Depeche Mode C or D/S& D

shinoda mix makes me cringe

Black Celebration always stands out for me as their best album, but I really love their early electro-pop too. Violater was their last great complete album IMO - anything after that I felt was patchy, barring some great singles ('It's no good' is great, and the Hardfloor mix rules). Some highlights:

From their very early era, I have this DJ 12" 'megamix' which is kinda cheesy but has a super-fast version of 'Photographic' and the classic "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead", which is included in some versions of Speak & Spell (along with Ice Machine and Shout, which should have been on the album). There is also a really long, instrumental version of 'Any Second Now' with beats which gives me chills. Kinda like 'Oberkorn'.

(OMG I'm at work and as I'm typing this post an email came in with the subject "DM show update" which startled me, until I realised it's 'Direct Marketing'. Bleh).

Some Great Reward really struck a chord with me - used to listen to it almost every night at that time.
Black Celebration - pretty much perferct. 'But Not Tonight' may be one of my favourite songs ever.
Music for the Masses is when I remember them becoming HUGE in Canada. It seemed like everyone in our high school (which was a pretty diverse crowd, let me tell you) had the album. (An aside - I was recently in Stockholm and went to a club night named after this album, which to my delight played lots of really old DM stuff. 'See You'! 'Sun & The Rainfall'! Hooray!). It was around this time - 87/88 - that I really got the sense that these guys were going to be legends.

I remember seeing 101 in the theatre in Toronto and it blew my mind - indeed, they PWND Pasadena that night. I loved that scene in Nashville - I remember being really surprised that Martin could actually play the guitar! I've seen them live many times over the years, and loved each show. Even the one where I was outside at the CNE stadium in Toronto, freezing cold in pouring rain (Violater tour - Jesus and Mary Chain opening!). The singles tour gig was a near-religious experience - I feared the vibe just wouldn't be there, since so many of us fans are older now, but I think seeing Dave back in good health inspired everyone to really get into it. What a night.

I mean holy crap I could just go on and on about so much to do with this band - obscure b-sides and remixes, etc. To be honest, the sheer volume of stuff out there kinda put me off them for a while, but now I'm inspired to start listening to them again, since it's been ages. And damn I want that singles set. I'd like to hear that Goldfrapp mix. I personally think her 'Strict Machine' was based on 'Personal Jesus' (it sure makes for a great segue!).

Ned .. is the DJ Shadow mix thats on this set the version that was pulled due to samples - or am i thinking of something different here ?

ta.
m.e

Seek: Most of their output, but particularly the underrated "Construction Time Again"

Destroy: Not much, really, but part of "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" just doesn't hold up. Also, "Pimpf" from "Music For The Masses" should be absolutely mutilated.

I like how they do the first verse and chorus and THEN the bassline kicks in and holy jeez...

Personally, I had kind of lost the interest when "Ultra" was released, because I was so extremely disappointed with "Faith And Devotion". So I played it maybe a few times, put it aside, then a couple of years I listened to "Ultra" again and suddenly discovered what a great album it was.

In addition to the singles, I would say "The Bottom Line" in particular deserves a mention.

I'm thinking the same thing. Even with my very limited awareness of Depeche Mode mixes from recent times I imagine this could have been stretched to a four disc set (eg. where are the Hardfloor mix of "It's No Good" and the Thomas Brinkmann mix of "I Feel Loved"?). Something about the way the group combine pop songs, electronic grooves and dark drama makes them pretty much the *ideal* remix artist.

Likewise Speedy J's techstep take on "It's No Good" .

Did any ILXor's go? :)

Also, there's actually a fourth disc too...

The Mike Shinoda remix is great though, fuck the other remixes, I mean none of them answered the time honored question, "What if Depeche Mode was actually Linkin Park?"

Hahaha. That IS useless. Orgy's "Blue Monday" made more sense (ie, none at all).

"What if Depeche Mode was actually Linkin Park?"

The only difference anyway between the two bands are louder guitars and rapping, of a sort. Even the rhyme structures are similar! (Alternate example of said-mega-obvious style of rhyming: Placebo.)

Commparing EITHER song to Orgy's Blue Monday is pretty much worth a punch in the face, Ned.

behind the wheel/route 66 (megamix)
dream on - morel's pink noise club mix
master and servant (u.s. black & blue version)
nothing - justin strauss mix
people are people - special edition on-usound remix
little 15 (bogus brothers mix)
freelove - josh wink dub
personal jesus (kazan cathedral mix)
but not tonight - extended remix
but not tonight (margouleff dance mix)
freelove - powder productions remix
slowblow (mad professor mix)
rush - black sun mix

(That last one, I should note, is the semi-legendary never-exactly-released-as-such Coil mix -- Coil themselves offered it up on their site a while back very briefly so it's not rare per se, but it's nice to see it resurface again.)

I’m old enough to remember their first UK TOTP appearance, yet despite enjoying the odd single on the radio I always found them pretty lightweight, and am continually surprised how substantial their influence has been on so much electronic music - from the Horrorist to Black Strobe who drop 'World In My Eyes' in their ‘Essential Mix’.

And, for some reason, "Speak & Spell" has never been fully accepted the way, for instance "Dare", "Rio" and "Lexicon Of Love" have, although the former is also another good example of a brilliant lightweight early 80s pop album.

Would it be cruel to say that part of me misses Crazy Heroin Dave? He was such a great showman. The Happy Fun Dave of today is more reserved, is a better singer, and will survive each tour with certainty. Of course, those aren't criticisms.

The key moment, of course, is the instant when the live drums come crashing into "I Feel You". That's the DM equivalent of turning the volume knob from 10 up to the full 11.

my fave song is " nothng"

It's great!

The production's great, it's very much of a piece, also nice to feel some of the brooding goth romantisicm stuff that I like in Superpitcher/Koehncke/Alex Smoke echo back across the decades.

You don't get enough ROCK albums that sound like this.

What I like most about Violator is "Policy of Truth," though I couldn't tell you why..

That's for damn sure.

I used to worry that Alan Wilder's departure would cripple Depeche completely but as brilliant an arranger as he was, switching to a new model of working where each new producer becomes the key collaborator/arranger has resulted in Depeche becoming fresher by default, and based on "Precious" Ben Hillier is going to make it three for three here...

"I used to worry that Alan Wilder's departure would cripple Depeche completely"

I thought they were dead when he left. Their post-Alan output has been surprisingly decent, but they were still a better band with him in it.