A thread to talk about Depeche Mode's new album _Playing the Angel_

Or maybe I'm just cranky and it's just a song about DM wanting to take the world's sufferings on their shoulders.

"Freelove" if I'm not mistaken. I actually liked the singles from Exciter but never bought the album.

Nobody seems to be mentioning the beat much -- I find it deceptively understated and pretty damn relentless.

The idea of Gollum fronting Depeche amuses me. (Had Gahan kept on that would have come true, I think.)

what puts me off seeing them live again (and 90-93 we're talking about my favourite ever live band here pretty much) is the memory of dave gahan at glastonbury in 2004.(shudders).

-- piscesboy (piscesxx...), August 11th, 2005.

What is this memory? What happened?

YOU PEOPLE HAVE CLOTH EARS WTF THIS SONG IS FUCKING AWESOME

Gore's gone back to his Construction Time Again-era of melody writing with a dash of Ultra layered on top. The music itself is a smooth, danceable groove where the lower register synths burble along, the higher register synths ring out like bells (strong pizzicato atack followed by rounded delay) and the mid-range synths fill in all the gaps in a wash of awesomeness. For a track that's built on loungey components, it's surprisingly forthright and driving in execution. There are echoes of several past songs in the songwriting style (particularly "World In My Eyes"/"Enjoy The Silence" and "It's No Good") but it's definitely got its own identity; it certainly isn't as much of a departure from the DM sonic stereotype as "Dream On" was but it also isn't as obvious as their Some Great Reward singles.

I completely love it.

Definitely. I really noticed this second time listening to it.

i'm still not 100% sure about the actual *sound* they've used for the "ding-ding-ding-clang" bit, but that's probably partly down to the fact i'm listening to it on the powerbook speakers.

it reminds me of one of the tracks off "a broken frame".

ON THE SECOND LISTEN IT'S EVEN BETTER

wow. perhaps i should re-listen to exciter, just in case ...

I like the ding-ding-ding-clang bit. It has a nice digital filtery sound that contrasts well with the classic analog DM synth arpeggios underneath.

http://www.depechemode.com/news/gr/pta_cover_wm.jpg

I think they saw the cover to The Cure and said, "WE CAN TOP THAT".

rob/anyone: don't suppose you could re-YSI the toronto "everything counts", could you? :)

either way: fact is they sound absolutely astonishing. just incredible.

Last year was busy for Depeche Mode, and 2006 is shaping up to be just as busy, with a massive tour already booked, more shows being added all the time and... get this... another album!

Don't expect a full length album of new material, however. It's a compilation - a "Best Of" of sorts - that will be in stores in time for Xmas 2006. The "Best Of" will top off a year chuck full of Depeche Mode releases.

Simon Heyworth, a UK based mastering legend, is currently working on a complete remastering of Depeche Mode's entire album backcatalogue. These will be released in batches of three every few months beginning from March. Each disc will feature 5.1 remastered sound and as yet undisclosed bonus content.

As "Touring The Angel" draws to a close some time in August, the concert experience will be heading to stores on DVD. The live DVD is tentatively set for a September release. No word yet on whether the DVD will be accompanied by a CD release, but here's hoping it will.

The next single, "Suffer Well", will be with us as soon as February... featuring remixes by, amongst others, Alter Ego. The fourth single, "John The Revelator", should be with us by late April/early May.

Tentative release schedule:

February 20th:
Suffer Well (CDS, CDM, DVD Single)

March 2nd:
Speak & Spell (SACD)
Music For The Masses (SACD)
Violator (SACD)

April 13th:
A Broken Frame (SACD)
Construction Time Again (SACD)
Some Great Reward (SACD)

April/May:
John The Revelator (CDS, CDM, DVD single) TBC

June 15th
Black Celebration (SACD)
Songs Of Faith & Devotion (SACD)
Songs Of Faith & Devotion Live (SACD)

August 10th:
Ultra (SACD)
Exciter (SACD)

September 29th:
Playing The Angel Live (DVD - title not finalized)

November 2nd:
Best Of Depeche Mode (CD, DVD - title not finalized)

Very good news about the Playing the Angel Live DVD, of course, and nice to hear about the upcoming singles being what they are. :-) But I'd like to see what the bonus content turns out to be first for these remasters...

