Agreed, Martins writers block so very evident on the biblical names track. I do like Comatose though.
Home is exceptional and I would have led the campaign with it. It's No Good is rambling, empty, derivative and decidedly "middle of side 2".
I love ‘It’s No Good’. I’d gotten a copy recorded from radio and played it to death until I could have the actual single and album. Perfect post midnight listening, and it has a satisfying seedy feel.
I love "Breathe", it's like a goth version of Craig David's "7 Days". I think "Shine" and "The Sweetest Condition" are the weak links on Exciter, and they're sequenced together right at the top of the album, which is a shame.
Tbh if we all agreed I don’t think they’d be the band they are. We are all usually able to find something that appeals to us in any of their albums, it’s just different to all of us! I do enjoy a DM chat - sadly been too quiet here for a while. I actually need to go listen to Exciter again, did quite enjoy it when released. On a side note, has anyone heard Dave’s collaboration with Jennylee of Warpaint?
I love It's No Good! I find the production quite hypnotic, I also really like Useless too, particularly the single mix, Barrel of a Gun however, has never really done it for me, which is probably considered criminal, although I'll admit it has a great intro and sets up the album very well. I also love Only When I Lose Myself, I like to tie that single in with the Ultra era.
It’s that time of year again, the Exciter singles vinyl box set has just been announced. A lot cheaper on Amazon than the last few releases. https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/depeche-mode-exciter-the-12-singles/
Makes you wonder why the need to actually make a cd. Could rustle up a couple of mixes to go with it!
Anytime I see a 1-track CDsingle that isn’t like a radio promo I am convinced it was made out of spite.
It's just not value for money, is it? If I was an artist, I would never allow anything like that to be released. Stick a demo track or an old hit on there to make it financially viable!
Exactly, It’s literal waste. Even an exclusive instrumental version would make it worthwhile to exist.
I'm suddenly giving Delta Machine a bit of a reassessment, I randomly ended listening to a few songs for the first time in a long time and I forgot how great Should Be Higher is, and for once I actually really enjoyed Angel and think it could be one of the strongest songs on the album. It got me thinking, there are 3 albums produced by Ben Hillier, so I tried to make a playlist of an album that could match the consistency of Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion, and I've come up with the below: 01.) Playing the Angel - Statement song, loud, a bit too loud for me, but does the job, either that or Welcome to My World 02.) Wrong - Instant banger, one of their best singles from this era. 03.) Angel - Getting those Condemnation vibes, but darker 04.) The Sinner In Me - We need that Halo / Mercy In Me vibe 05.) Jezebel - Martin's turn, he hasn't got the best selection of songs this era, but this is one of my favourites 06.) Precious - Big single time, a la Enjoy the Silence. 07.) Introspectre - Lets get an instrumental in there, I think this is the best one they did. 08.) Should Be Higher - Throw in another good single a la Policy of Truth 09.) Nothing's Impossible - Time for a heavier industrial vibe song like Rush 10.) Always - Another Gore song, I've seen this one praised by fans since its release and should have been on Delta Machine instead of The Child Inside. 11.) Alone - Dark, sinister, spiralling synths, one of my favourites, the perfect closer, why it wasn't the closer in the first place is beyond me.
Lie To Me is such an underrated gem and by far my favourite from Some Great Reward. I´d argue that it´s their first "adult" song and the mood and sound paved the way to Violator. And since it´s such a proto-deep-house-jam I tried to make it even deep-housier. Tell me you love it:
