1. Black Celebration
2. Halo
3. Enjoy The Silence
4. World In My Eyes
5. Stripped
6. Dream On
7. Everything Counts
8. People Are People
9. I Feel You
10. Precious
11. Walking In My Shoes
12. Blasphemous Rumors
I came into this compilation album with only passing knowledge of Depeche Mode and only a vague familiarity with some of the songs included. The album contains a good spread of the influential band's history and manages to display several sides to their music, from catchy new wave tunes to stripped back ballads. What I found here was collection of reasonably simple songs that were still capable of working their way into my head and staying there for a good while after I'd turned the music off.
Depeche Mode seem to differ themselves from the scene of bouncy 80s new wave by offering a darker exploration of synth pop music. They do pull this off, somewhat. The music never takes on any real sense of grit, instead relying on deeper synth chords and the lower half of Dave Gahan's vocal range. What's left is music that still sounds very clean, with nothing more than hints to something more emotionally tainted. Over the twelve songs here, I did develop a yearning for some moments of wider exploration, or a more abrasive sound every now and then. But, For those willing to open their ears to something that simply sounds fun off the bat, Depeche Mode could be rewarding.
There's definitely some standout tracks included here. The energetic opener Black Celebration is liable to get you humming along. Newer track Precious is also surprisingly enjoyable with its infectious mix of well produced electronic beats and melodies. Stripped managed to overcome my cynicism towards a slow paced Depeche Mode romance song thanks to it's swelling chorus. I also enjoyed how Dream On mixed things up with speedy low-key verses delivered in a more disjointed style. Unfortunately I found some tracks, such as People Are People and I Feel You, too bare and just not catchy enough to be saved.
My largest problem with this band lies with Gahan. His voice actually fits this music well, but he seems to like carrying the same emotional tone in every song. Everything here sounds like he's feeling a little down over something, but not much more or not much else. This isn't helped by lyrics that can be noticeably corny at times. Take People Are People for instance, a song about prejudice where nearly every line exists to inform the listener, without ambiguity, that the song is about prejudice. Even some of the stronger tracks feel held back by this. I'm not expecting poetry that can stand on it's own merits, but a little abstraction and less obvious rhymes would help this music go down easier with me.
I have no doubt this compilation serves as a great introduction to Depeche Mode, spanning not only their discography but their various styles. It's a good piece of light entertainment, one I kept around longer than I thought I would after my initial impressions. For those who enjoy catchy synth melodies, Depeche Mode probably would have reached your radar long ago, but if they haven't, what are you waiting for?
Rating:
6/10
Well, yes, Depeche Mode doesn't satisfy if you're looking for an emotional rollercoaster ride, but I like it that they're straight to the point and just sound fun. Because sometimes I want to listen to something lighthearted. I don't always want to watch some deep arthouse movie, sometimes I just want to watch a Gerard Butler film and be entertained without having to think. And yeah, sometimes I wanna listen to something like Lilly Allen, because I have a crush on her voice (weird example, perhaps). But geez, you don't have to find meaning in everything.
ReplyDeleteWhen they do try make a point, it can be obvious and unambiguous to the point of being lame at times, like People Are People, but the drums and repeated lines from 2:50 onwards is epiccc. I don't actually like the song besides that.
I Feel You is awesome, you're wrong.
PS buy me that mug for my birthday.
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show you how so very differently two people can interpret the same music! :) For me, the trick to Depeche Mode (which I'm sure you know I love) is that their often beautiful sentiments - lyrically - carry the most weight when accompanied by those darker, more sinister undertones, which don't exactly lay quietly underneath, but still creep subtly. I would never be able to describe them as catchy or fun ;p But, you know, variety being the spice of life and all that. Thus I deem this post spicy.
ReplyDeleteI do actually like it....
ReplyDeleteI blame my apathy towards it on all the industrial music I've been listening to recently. Depeche Mode is fairly clean and melodic by comparison.
That's the thing, I guess. Depeche Mode were a big part the Goth culture I steeped myself in 15-20 years ago, and I think apathy is a good word to use, because that was part of the essence of the culture itself. Not that Goths and so on didn't have emotions, passions and stuff, but that their presentations of them were a kind of weird mix of intensity underneath an apathetic veeneer. DM songs were so appealing because they were kind of the same thing, "It's No Good" would be the quintessential example of that, which was hugely popular at goth clubs because you could dance (or rather 'move') to it in an impassive way and not look weird XD
ReplyDeleteNot that I'm trying to convince you to like and/or appreciate something more than you do, plus I'm far from being an authority, but I will say that if I could, I'd probably seriously consider taking People are People out back and shooting it. I'm afraid I never understood that track's popularity at all.