I just got 81-85... It's everything that's right AND everything that's wrong with 80's music.

I'm digging it and it sounds like they took a lot of influence from Kraftwerk and reminds me a little of Devo. However it's so cheesy with everything done via synths along with the poppy vocals.

Who is this "Depeche Mode" that you are talking about?

Eh? Just check out ' Violator', 'Songs of Faith and Devotion', 'Music For the Masses', 'BLACK Celebration' and 'Ultra'. They are friggin' great and bypass any 80's stigma.

I don't think cdollaz is being serious!
I love DM, had the joy of seeing them twice in about 4 months. One of the best bands I have ever seen live.

Depeche Mode is one of best of all-time bands you name I have it (over 6,000 tracks and counting).If there is something Rare anyone looking for E-mail me cause I bet I got it.---------------"Reach out and touch faith"-----------------.

I bet you have a lot of Cranberries shit too, huh?

this thread has quickly crested the "bizarre" point

The Beatles Of Synthpop

I disagree. I believe that 'Speak & Spell' is their greatest album by far. And the first 3 singles were just absolutely amazing. To me they went downhill after Vince Clarke left. 'A Broken Frame' is a decent album and the singles from this album/era are pretty good. IMO, from '81-'82 Depeche Mode were a great band and after that they were merely ok.

No not as much you think I do.I have been a moder for 20 years.

Just curious if you are counting every single live performance and bootleg fan remix as part of the 6000? Because, as a band, DM have nowhere near that many tracks. Also, do you have original copies of all this material?

I am currently at 155 DM cd's and almost 3ft of shelf space for DM vinyl (all original copies --> mp3 and cdr don't count), and saying that I had 6000 tracks would be a large exaggeration to say the least.

jon

Speak and Spell was a great album, but it hasn't aged well... Vince leaving was not all that big a deal, look at how the band has changed over time.

I have been collecting there music for over 20 years (cd,lp and alot mp3's).I mean I have over 60 remixes of EJTS among many b-side mixes,demo's,live shows, the list goes on trust me if look hard enough 6,000 is very small number.

depeche mode has never let me down--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajpDEBrnRM4

I have been collecting DM for about the same time period, but I tend to stick to the official material and releases. There are less than 20 official versions/mixes of ETS if you include the 1990 single and the 2004 re-release. Most of the 60 you speak of are cheesy bootlegs and fan mixes and I usually avoid that stuff.

hehe....the second biggest Depeche Mode fan in the world met the biggest Depeche Mode fan in the world and he's cranky.

With all due respect, are you joking?

Nope. I'm not joking one bit. I love 'Speak & Spell' and it is by far the greatest Depeche Mode album, IMO. The first 3 singles are absolutely amazing. After ' A Broken Frame' there's really nothing I'm a fan of. Yes, they became more commercially successful but I don't think they were half as good. The first album is catchy as hell and it is full of great, fun, danceable little songs. After Vince left they started doing sad and dark type of stuff that I'm not really into.

Honestly, for the longest time I extremely disliked the band. I had no clue why so many people thought they were great. I always thought they were really dark and I'm not even sure how to describe it. The music just wasn't anything, it was really bland. Then I saw the music video for "The Meaning of Love" on VH1 Classic and I thought, "wow, that was actually pretty good." I had a friend who had the Singles '81-'85 CD and I borrowed that. I listened to it that night and really liked the first 6 songs, particularly the first 3. Nothing after track 6 on that CD did much for me. Yes, Some of it was ok like 'Get the Balance Right' and 'Everything Counts' but it just didn't do anything for me. I went out and bought 'Speak & Spell' and 'A Broken Frame' the next day. I immediately fell in love with 'Speak & Spell' and really enjoyed 'A broken Frame.'

After 1982, I really just don't see the big deal.

I can't imagine Depeche Mode being interesting at all had Vince not left. It would have been Erasure with a male lead singer.

Look, I love Vince Clarke. I put him right up there with Alan Wilder as a musical genius. And "Speak & Spell" was good at the time. But it hasn't aged well at all and even pales by comparison to other synth music of that time. It's just too poppy. I thought Vince took more risks when he left to start Yaz. His style was both poppy and dark. And while I love some of the music he's done for Erasure, Andy Bell's vocals make me want to shoot myself. Depeche Mode, while getting darker after Vince left, have improved with each album. And they have never made the same album twice. They take risks and chances. And all but one album worked for me. "Songs of Faith and Devotion". A monumental misfire IMO. But Depeche Mode are true electronic icons and deserve so much more praise than they have received. From both the critics and their peers. They are a great great band.

Hell, even "Songs of Faith and Devotion" has a few songs that are worth noting, mainly "In Your Room"... I'd say my least favorite is "Exciter".

To go from "Violater" to that? I really hated it. And as beautiful as the tour was (the stage, projections) it was not easy watching the band self destruct. And Dave looking that way. What a mess. For me, the only redeeming songs on "SOFAD" were "Mercy in You", "One Caress" and "Higher Love". None of them sounding like they could have come from any previous DM album. And you're right, "Exciter" is pretty weak. Sounded more like a half baked effort. But I'll take that over "SOFAD" any day. "Playing the Angel" was a grand slam (IMO). It rivaled "Violater" on every level.

SoFaD is my favorite. In Your Room, Walking In My Shoes, Rush, I Feel You are DM classics. Also this is the band that got me into listening to remixes.

Music for the Masses is my favorite, but I like most of their older stuff; Some Great Reward and Black Celebration are right up there. Exciter didn't excite me, and I liked SoFaD on first few listens, but it doesn't get a lot of repeat airplay, though there are some great tracks on it. I'm not a huge fan of remixes in general, so that's nothing necessarily against DM.

Question: was "SOFAD" your first introduction to DM? Just curious. I've found that most people who pick that album as their favorite started listening to them then. I'm old school. My first proper DM album was "Some Great Reward". Even though I had several DM singles from the first three albums. And then after "Reward", bought all the previous albums. And I really liked them as a band. But it wasn't until "Black Celebration" (and it's tour) that they became "it" for me. "Music for the Masses"? Awesome. "Violator"? Amazing. You know how I feel about "SOFAD". "Ultra"? A miracle. "Exciter"? Eh. "Playing the Angel"? Brilliant. Not a remixes fan at all. But have all their singles box sets, greatest hits, etc. Just to support them.

No, I'd say Violator was with ETS. Based upon liking that song, I picked up the album.