Depeche Mode - Spirit

[BlixaFan]

is anyone else digging this one as much as me?
granted, i'm a big depeche fan, but i'm one of those unconventional ones, where i like all the later stuff, starting in the 90s, and Playing The Angel is the album that got me started with them. so basically i'm not part of the "bring Alan back camp"
I liked about half of SOTU, and really liked Delta Machine (use lots of noisy modular synths and i'll love it), but man, they nailed it with Spirit. I am loving it. A great mix of melody, modular synth noises, Martin's harmonies, and pretty much everything is dark and bleak.

[soggy mittens]

i JUST saw this and the review made it sound bleak and difficult but shall give it a spin.

[BlixaFan]

bleak in the best way though

[dinosaurkale->]

i'll give it a try...might buy tix for their upcoming tour..last time i saw them was 1993 !

[spacecadet]

I'll try it, mostly because I'm starting to wonder if I've abandoned a lot of the bands I used to like too soon. Most of them are still around, so somebody must still like them.

I kinda thought DM had a parabolic curve of a career and they'd be gone by now. The fact that they're not and are in fact still selling out arenas makes me think that maybe it's time I revisit (or just "visit") some of their more recent output.

I'm honestly surprised to see any love for them here, though. I would have thought they'd be kind of derided by most of the people here. At least when I used to listen to them, they weren't exactly a guitar based band.

[Telliot]

I grew up loving DM from the their first albums. The departure of Vince Clark seemed like it was the end of the band when it happened, but they became so much stronger with Martin Gore as the key songwriter and Alan Wilder as the main musical force. It became hard for me to listen to them after Songs Of Faith And Devotion. When Alan left I felt he took so much with him, and (in my humble opinion, of course) they never quite recovered from it. I think Martin needs that other person with a strong musical voice to keep him moving forward. His lyrics feel a bit rehashed and they seem to be struggling to find their voice again. I realize they still sell out arenas and people buy their albums, and that's all fair enough. Every time they release a new album I try and give it a fair go, but I'm always left feeling uninspired and suspect maybe it's because they feel that way too. Andy is basically their manager and was never much of a contributor, musically speaking, which means it's mostly down to Martin, Dave, and whichever producer they hire to do it all. The fact they used to do their bits and go to the bar while Alan stayed behind to try and make it all work presumably means there really is a gap in Martin's education, or at least there was. Maybe he's gotten better at poring over the minutiae — but famously it's never been his strong suit. Anyway, the album isn't out in the US yet, but I'm very much looking forward to hearing it.

[spacecadet]

I suppose it was with Wilder's departure that I sort of lost interest myself, though I don't remember if I realized why at the time. It was more than 20 years ago now, and stuff like that is the first kind of thing that fades in memory. I do remember "Songs of Faith and Devotion" being the last album I really listened to extensively. "Ultra" was just missing something, and I guess that was Wilder, although there were still some good songs on it. I just never bothered with anything after that.

I'll try "Spirit", though; hopefully Martin's grown as a musician over the years and found his own voice.

[budda12ax7]

Had no idea they were still around, will check it out.

[MKR]

i thought playing the angel was a true return to form and the best post alan DM album.

Don't know how compelled i am to listen to the spirit, but there's been enough positive reviews floating around that make me want to give it an ear.

[BlixaFan]

i thought playing the angel was a true return to form and the best post alan DM album.

Don't know how compelled i am to listen to the spirit, but there's been enough positive reviews floating around that make me want to give it an ear.

i think if you liked PTA (which i loved, and got me interested in Depeche in the first place), then I would recommend giving this one a listen.

[egosheep]

I'm mostly a fan of their stuff with Alan, but I'd still love to see them live.

[RuffiansFC]

I got into DM around Songs of Faith. My wife is a huge DM mark, getting into them around Exciter. Delta Machine was not a favorite of mine, but just about everything they have done does it for me. Ultra gets overlooked a lot, granted it grew on me over time. PTA is my favorite DM album outside of Violator and Music for the Masses.

I've heard a few snippets from the new album online, but I haven't had the breathing room to really sit down and listen to an album without distraction. I may have to save it for my flight to NYC this weekend. It comes out officially on the 17th, right?

[MKR]

for the record i will just say that DM were the band of my youth. My first proper musical purchase was a tape of depeche mode 101 on a trip to poland when i was 13 years old. My older cousins were listening to DM non stop at the time and it got into my young head too (holy shit that band was massive in the eastern block at the time). a few days later while in prague my parents bought me a copy of Violator on CD (mute czekoslovakia pressing). This was back in 1990.

They were my first concert experience (devotional tour) and yeah at one point i owned just about everything. As time went on my tastes expanded, but i will always have love for depeche mode even if i don't think some of their more recent releases have been all that great. they were a pretty big part of my growing up in an artistic sense and probably more.

this winter my daughter has been taking snowboard lessons and the drive is about an hour. Each drive back has involved DM 101 and it's been really fun reconnecting with that live album. Such a great long drive record.

[Telliot]

^^^ Fun Fact: I was at that 101 show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. I was 16 and it was my first real concert. OMD and Thomas Dolby opened for them, and by the time DM went onstage, most everyone was sunburnt and dehydrated from being out in the open all day dressed in all black. Fucking great day.

I've just done my first run-through on Spirit, and I'm afraid I feel that same sort of lackluster energy I mentioned above. I really want to like these albums, they just don't seem to possess any of the creativity or inspiration of their earlier albums. Maybe it will grow on me; I'll definitely try and give it an honest go.

[MKR]

^^^ Fun Fact: I was at that 101 show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. I was 16 and it was my first real concert. OMD and Thomas Dolby opened for them, and by the time DM went onstage, most everyone was sunburnt and dehydrated from being out in the open all day dressed in all black. Fucking great day.

I've just done my first run-through on Spirit, and I'm afraid I feel that same sort of lackluster energy I mentioned above. I really want to like these albums, they just don't seem to possess any of the creativity or inspiration of their earlier albums. Maybe it will grow on me; I'll definitely try and give it an honest go.

do you still have your concert shirt? one of the more iconic concert t shirts of its era.

btw. since this is a DM thread, i really wish they would re-release the world we live in, live in hamburg. Either on DVD/blueray or as an audio release. such an awesome live album and those early 80s songs sound great great great in this performance. stuff like leave in silence, 2 minute warning, new life, lie to me. most of the songs sound better on this than the studio versions in my opinion.