It took me a long time to come around to liking Depeche Mode's music. The first song of theirs I ever heard was "The Meaning of Love", and I hated it! (And still do, in fact!) Then "People Are People" was overplayed to death, and that didn't help any. It wasn't until I discovered their dark side, on the album Black Celebration, that I began to appreciate their music. Still, it wasn't until 1992 or so that I started actually buying their CD's...

I've also got a Depeche mode tribute album, but don't get all excited, it's total pure shit.

"Speak & Spell" (rare import release!)

1. "New Life" (3:43)
2. "Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead" (2:16)
3. "Puppets" (3:55)
4. "Boys Say Go!" (3:04)
5. "Nodisco" (4:12)
6. "What's Your Name?" (2:42)
7. "Photographic" (4:44)
8. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (4:34)
9. "Big Muff"--instrumental (4:21)
10. "Any Second Now (Voices)" (2:35)
11. "Just Can't Get Enough" (3:40)
12. "Dreaming of Me" (4:01)
13. "Ice Machine" (4:06)
14. "Shout" (3:46)
15. "Any Second Now"--instrumental (3:07)
16. "Just Can't Get Enough"--"schizo mix" (6:44)

Don'tcha love finding import CDs in the used bin that have extra songs? I sure do!! This CD is pretty poppy but by the time I heard it I was a raving Depeche Mode lunatic and didn't care. "Just Can't Get Enough" is a great song, though, and so is "Shout" (one of the extra songs.) And how can you not love any song that's titled "Big Muff"?? On the other hand, the lyrics to "What's Your Name?" make me wonder: "Hey you're such a pretty boy, hey you're such a pretty boy..." Uhhh, yeah, whatever.

"A Broken Frame"

1. "Leave in Silence" (6:28)
2. "My Secret Garden" (4:45)
3. "Monument" (3:14)
4. "Nothing to Fear"--instrumental (4:16)
5. "See You" (4:35)
6. "Satellite" (4:40)
7. "The Meaning of Love" (3:06)
8. "Further Excerpt from My Secret Garden"--instrumental (4:20)
9. "A Photograph of You" (3:04)
10. "Shouldn't Have Done That" (3:10)
11. "The Sun & the Rainfall" (5:02)

The album art on this CD was featured on the cover of LIFE Magazine's "The Decade of Photographs". Pretty cool, huh? The songs on this CD aren't the greatest. Oh yeah, one of the original members, Vince Clarke (not sure exactly when he left) later formed the group Yaz.

"The Meaning of Love" (CD single)

1. "The Meaning of Love" (3:08)
2. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)"--instrumental (4:10)
3. "The Meaning of Love--fairly odd mix" (5:01)
4. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)--development mix"--instrumental (7:38)

Hmm, didn't I say this was my least favorite Depeche Mode song of all time? Well the B-side's a neat little instrumental that's not available anywhere else. (And come to think, CDs don't have B-sides anymore, do they?)

"Construction Time Again"

1. "Love, in Itself" (4:27)
2. "More Than a Party" (4:30)
3. "Pipeline" (6:08)
4. "Everything Counts" (4:24)
5. "Two Minute Warning" (4:10)
6. "Shame" (3:50)
7. "The Landscape is Changing" (4:46)
8. "Told You So" (4:25)
9. "And Then..." (5:40)
10. "Everything Counts"--long version (7:23)

"Love in Itself" has a great dance riff; that's one of DM's talents, creating fantastic rhythms that you can't help but shake your ass to. Even on the darker songs that came later. For some odd reason I can't remember what anything else on this album sounds like...hmm excuse me a second while I put it in the CD player...

"Everything Counts" has been covered by In Flames, and they do a damn good job of it!

"Some Great Reward"

1. "Something to Do" (3:45)
2. "Lie to Me" (5:04)
3. "People Are People" (3:52)
4. "It Doesn't Matter" (4:45)
5. "Stories of Old" (3:12)
6. "Somebody" (4:26)
7. "Master and Servant" (4:13)
8. "If You Want" (4:40)
9. "Blasphemous Rumours" (6:21)

This was the album that launched DM into MTv mainstays, and suddenly you couldn't escape them! Especially the song "People Are People", which as I stated earlier I absolutely loathed at first, but oddly enough I grew to really like it in time. On the other hand, "Master and Servant" has another GREAT booty-shaking riff which helped me learn to appreciate the band. "Blasphemous Rumours" caused some controversy for its heavy anti-Christian sentiment: "I don't want to start any Blasphemous Rumours/But I think that God's got a sick sense of humor..." well you really need to read the full lyrics to understand it in context. Also the song "Somebody" is unusually quiet and melodic, lyrically simple yet moving nonetheless. Altogether, a fine CD, though one that took me a long time to appreciate.

