For The Masses (A Tribute To Depeche Mode) - Various Artists

Advantages: Some great tracks. Hangs together as a coherent whole.
Disadvantages: Some of the songs lack lyrical depth.

...INTRODUCTION If Black Celebration started my love affair with Depeche Mode (DM), then 1987?s Music for the Masses (MFTM) marked the consummation of what was to become a lifelong relationship. I was a bright, but nerdy kid, meaning I started university at a the tender age of seventeen. DM?s previous effort, the seminal and direction-changing Black Celebration was the musical lifeboat that helped me navigate the jock-infested waters of High School USA. The release of MFTM on the other hand, coincided with my voyage of self-discovery. Having cut the apron strings and moved on to a college 150 miles from home in upstate New York, I was truly independent for the first time in my life ? away from the cosseting and watchful eyes of my parents. Here, my aim was not merely to survive, but to push on and find out who I was and who I... Read review

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Advantages: A musical and lyrical tour de force. The zenith of DM's musical development.
Disadvantages: None to speak of.

...INTRODUCTION Having written Music for the Masses and completed a massive world-wide tour, it was three years before Depeche Mode (DM) found the energy to put together their next studio effort. Having been spoiled by the relatively short gap between the watershed Black Celebration (1986) and Music for the Masses (1987) the wait seemed like veritable torture to their legion of fans ? me included. Fortunately, they produced an album of craft and character that rewarded their devoted followers. If the language I use seems to have faintly religious connotations, it?s because with Violator ? Depeche Mode arguably reached the height of their main stream popularity. Their most successful single from the album ?Enjoy the Silence? even won ?Best Single? at the 1991 Brit Awards ? a level of success in the UK that the band had never achieved... Read review

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Advantages: A brilliant, if slightly flawed, return to form worth the four year wait
Disadvantages: A couple of tracks fail to excite

...MUSINGS FOR THE MASSES First of all a confession. I am a dyed in the wool Depeche Mode (DM) fan, and have been since I first listened to Some Great Reward in 1984 - the album that featured the hit international single ?People Are People? and announced DM?s arrival to the wider public. I could probably string together entire conversations consisting of DM lyrics, and am sad enough to admit that me, and my cousin ? a fellow devotee, have done so on one or two less than sober occasions. At least three DM albums would make my top ten desert island discs. As such, this review must come with a word of warning. I will try my very best to be as non-biased as possible, but as one of the masses who treats each DM album release as a quasi-religious event, I know in my bones I am fighting a valiant, but ultimate losing battle for objectivity... Read review

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