(Single from album, "Playing The Angel")
Depeche Mode are similar, in many ways, to artists such as Bob Dylan, New Order and Radiohead: famous for having graced the music scene with their presence, creating landmark songs and making revolutionary sounds, making space for rarely a single duff track in their catalogue, and of course, being instantly recognisable from the incredible retail visuals which accompany their music…
Though really, their similarity to these other artists is through the huge betrayal of their fans and the music world at one or more points in their career. For Dylan it was making folk music mainstream and commercially viable. For New Order it was betraying their indie roots and sound as well as their collapsing indie label to save themselves, ironically making their worst record, and plummeting into obscurity afterward.
Depeche Mode’s betrayal of the system however is best compared to that of Radiohead, whose tremendous 1997’s album “OK Computer”, one which virtually every genre is still trying to catch up with today, was eclipsed by the horrendous change in direction of the band. It was 2000’s “Kid A”, an apparent ignorance of the previous effort’s masterpiece value and possible gateway to the future that lost them over half of their following. This was more than Justin Bieber’s haircut to his Twitter fans; this was the end of an era, a short one at that and one created by a mere album, but an era nonetheless…
Depeche Mode slowly climbed their way up the ladder of ultimate perfection through the 1980s and climaxed as a successful mainstream electronica group in 1987 with the release of “Music For The Masses”, widely regarded as their finest performing moment. Surprisingly however, people said the same when, in 1990, the world witnessed “Violator”, their seventh album and, bizarrely, the first to heavily feature guitars and synthesisers – which worked. This amazing demonstration of musical power through reinvention is unparalleled, even by the likes of Madonna. From the beautifully mixed “World In My Eyes” through the disturbing “Clean”, this was the real deal; Depeche Mode had come alive and the new direction looked good.
Then, battling with a combination of heroin addiction, alcoholism, depression and the imminent departure of Alan Wilder, the band released “Songs Of Faith And Devotion” in 1994, and, debuting at no. 1 after the massive success of “Violator”, betrayed their following. Everything lacked vibe, image and soul. It was an appalling moment in music history, one that was, sadly, repeated by their follow-up attempts, “Ultra” (1997), and “Exciter” (2001), with only a handful of the songs produced during this time even worth listening to, with, even then, no possible comparison to the earlier 80s work. It was almost like a different band had emerged from their success. And then – change?
2005 saw the miraculous re-entry of Depeche Mode onto popular radio airways for the first time in over 10 years with the release of the lead single from that year’s album, “Playing The Angel”. Bassy synths, depressing yet soothing vocals, harsh electric guitar swipes – the band had seemingly made some kind of return; and that opening line – “Precious and fragile things – need special handling” – wow. The spirit of Depeche Mode is preserved on this track, almost as a reminder of who the band was – of who they had been. The chorus is also a phenomenal triumph of complicated layers of keyboard sounds giving a unique and exciting sound that, in a time passed, was something that only Depeche Mode could do.
My favourite part has to be the bridge, a brilliant glitzy, thrashing synth solo, winding back down into the chorus with a choked guitar/keyboard voice, suffocating in a downward spiral of notes in return to the key Dave Gahan’s vocal, where everything kicks back off again. The ecstasy of the song only ends at 4:10 when silence ensues, and the fading electric pulses swerve out of earshot and when the moment is finally over. It’s like being repeatedly punched in the face, except one you enjoy. One shock after the next, never anticipating the emotion of the next thing that occurs, and only stopping to think afterwards. And that is the brilliance of “Precious” – the brilliance of earlier Depeche Mode.
Even the B-side was good here. “Free”, a 5 minute synthesiser orgasm of sound, explodes into being like some kind of depressed omen swarm into the ear canals with an initial screech of nail biting keyboards, before transforming into a “Violator”-esque track, complete with throbbing drum machine beat and keyboard chant, not forgetting, of course, Dave Gahan’s brilliantly sung, nonsensical cheesy lyrics which make it a Depeche Mode song.
So, a great single and a good B-side. Could they do it again? Obviously not. The remixes were, for the most part, terrible and the rest of the album was dire, and though things picked back up for the album that followed, 2009’s “Sounds Of The Universe”, it was never really the same again, becoming, yes more vintage with the sound, but annoyingly conceptual, like some kind of unwarranted Kraftwerk reunion or perhaps like The Human League’s pre-1978 demos which, tragically, became available not long ago.
The one off single, “Martyr”, released in 2007 to commemorate the release of Depeche Mode’s first greatest hits collection was an alright song, doing some of the key Depeche Mode things, like great sound, suave guitars and booming lyrics, but it just wasn’t the same, and after a second betrayal, nobody really listened and it faired poorly in both the UK and US charts.
Depeche Mode’s only output in the last 3 years has been a cover of a U2 song for the NME cover compilation of 1992’s “Achtung Baby”, a dodgy remix album with only one new decent mix, and rereleases of the back catalogue from 1991 – 2001 which, with exception of the last couple of albums, is rather telling don’t you think?
Hopefully the band can make a comeback. Hopefully. Because it’s been longer than I’ve been around since they did some something with any real substance or memorable effect. Until then we have “Precious”, and if ends up becoming nothing more than their last real song, then it was a good way at least, of saying goodbye…
★★★★★
Versions of “Precious”
Album/Single Version – 4:10
Michael Mayer Ambient Mix – 3:33
Sasha’s Spooky Mix – 10:32
Sasha’s Gargantuan Vocal Mix – 9:40
Misc. Vocal Full Mix – 5:41
Michael Mayer Balearic Mix – 7:18
Motor Remix – 6:37
Misc. Crunch Mix – 6:51
Calderone & Quayle Damaged Club Mix – 12:04
DJ Dan 4 A.M. Mix – 9:52
DJ Dan 4 A.M. Dub – 9:52