"Blasphemous Rumours" (CD single)

1. "Blasphemous Rumours" (6:24)
2. "Somebody"--live (4:28)
3. "Two Minute Warning"--live (4:36)
4. "Ice Machine"--live (3:46)
5. "Everything Counts"--live (5:44)

CDR-trading and Napster have pretty much eliminated my need for Depeche Mode singles; I picked this one up solely for the live tracks.

"People Are People" (compilation)

1. "People Are People" (3:45)
2. "Now This is Fun" (3:23)
3. "Love, in Itself" (4:21)
4. "Work Hard" (4:22)
5. "Told You So" (4:27)
6. "Get the Balance Right" (3:13)
7. "Leave in Silence" (4:00)
8. "Pipeline" (6:10)
9. "Everything Counts" (7:20)

Only reason I bought this was to completely fill up my DM collection--all the songs are rereleases from earlier albums, except for "Now This is Fun" and "Work Hard"...hmm wait a minute, it appears that "Get the Balance Right" isn't on any other CD either. That's funny, I never realized that.

"Catching Up with Depeche Mode" (compilation)

1. "Dreaming of Me" (3:44)
2. "New Life" (3:44)
3. "Just Can't Get Enough" (3:36)
4. "See You" (3:53)
5. "The Meaning of Love" (3:04)
6. "Love, in Itself" (3:55)
7. "Master and Servant" (3:50)
8. "Blasphemous Rumours" (5:04)
9. "Somebody" (4:21)
10. "Shake the Disease" (4:46)
11. "Flexible" (3:09)
12. "It's Called a Heart" (3:48)
13. "Fly on the Windscreen" (5:05)

Another compilation, yet this one has "It's Called a Heart" and a couple other singles that were never released on any album, so it's a worthwhile addition to the collection. "Fly on the Windscreen" is an earlier recording than the one released on Black Celebration, but hell if I can tell any difference!

"Black Celebration" (2 copies, domestic & import versions)

1. "Black Celebration" (4:55)
2. "Fly on the Windscreen--Final" (5:18)
3. "A Question of Lust" (4:20)
4. "Sometimes" (1:53)
5. "It Doesn't Matter Two" (2:50)
6. "A Question of Time" (4:10)
7. "Stripped" (4:16)
8. "Here is the House" (4:15)
9. "World Full of Nothing" (2:50)
10. "Dressed in Black" (2:32)
11. "New Dress" (3:42)
12. "But Not Tonight"--domestic version only (4:15)
    "Breathing in Fumes--instrumental, import version only (6:07)
13. "But Not Tonight"--extended remix, import version only (5:13)
14. "Black Day"--import version only (2:36)

The BEST of all Depeche Mode's albums, extremely nihilistic, both musically and lyrically: "Let's have a Black Celebration/Black Celebration tonight/To celebrate the fact that we've seen the back of another black day..." I love it! "Your optimistic eyes seem like paradise to someone like me..." "Fly on the Windscreen" also speaks directly to my heart: "Death is everywhere/There are flies on the windscreen for a start/Reminding us we could be torn apart..." Geez I might as well post the full lyric sheet and be done with it, huh? But I won't!! Ha! The band World of Silence covers the title track on A Black Mark Tribute 2.

Recently bought an import version of this CD with two extra songs, however it replaces "But Not Tonight" with an extended mix of the song...not that I'm complaining, I just have to hold on to both copies, that's all.

"Music for the Masses"

1. "Never Let Me Down Again" (4:47)
2. "The Things You Said" (4:02)
3. "Strangelove" (4:55)
4. "Sacred" (4:49)
5. "Little 15" (4:18)
6. "Behind the Wheel" (5:18)
7. "I Want You Now" (3:44)
8. "To Have and to Hold" (2:51)
9. "Nothing" (4:18)
10. "Pimpf"--instrumental (5:25)
11. "Agent Orange" (5:05)
12. "Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" (4:57)
13. "To Have and to Hold (Spanish Taster)" (2:36)
14. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" (5:35)

One of the more progressive-sounding D-Mode CD's, especially on the songs "Strangelove" and "To Have and to Hold". It's unusual but still a good piece of work. "Behind the Wheel" has a great dance riff.

"Violator"

1. "World in My Eyes" (4:26)
2. "Sweetest Perfection" (4:44)
3. "Personal Jesus" (4:56)
4. "Halo" (4:30)
5. "Waiting for the Night" (6:07)
6. "Enjoy the Silence" (6:13)
7. "Policy of Truth" (4:55)
8. "Blue Dress" (5:42)
9. "Clean" (5:29)

They just can't give up on the butt-shaking riffs, can they? "Personal Jesus" is one of my all-time faves, and so are "World in My Eyes", "Policy of Truth", "Halo", "Enjoy the Silence"...well you get my point. Another fine CD from a fine band!

