Condition: New
Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel
Label: Mute, Mute Records Ltd., Mute
Catalog#: stumm260, stumm260, 0094634020114
Format:
2 Χ Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold
New
Country: Europe
Released: 17 Oct 2005
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Tracklist
A1 A Pain That I'm Used To
A2 John The Revelator
A3 Suffer Well
B1The Sinner In Me
B2 Precious
B3 Macro
C1 I Want It All
C2 Nothing's Impossible
C3 Introspectre
C4 Damaged People
D1 Lilian
D2 The Darkest Star
Piano Dave McCracken
Credits
Engineer Ben Hillier, Richard Morris
Management Jonathan Kessler
Mastered By Emily Lazar
Mixed By Ben Hillier, Steve Fitzmaurice
Producer Ben Hillier
Notes
The booklet mistakenly credits Dave McCracken as the piano player in "I Want It All". However, there is no piano in "I Want It All". He really should be credited for the piano in "The Darkest Star."
Depeche Mode - Precious
It's about Martins kids, he and his wife split up. It's sad.
Depeche Mode - John The Revelator (Festwiese Leipzig 2006)
Awesome! Totally awesome
Depeche Mode - John The Revelator
I think the song was obviously referring to the fact that John of Revelation was making up a false story of gloom, doom and judgement. I think MG was saying this is not what God is about!
1) "A Pain That I'm Used To" - A great intro track with definite NIN influence. Soft, dark, electronic beats that explode into a cacophony of loud guitars at the chorus. I heard this is going to be the second single.
2) "John The Revelator" - Influenced by a classic gospel track of the same name, this would have fit beautifully on Songs of Faith & Devotion. A heavy electro beat with Dave's preachy, aggressive vocals and a gospel choir that joins in at the chorus. My immediate favorite. I really hope this one becomes a single.
3) "Suffer Well" - The first of three songs written by Dave Gahan instead of Martin Gore (a first for DM). More than worthy of the Depeche Mode moniker, this is another favorite of mine. It's fast and catchy and very reminiscent of old-school pre-Violator DM. Reminds me of "Behind The Wheel."
4) "The Sinner In Me" - Another NIN-esque track. Dark and moody. Awesome synth line. I love it.
5) "Precious" - The first single. Also reminiscent of older DM - a very catchy song with a nice beat, a cool guitar part, and Dave's smooth vocals. For some reason I like this song a lot better within the context of the whole album. A very worthy first single. Many are saying it's one of the best singles of their career. I can't argue with that.
6) "Macro" - The first of the obligatory Martin Gore ballads. This is actually one of my favorites of his. The verses are kind of odd (which is typical of Gore), but I absolutely love the chorus ("see the microcosm in macrovision / our bodies moving with pure precision / one universal celebration / one evolution, one creation"). Severely underrated.
7) "I Want It All" - The next of the Gahan-penned tracks. It's strange and floaty and quite different from a typical DM song, but really good nonetheless. The beat is similar to Bjork's "All Is Full of Love" (which is one of my favorite songs, by the way).
8) "Nothing's Impossible" - The last of the Gahan-penned tracks, and definitely my least favorite of the three. It has an old-school feel, but Dave's vocals are a bit odd and monotone. It's not one of my favorites, but it's grown on me significantly and now I like it quite a bit.
9) "Introspectre" - A creepy little instrumental interlude. Could have been pulled right off of Radiohead's Kid A. There's not much to it. Eerie sound effects among minimal electronics.
10) "Damaged People" - The other Gore ballad. Slow, slightly creepy circus music with Gore's odd vocals. This has grown on me a lot, too, but is definitely one of the weakest tracks.
11) "Lilian" - An awesome, retro-sounding, fast-paced, catchy song about some spoiled, sadistic woman who likes to break hearts for fun. The sound is not stereotypical of DM, though, and I can't put a finger on why.
12) "The Darkest Star" - Another somewhat creepy slow song that's probably the darkest on the album. I didn't care much for it at first, but now I love it.
Since the release of Ultra, it's been my favorite DM album (even though many fans disliked it for some reason), followed very closely by Violator and Songs of Faith & Devotion. Critics keep saying Playing The Angel is their best since Violator. I really think, though, that it has risen up to possibly be their greatest masterpiece yet. Only time will tell if I feel the same way down the road, but right now that's where I stand. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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