Oh, and I just noticed that the first batch of remasters comes out on my birthday, it seems. WHAT A GIFT. :-)

"Bonus Content" = B-SIDE COLLECTIONS, PERHAPS?

But! Forget B-sides, what if we get MARTIN'S ORIGINAL DEMOS? ;-)

---

Depeche Mode's two shows the weekend of February 18 at Milan's Filaforum were recorded for a live DVD that is expected to be released in September.

"We're quite excited, because the audience went absolutely bananas," drummer Andrew Fletcher told Billboard.com. "We did Paris (for the last DVD), and we thought we'd do Milan since we work there a lot, and it worked out really well."

The DVD was directed by Blue Leach, who has been traveling with the band since the start of the world tour in support of last year's "Playing the Angel" (Reprise). "He's been on the road with us so he seemed like the obvious choice," Fletcher said. "He's been doing loads of offstage stuff throughout the whole tour, so there will be all that too."

Depeche Mode is enjoying its most successful tour ever in Europe, which plays Paris Tuesday night (February 21) and runs through April 3 in London. A second North American leg kicks off April 27 outside San Francisco and includes a previously announced April 29 headlining appearance at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.

"We know how popular it is in the States, and I think the bill looks very interesting," Fletcher said of Coachella. "California is probably our biggest market in the States, so we're looking forward to that."

The subsequent tour is expected to include about 20 dates in North America, including a visit to Mexico. From there, Depeche Mode has more international shows on tap through August 3 in Tel Aviv, Israel. "We're absolutely huge in Israel, and we've never made it over there," Fletcher said. "When we just played in Prague, the Israeli fan club chartered a massive plane with 300-400 people to come over. That will be a really good place to finish."

Afterward, the band is considering shows in South America and Australia, but as Fletcher notes, "We have no plans further than that, apart from having a really good holiday!"

"Playing the Angel" has reinvigorated Depeche Mode's diehard fan base, having spawned the No. 1 Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart hit "Precious" as well as "A Pain That I'm Used To," which peaked at No. 6 on that tally. A new single, "Suffer Well," has just begun to make an impact on radio.

"We realize this album is more tuned in to playing live, more so than 'Exciter' or 'Ultra,"' Fletcher said. "People who have seen us say the new songs don't sound misplaced in the set list." Still, for the summer shows, Depeche Mode will "probably drop a couple of those and add in a couple of old hits."

And how are relations between Fletcher, Martin Gore and David Gahan at this stage of the oft-feuding band's career? "I think they have been good throughout the making of the album and it has sort of continued onwards," Fletcher said. "It's a very good time to be in Depeche Mode at the moment."

Robert Smith vs. Depeche Mode: FITE!

(April 1st?)

http://www.depechemodelive.com/

And why not?

http://depechemode.com/gr/splashes/sufferwell_video/14.jpg

Touring The Angel 2005/2006 - Pre-Show Music

After the opening act, but before the band take the stage, the venue has been filled with a special pre-show DJ set recorded by Martin. Due to numerous requests, here is the track listing of the mix set.

01 - "Vegetables" - Audion, SuckFish
02 - "Winter Green" - Lawrence, The Absence Of Blight
03 - "Rebird" - Metope, Kobol
04 - "Hot Sugar Candy Apple Taffy" - Heartthrob, Minimize to Maximize
05 - "Lost In Sound" - Alex Smoke, Incommunicado
06 - "Sinsentrikken Ut I 2 Spor" - Woody McBride, Demosessions May 2002
07 - "Cooling The Plasma" - Rene Breitbarth, With A Little Luck
08 - "33" - Metope, Kobol
09 - "Yak" - Motor, Sweatbox
10 - "The Dancing Box" - James T Cotton, The Dancing Box
11 - "An Army Of Watt" - T. Raumschmiere, Blitzkrieg Pop

