Daytripper

For those fans who don't already know this:

Depeche Mode are currently in Santa Barbara, California recording their first studio album since 2001's, 'Exciter', due for release this Autumn.


2004 ended on a high for Depeche Mode, generated largely by the success of their remix album, 'Depeche Mode Remixes 81-04' which sold over 1 million copies worldwide and produced the top 10 single, 'Enjoy The Silence' remixed by Mike Shinoda.

The new album is being co-produced by Depeche Mode and Ben Hillier, whose credits include Elbow's 'Cast Of Thousands' album, the current acclaimed Doves release, 'Some Cities' and Blur's classic, 'Think Tank'.

"It's a great feeling to be back together in the studio again and we are very excited about the new material", says Dave Gahan. "We are all feeling incredibly positive about the album. Ben Hillier has brought a whole new dynamic to the group which is quite inspiring."

Hollowgen

if i were whoever wrote that up, i probably wouldn't even mention that part.

but in any case, hooray! i didn't think they'd ever get back together. gahan had some less-than-pleasant words to say about gore when he was promoting his solo album.

sherm42

I hope it is better than Exciter. I liked a few songs on that album, but overall it felt like they forgot to write all the music for the tracks. Like when they were mastering the songs, they forgot to include some of the tracks.

LivingINClip

Love Depeche Mode, but I do tend to agree that Exciter was a complete letdown, it just never felt right. Now if we get something more on the lines of Ultra, I'll be so very happy oh and a worldwide tour would be nice too!

Daytripper

Yeah, Dave has quite an ego on him and was a complete ass on his (not so successful) solo outing. Did you know he insisted on writing some of the songs on this new Depeche Mode album or he wouldn't return? Not sure what they settled on, but expect at least two tracks written by him. Hopefully they'll be B-sides. If you heard the god awful "Paper Monsters", you'll notice the guy is no songwriter.

Re: "Exciter", I agree most of it sounded like a demo. There was that something extra missing. Save for "I Feel Loved". Which I thought was the best track. I blame the producer who is a minimalist.

DJLinus

Good to hear. I actually like Exciter much better than Ultra. Neither comes close to their past output, though.

Joshua

IMO, Ultra is better than Speak and Spell, Broken Frame, and Construction Time Again. It has held up really well over the last 8 years. Barrel, It's No Good, Home, Useless, and Sister of Night stack up against some of their classics.

Exciter was a little bit of a let down, altough there are some really good songs on it like Dream On, Sweetest Condition, When the Body Speaks, and I Feel Loved. It's just an album that I have to really be in the mood to listen to. Probably because of its very slow pace. That's why I Feel Loved's stands out so much to me on this album.

DM's greatest musical output was from '86-'93 - Black Celebration, Music For the Masses, Violator, and Songs of Faith and Devotion. How can you beat these four albums? I think Violator is the strongest album of the bunch. Its short 9 track listing is high quality music from beginning to end. Closely following Violator is SOFAD. I love the spiritual tone of this album. And its solid from start to finish - Anyone who has not heard "One Caress" yet owes it to themselves to get this album now. BC and MFTM are phenominal kick ass albums for sure, but they both have their share of weaker tracks like Sometimes, It Doesn't Matter Two, New Dress, Sacred, Nothing, Pimpf, and Agent Orange. I have to say, though, that To Have and To Hold is one of my all time favorites though. Very different kind of DM song. And the best of DM's early albums is clearly Some Great Reward - great tracks. OK, im done!

ROBERTCOP34

Hey daytripper paper monsters was very good cd better than martin gore's counterfeit 2.
Who said martin and dave had some issues that not true there good friends after some 25 years i hope so.

DJLinus

I completely agree with your analysis and was going to add Some Great Reward to your list, but you tacked that on at the end. DM really had a phenomenal string of albums there.

As for Ultra, I admit that it is one of my least listened to albums. Maybe I'll pull it out and re-evaluate it, but it didn't do much for me at the time of its release.

Daytripper

No, Martin and Andrew Fletcher are good friends. Not Dave and Martin. Although they are friendly to each other, they barely speak between Depeche Mode albums and tours. Fletch and Dave, even less. All three have admitted this in just about every Depeche Mode interview they've done in the past 10 years. Dave's nasty remarks about Martin (and Depeche Mode) while promoting "Paper Monsters" probably didn't bring them any closer. And from what I've read, caused a minor riff with the rest of the Depeche Mode camp (managment included). I'm glad you liked "Paper Monsters". I got no enjoyment out of it. I do, however, like "Counterfeit 2".

Daytripper

Well said! Although I didn't care for "Songs of Faith and Devotion", "One Caress", "Mercy in You" and "Higher Love" were exceptions. Great tunes. Especially "Caress". Glad you pointed that out. An instant DM classic for sure. It's funny, because it seems that younger fans tend to put that album high on their favorite list. Older fans, not so much. Based on polls I've read on various DM newsgroups. Personally I think DM hit home runs from "Some Great Reward" through "Violator". I also feel they rebounded beautifully with "Ultra".

fallfan

Great news! After some of the interviews Dave Gahan gave while promoting "Paper Monsters" he seemed to indicate that he wouldn't want another DM album if he couldn't have a hand in the songwriting. That's fine with me since I personally think "Paper Monsters" was stronger than any DM album since "Songs of Faith..". Granted, I know Gahan's album was all co-writes (with Knox Chandler), so I don't know if him and Gore would even be able to write together and I'm not sure if Gahan has the musical chops to write on his own. I'm also excited about Ben Hillier producing. Both Elbow's "Cast of Thousands" and Doves "Some Cities" have a great sound to them. (I'm fond of "Think Tank" as well)

iggystar

My favorite albums are in the '86 - '93 era (BC tops the list for me, probably because it was my DM introduction and has such wonderful high school memories attached to it.)

