Depeche Mode – Music For The Masses

Approximately 15% of these discs have 3 bad samples at 61:10:13 (track 14, 3:58:73). The error is minor and completely inaudible, nothing to worry about. I just mention it for people who, when ripping their CD, may be wondering why the CUETools and AccurateRip databases indicate that so many people didn't match that track.

Some bands impact at the onset of their career and thereafter struggle to sustain that first burst of creativity, while others take their sweet time to figure out how to extend flashes of brilliance across an entire album. Depeche Mode is one such band. Initially part of the burgeoning UK synth-pop and new wave scene, they broke into the mainstream with their infectious debut single, at which point their leader and primary melodist Vince Clarke quit. Undeterred, the remaining continued their ascent as the poster boys for synth-pop, making their presence felt in pop music rags, on radio, TOTP, MTV and most importantly, the charts. After a spell in post-Clarke musical stasis, an unfettered industrial influence, taboo subject matter and intimate introspection surfaced in their most sonically intricate and ambitious smash singles and album cuts. Yes, without much fanfare or outcry, Depeche Mode tastefully changed their approach after their second album, but in 1984, a controversial appearance on morning TV performing "Master and Servant" saw them exploit their lingering teenybopper image to publicize their sharper yet starker sound, evolving gifts and expanding musical vocabulary. Indeed, the band is now recognised as pioneers of electronic music for such acts of defiance, but it was not common for major bands to do what they did at the time, i.e. abandon chart-friendly poppiness for edgy experimentation. Akin to U2, Depeche Mode began to capably reproduce their repertoire live and subsequently sought to capture this huge sound in the studio. Finally breaking free of the superficial, tinny techno-pop confections that made them a household name in 1981, the band’s less detached latest material would prove to be their most successful, bringing them greater commercial success, artistic prominence and global recognition.

Indubitably, main composer/songwriter Martin L. Gore's gradual prominence and command over the band facilitated their transition from squeaky-clean pin-ups to hedonistic headliners, and never was this sea change more evident than on "Music for the Masses", their inaptly-named sixth album. "Music for the Masses" continued the obsessive, sadomasochistic and cynical lyricism of their most recent turnout, albeit in a more articulate and catchy manner, with Dave Gahan's delivery at once sombre and sexy. In line with Gore taking the band's sound in a confrontational yet minimalist direction, nothing herein is overly commercial in the conventional sense, with only "Strangelove", "Behind the Wheel", and "Never Let Me Down Again" being sufficiently light and pop-toned to engage fans new and old, hence why they were released as singles. Since Gore's message is not as simple as it used to be, and far less political or romantic, with religion and sex taking precedence as per Gahan's full-throated baritone, he is required to take over lead vocal duties when the tone of the song calls for it. For example, "The Things You Said" and "I Want You Now", both ballads, are better suited to Gore's undramatic tenor voice. Small guitar parts also make an appearance to add some depth, soul and sparkle to the rather mechanical skilful polish of the electronic instrumentation, a pattern that would bear full fruit much later.

Stadium-scaled 1990 output aside, Depeche Mode's mid-to-late '80s career was marked by a wider soundstage and the use of live instruments instead of samples. So convincing was this sparse dispensation of rock elements that it eventually led to the band breaking the US, where alternative styles of pop and rock music were becoming increasingly popular. Following several years of largely unfocused yet sincere and winsome devising and execution, Depeche Mode finally soared: fully practiced, harmonized and galvanized, they found their milieu and made some of their best music during this transitional period. Of course, as with all imperial phases, it was ephemeral, but it was great while it lasted, especially when the sinister atmosphere and understated intensity of this era was expanded by a more rounded concept and anthemic spirit such as herein. Aided by self-assured song-writing, interplay and equal participation of all , brighter and fuller production and a suitably dark tonal narrative, “Music for the Masses” plays like a slightly kinky, magnificently moody midnight movie that you never want to end.

RATING: 5/5

I'm missing some pages from booklet...anyone else has same experience?