"Touring The Angel: Live In Milan" live DCD/CD set due September 25th!
post date: June 28th, 2006 (updated July 18th, 2006)
DEPECHE MODE
Touring The Angel: Live in Milan
Double DVD & CD Set Released September 25th

"The most popular electronic band the world has ever known" - Q
"One of the greatest British pop groups of all time" - Sunday Telegraph

Depeche Mode's 'Touring The Angel' was one of the most successful, highly grossing and critically acclaimed tours of the last year. Hailed as the greatest live performances of their career, it can be re-lived from September 25th when it's released as a special edition 3-disc set, featuring the full-length live show and a host of exclusive extras on two DVDs and a live audio CD.

Directed by Blue Leach, who has previously worked with R.E.M, it was recorded at Milan's Fila Forum on February 18th and 19th 2006 and sees the band at their live best with a pulsing sound, electric stage presence and ecstatic audience.

"Touring the Angel was probably the most enjoyable, rewarding live show we've ever done", says Dave Gahan. "The new material was just waiting to be played live. It took on a life of its own. With the energy of the crowds, it just came to life"

"It had been four years since the last tour, so we were ready to take the album on the road" adds Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher. "For us, everything came together - it was one of our definitive live moments, especially as we got to perform older, equally special tracks."

The first DVD features over 20 stunning live songs, including the recent hit singles 'Precious', 'A Pain That I'm Used To', 'Suffer Well' and 'John The Revelator' plus the definitive 'Just Can't Get Enough', 'I Feel You', 'Enjoy The Silence' and many more.

DVD2 features a range of exclusive extras, including: two bonus live songs - 1986's smash-hit 'A Question of Lust' and 'Playing The Angel's 'Damaged People' - plus a 20-minute documentary featuring Anton Corbijn, who directed the video for 'Suffer Well' and created the tour's six stage screens, which also appear here.

"We worked with Anton Corbijn on the stage designs, which gave a continuity from the videos" adds Dave Gahan. "It was definitely felt like one of our strongest tours - both musically and visually"

Additionally, the DVD boasts the official tour announcement from Germany, summer 2005, and the previously unreleased 'Playing The Angel' electronic press kit. Meanwhile, the audio CD features over thirty minutes of stunning live tracks from the concert.

The European leg of the world tour followed 24 American dates and featured four UK shows - including two at London's Wembley Arena. It sold-out 69 arena dates throughout 30 countries, with 800,000 tickets sold in Europe alone, and was their first since 2001's 'Exciter', where they played to nearly two million people. In total, Depeche Mode played to 2.5 million people across 31 countries this year.

International sales of 'Playing The Angel' have surpassed two million, seeing them reach Number 1 in eighteen countries, plus Top Ten in the UK, US and Canada. The album has been certified multiple platinum and gold in 20 countries.

Depeche Mode are: Dave Gahan, Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher and Martin Gore.

THE DVD TRACKLISTING IS:
A Pain That I'm Used To
John The Revelator
A Question of Time
Policy of Truth
Precious
Walking In My Shoes
Suffer Well
Macro
Home
I Want It All
The Sinner In Me
I Feel You
Behind The Wheel
World In My Eyes
Personal Jesus
Enjoy The Silence
Shake The Disease
Just Can't Get Enough
Everything Counts
Never Let Me Down Again
Goodnight Lovers
PLUS
A Question of Lust
Damaged People

THE AUDIO TRACKLISTING IS:
A Pain That I'm Used To
John The Revelator
Precious
Suffer Well
Macro
I Want It All
The Sinner In Me
Damaged People

omg

Is it just me, or does "Precious" sound like it came straight off the Smashing Pumpkins' Adore album? Mind you that's a good thing, Adore is excellent and underrated (as is Playing the Angel).

_Adore_ and the solo album are Corgan's two biggest Depeche tributes so it's not surprising there's been a bit of back and forth. (See also the new album's "Fragile Tension" and, of course, "Perfect.")