Useless caught my attention only because it was on the Singles album (I'd didn't even recognize the name from Ultra which I hadn't given much attention). The song is so good, it was like I had a brand new song from DM. I think I've burned a groove in my CD on that one.

Good news about the new album. I love Gahan, singing and looks, not attitude.

Daytripper

Iggy, while the version of "Useless" on the Singles album is quite good, you MUST check out the "Ultra" version. Completely different. And far better IMO. Both excellent. But the album version is amazing. I'm with you on "Black Celebration" as well. Have been a fan of DM from the beginning. But it was that album and tour that escalated them to the top for me.

iggystar

How is it different? Less guitar or more? You know how hard it is to break from the version you hear and love first!

Daytripper

The Singles album version is more electronic. With that heavy bass synth throughout. That's not on the "Ultra" version at all. Also, you know that one musical part on the song right after the lyrics "Well it’s about time. It’s beginning to hurt"? That's toned way down on the Singles album version. And more prominent on "Ultra". It's my favorite part of the song.

RichardW

Ultra was an awesome album, whereas Exciter was so-so. I'm hoping this albums turns out better. Since I don't listen to many current bands, I'm always glad to hear new music from bands I've listened to for years.

iggystar

I checked out some samples online. Ok, so you know how the singles version opens...that's bass synth? Oh my goodness, I thought that was guitar!

I don't know the sample isn't hitting me like the Singles version, but I only got a 20 second listen. I've got to try and find my Ultra (I just moved so who knows where it's at).

I haven't gotten the Remixes yet. How is it?

Daytripper

Agree. I'd give "Ultra" four stars. While I'd give "Exciter" two and a half. Maybe three. The best tracks on "Exciter" for me were "Dream On", "Shine" "Sweetest Condition", "I Feel Loved" and "I Am You". "Dead of Night" is pretty good. Still can't believe they released "Goodnight Lovers" as a single. Worst single choice of their career IMO. What were they thinking?

Daytripper

No no. You're absolutely right. That is guitar too on "Useless" on the Singles album. I'm talking about in the background. Go to Amazon.com to sample both.

The Remixes album is pretty good. Some great. Some not so great. Definitely for fans only.

Prancetron2000

I've been a huge DM fan my entire life, as most of my older siblings (and I have a lot of them--six brothers and five sisters) have always been really huge fans as well. They've been my favorite band for as long as I can remember listening to music. So of course I'm extremely excited about their new album.

Violator has always been my favorite album, but recently I've been listening to SOFAD the most often, an album that I never really loved until a few years ago. Perhaps it's because I've opened up to rock a bit more in recent years. Ultra comes in third, with the rest of them in no particular order. I enjoyed Exciter, only listen to a few songs when I'm in the right mood though. Paper Monsters had some catchy tunes. Poor writing, but some nice tunes. I liked Counterfeit 2, but again I have to be in a very particular mood to listen to it. A lot of it has to do with if I'm in a nostalgic mood or not. I associate particular songs and albums with different memories. Enjoy the Silence, my all-time favorite song, brings back the best memories. Ultra reminds me of trips to Austria and Italy, MFTM reminds me of Maryland (where I was born), some Violator songs remind me of Ohio, some of Croatia (used to live in those places as well). DM music always puts me in a nostalgic mood.

Daytripper

Nice post Prancetron2000. Where in Maryland are you from? I'm in D.C. I saw Depeche Mode for the first time at Merriweather Post Pavillion on the "Black Celebration" tour. Book of Love opened for them. Again, it was such an amazing show/evening. Like you, and most DM fans, their music really has been the soundtrack to my life. As corny as that sounds. I think my favorite song has to be "Shake the Disease". Would be nice if they played that live again. And how great would it be should they ever do "Sea of Sin" in concert? Doubtful, I know. A little off track here, but how many of you hate that Depeche Mode use back up singers these past few tours? Don't get me wrong. The women sound great. But they do tend to drown out Dave and Martin's vocals quite a bit. Also not a big fan on the live drums on most of the songs. Especially "Black Celebration" on the "Exciter" tour. Completely ruined that song. Even though the drummer (Christian) is quite good himself. Incorporating drums on the older DM songs changes the dynamics way too much for me.

Prancetron2000

Born in D.C., lived in Gathesberg (I think I forgot how to spell my hometown).

I agree, some of the recent back up singers did sound a bit odd. But I did like how many of the songs sounded different in the Exciter show. It's such a shame that 'Clean' didn't make it onto the dvd. That was one of my favorite performances in the show.

Sea of Sin would be great in concert.

Daytripper

Heh heh, it's Gaithersburg And you're absolutely right. Those backup singers most definitely helped the songs off "Exciter" on the last tour. Not on the older songs though. And yes, "Clean" was one of the stand out songs/performances on that tour. Can we please put "Condemnation" in the vault for good please!? Although, it is a good beer run song. Ever notice how many people get up to hit the bathroom or snack bar when they do it? Look around next time. If we're unlucky enough to have to endure that song again.

RichardW

They weren't.