5. Never Let Me Down
6. World In My Eyes
7. Stripped
8. Policy of Truth
9. Home
10. Wrong

....and finally, a Should Have Been Singles top 10 -

1. Photographic
2. But Not Tonight
3. Something To Do
4. Shout!
5. Halo
6. Set Me Free (Re-motivate Me)
7. Nothing
8.Newborn
9. Insight
10. My Joy
 
Eric Generic

Eric Generic

Crikey, where to start.

Well, DM are the most "successful" act on my personal singles chart that ran from 1984 to 2010. No less than 22 Number 1s, with about 5 or 6 more reaching #2. Their biggest flops in that period were from the Exciter era, Goodnight Lovers reaching #16 and I Feel Loved #12. As I'll get onto later, I don't have much affection for the 00s brand of Mode music.

Top albums:
1. Black Celebration
2. Some Great Reward
3. Music For The Masses
4. Violator
5. Songs of Faith and Devotion
6. Construction Time Again
7. Ultra

..and then a huge tailing-off before the others. I never listen to the first two albums anymore, and can't get through the post-Ultra albums in full either. Delta Machine isn't even in my collection yet; I'm hoping to find it cheap one day, as I did with Sounds Of The Universe (£1.59).

Top Singles:
1. Never Let Me Down Again
2. Stripped
3. Personal Jesus
4. A Question Of Time
5. Master & Servant
6. Love In Itself
7. Enjoy The Silence
8. Walking In My Shoes
9. Home
10. Strangelove (original 7" version).

Best B-sides/Album tracks:
1. Fly on the Windscreen
2. Something To Do
3. Set Me Free (Remotivate Me)
4. Nothing
5. Higher Love
6. And Then...
7. Lie To Me
8. Pleasure Little Treasure
9. But Not Tonight
10. Two Minute Warning
 
Amnesia

Amnesia

Can't resist making a few more lists!

Top album tracks/mixes/b-sides:
1. Enjoy The Silence (Hands And Feet Mix) - The original is completely worn out for me, so this mix reminds every now and then what a truly brilliant song it is!
2. Dangerous (Sensual Mix)
3. Halo
4. One Caress
5. Shout
6. New Dress
7. Judas
8. I Want You Now
9. Sister Of Night
10. The Things You Said

Top singles:
1. Policy Of Truth
2. World In My Eyes
3. Stripped
4. Strangelove
5. Just Can't Get Enough
6. See You
7. Everything Counts
8. Behind The Wheel
9. I Feel You
10. Master And Servant
 
Rooneyboy

Rooneyboy

I wasn't a big DM fan but Shake the disease and People are people are both amazing records.
I liked them between 1981 and 1985 mainly but after that sort of went off them.
 
Eric Generic

Eric Generic

For me their imperial phase was 1983-1993 (Get The Balance Right to Walking In My Shoes). Coincidentally, the Alan Wilder years.
 
Omar God

Omar God

The Hands and Feet mix of Enjoy The Silence is amazing, infact, ALL the original remixes for that single were amazing - each one was so different but they all remained faithful to the original composition. The only one I didn't care much for was The Quad mix but etched 12" disc was rather lovely. Didn't think much of the recent remixes, Richard X's was best out of the bunch.

Speaking of Violator era Mode, can't believe I didn't menion any it's B-sides which were all amazing - Sea of Sin, Happiest Girl and Dangerous could easily have been singles.

I can totally understand the apathy towards post Wilder material though.They have flashes of greatness but nothing consistant (for me, the closet to a good DM album has been Playing The Angel). I think some of their better material in recent years has been none album singles - Martyr and Only When I Lose Myself.
 
Eric Generic

Eric Generic

Playing The Angel definitely had the best post-Wilder quality for me...Precious nearly makes my top DM singles list, and a few other tracks evoked their imperial phase. But then they went Wrong, quite literally! The new material that I've heard (when I say new, I mean Delta Machine) didn't inspire any confidence that they'd turned a corner either. It really does seem that Alan Wilder was vital to their vitality.
 
Omar God

Omar God

Eric Generic said:
Playing The Angel definitely had the best post-Wilder quality for me...Precious nearly makes my top DM singles list, and a few other tracks evoked their imperial phase. But then they went Wrong, quite literally! The new material that I've heard (when I say new, I mean Delta Machine) didn't inspire any confidence that they'd turned a corner either. It really does seem that Alan Wilder was vital to their vitality.
Click to expand...

Precious was when they suddenly remebered that they were a pop group.
 
Eric Generic

Eric Generic

Precious is the closest they'd been to sounding like Erasure since, probably, But Not Tonight in 1986. Not necessarily a bad thing.
 
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ModeRed

ModeRed

for what its worth, they'd have to be in order as:

Violator

Music For The Masses
Black Celebration
Ultra
Songs Of Faith & Devotion
Exciter
Sounds Of The Universe
Some Great Reward
Playing The Angel
Delta Machine
Construction Time Again
Broken Frame
Speak & Spell

although 'Violator' is basically in a class of its own... and someone should have been shot for 'PTA's artwork...

Incidentally the Soulsavers' album "the light the dead see" is worth a listen - Dave's vocals about as good as the were in the early 90's!
 
Eric Generic

Eric Generic

Yeah, I bought the Soulsavers CD on the strength of hearing it in HMV once. Miuch better than the last couple of DM efforts for me.
 
nnnumb

nnnumb

Currently, although this changes very, very frequently, my favourite albums look like this:

Ultra
Songs of Faith & Devotion
Music For The Masses
Black Celebration
Some Great Reward
Violator
Construction Time Again
Playing the Angel
A Broken Frame
Speak & Spell
Delta Machine
Sounds of the Universe
Exciter

Not that I don't like Exciter. In fact, I've been rediscovering it of late and it's a fantastic album. Just not as good as their other stuff. Ultra, on the other hand, I'm completely obsessed with at the moment. Perfect album from start to finish for me.

The next Soulsavers album will apparently be with Dave as well.
 
Omar God

Omar God

Nice to see some Ultra love. It really couldn't compete with earlier albums for me, though on reflection it might have deserved to be higher in my album raking than PtA mainly due to the fact it contains the song Insight, which really is one of their best album tracks (IMO).

Not much love from PJer's for Delta Machine.....Gotta say, it's not had much of an airing from me since I bought it.
 
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