Depeche Mode? WRONG!
Posted: 23/02/2009 - 19:18
Hehehe thats half the storyTonka wrote:Bloody hell - Analog's a Depeche Mode encyclopedia!
So far the Rumors are $86 U.S.Tonka wrote:Look like a nice set, though knowing Mute of late it's probably going to cost approx 3 kidney's...
WRONG! (Muhhahahahahaaa)!!!CraigG wrote:Hmm. The more I hear the track, the more it sounds like something 'extra' from Black Celebration. Certainly not a patch on the band's best singles, and a continuation of the 'gap' evident since Wilder quit. As for that video, it's not terrible, but it totally lacks atmosphere. A shame the band's partnership with Corbijn is less total these days—now, that's the guy to make your video.
Maybe, but then he did have some range and some of the concepts were excellent, such as Useless and It's No Good.Tonka wrote:And don't you think the whole Corbijn thing has run its course now?
Just the way it felt. It just comes across as dated, and yet it lacks any of the punch of the 1990s stuff, thereby placing it alongside that slightly earlier period (at least the dreary element) to my ears. I think Wrong would be a perfectly good album track but as a single it's a bit "bwuh?" for me. Even on Exciter, Dream On was an exciting first thing to hear (a shame the rest didn't match up), and think of other first singles: Personal Jesus, I Feel You, Barrel of a Gun. Gritty, hard-hitting, but also with melody, hooks and atmosphere. Wrong just feels... wrong. I dunno... maybe I've just moved in a different direction and DM is now part of my 'musical past' or something.I cannot see any connection in lyrical style, melody or even production to anything around the time of Black Celebration. Are you thinking of any track in particular?
I guess it's horses for courses. I thought the band consistently improved from BC through to SOFAD, with that album and Violator being the peak. Ultra had its moments, but ultimately disappointed me. I thought Exciter was dreadful, and although PTA as an EP could have been a return to form of sorts, it ran out of steam after Precious, with the exception of Lilian.Finally, whilst I appreciate what Wilder did for DM, I do believe they went off the boil post Violator anyway (SOFAD being my least played DM album - I almost took it back when I bought it), so I'm not really sure about the 'gap' thing, either.
Production, arrangement and engineering is what made Depeche Mode the band it became, and it's pretty clear why Wilder felt so pissed off. Listen to the dreary Harmonium mix of Enjoy the Silence and compare to what it became—a towering pop song. The former is Gore, and the latter is largely Wilder. Since the chords and lyrics didn't change, Wilder got little 'credit' for that, but that's the kind of thing that seemed to happen with that band: Gore would write, Wilder would mould, Gahan would sing and Fletcher would, er, do the accounts and 'manage'. Wilder leaves and the band suddenly has a process that stops inside the band with rough demos. Although producers can fill the void to some extent, that still leaves a missing link between demos and final results. The band's argument during an interview I saw was that Wilder was 'replaced' by a team of people, but that team constantly changes and hasn't produced results that sound particularly amazing to my ears.Alan's Recoil stuff has been constantly poor, safely putting to bed any ideas that he may have been anything more than a handy on-site producer for the band. Creatively, it's always been Martin
My understanding is Gahan provides some lyrics, but 'his' songs are the product of a writing team, hence them also being credit to Eigner and Phillpott. I find that a bit odd in a band. After all, it's not like the Cure has a bunch of tracks written by Simon Gallup and some of his mates, rather than just the band itself.(though I understand Dave has been co-writing with this album).
LOL! Don't forget the all important 'waving arms frantically' at live shows.CraigG wrote: Fletcher would, er, do the accounts and 'manage'.