"Songs of Faith and Devotion"

1. "I Feel You" (4:36)
2. "Walking in My Shoes" (5:35)
3. "Condemnation" (3:20)
4. "Mercy in You" (4:18)
5. "Judas" (5:15)
6. "In Your Room" (6:26)
7. "Get Right with Me" (3:53)
8. "Rush" (4:38)
9. "One Caress" (3:33)
10. "Higher Love" (5:57)

This is the one where they decided to use regular instruments instead of only synthesizers. Well, it was a nice experiment, and "I Feel You" is an insta-classic (and sounds TOTALLY un-Depeche-Modeish!), but the rest is, well, kinda lame. Oh yeah, one day I was in the CD store with my mother and she pointed this one out to me, thinking it was Christian music! It didn't take her long to look over the CD further and realize her mistake...

"Ultra"

1. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:35)
2. "The Love Thieves" (6:34)
3. "Home" (5:42)
4. "It's No Good" (5:58)
5. "Uselink"--instrumental (2:21)
6. "Useless" (5:12)
7. "Sister of Might" (6:04)
8. "Jazz Thieves"--instrumental (2:54)
9. "Freestate" (6:43)
10. "The Bottom Line" (4:26)
11. "Insight" (5:00)
12. "Painkiller (edit)"--instrumental, unlisted (2:09)

Loooooooong time between albums here...and it really wasn't worth the wait. The techno/synth sound once again predominates, but sounds more like a mishmash of everything they've done in the past. ("Barrel of a Gun", in particular, is TERRIBLY overproduced.) Ironically, the only fresh-sounding tracks are the ones with a smattering of real guitar ("Useless" is one, can't remember the second one) -- but overall, nothing here "reaches out and grabs you" like their earlier music always did. Disappointing. :-(

"Synthie Pop Over Barcelona" (2CDR; 10/16/98, Palau San Jordi, Barcelona, Spain)

Excellent audience recording of this 1998 live show in Spain -- the sound is a little thin, but I guess that's just what electronica music sounds like in concert. My only real complaint is that they concentrate almost exclusively on the newer material, including a few crap songs from their last two crap albums. (At least the vintage bonus tracks make up for that.) NOTE: I am not actively seeking any more DM bootlegs...I only have this because one person practically twisted my arm to accept it. :)

"Life in the So-Called Space Age" (bootleg CDR)

1. "Fools" (4:15)
2. "In Your Memory" (4:02)
3. "(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me" (4:12)
4. "Black Day" (2:37)
5. "Christmas Island"--instrumental (5:50)
6. "Route 66" (4:07)
7. "St. Jarna"--instrumental (4:20)
8. "Dangerous" (4:20)
9. "Sibeling"--instrumental (3:15)
10. "Memphisto"--instrumental (4:03)
11. "Kaleid"--instrumental (4:16)
12. "Sea of Sin" (4:41)
13. "Happiest Girl" (4:56)
14. "Death's Door" (3:51)
15. "Headstar"--instrumental (4:20)
16. "Surrender" (6:15)
17. "Down in the Boondocks" (2:50)

This wonderful item came about when I was browsing through Jase's CD Collection, and saw that he had created his own "homemade bootleg" of numerous Depeche Mode b-sides (so he wouldn't have to keep switching discs to listen to them all.) On a whim, I wrote him asking if he could make me a copy, and wouldn't you know it, he agreed....I gotta admit, Jason did a fine job on this collection, there's only 4 or 5 b-sides that aren't included (mostly from MFTM and Ultra singles.) "Route 66", by the way, was written by that guy who played Dr. Early on Emergency! (he also died recently -- I guess Squad 51 didn't respond fast enough??) Probably the most interesting...and rarest...track on here is "Down in the Boondocks", an unreleased solo number by Martin L. Gore, which was actually taken from an mp3 and not CD.

"Exciter"

1. "Dream On" (4:19)
2. "Shine" (5:32)
3. "The Sweetest Condition" (3:42)
4. "When the Body Speaks" (6:01)
5. "The Dead of Night" (4:50)
6. "Lovetheme"--instrumental (2:02)
7. "Freelove" (6:10)
8. "Comatose" (3:24)
9. "I Feel Loved" (4:20)
10. "Breathe" (5:17)
11. "Easy Tiger"--instrumental (2:05)
12. "I Am You" (5:10)
13. "Goodnight Lovers" (3:48)

After two loud, overproduced albums, the band follows up with one of the quietest albums of their career. Actually, "boring" would be more like it. "Dream On" starts things off with a pretty tune, but quickly after that it becomes one big snoozefest. Only "Dead of Night" and "I Feel Loved" have any sort of OOMPH to them (and by the way, doesn't it seem like they're re-using song titles here? "Sweetest Condition" = "Sweetest Perfection", "I Feel Loved" = "I Feel You"...what's up with that?) Copies of this were sitting in the used bins for over two years before I finally picked one up, and I still feel like I acted too soon. Truly, Exciter is nothing to get excited about.

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