Customer Reviews

Depeche Mode - Devotional

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is Depeche Mode the way they should be seen. Filmed by Anton Corbijn over several nights of their 1993-94 DEVOTIONAL TOUR (listed by Q Magazine as "the most debauched rock tour ever"), the final product is an almost dreamlike chronicle of Depeche Mode at the absolute peak of their influential creative talents. Musically, the song selection is on-target, the arrangements are tight & rockin', and frontman Dave Gahan is at his over-the-top best and surrounded by Anton Corbijn's opulent stage set and surreal visuals. Accordingly, after this film's VHS release, it was nominated for "Best Longform Music Video" at the 1994 Grammy Awards. The extras on the DVD set include two previously unseen excerpts from the performance ("Policy Of Truth" and "Halo"), the tracks that were only released on the European versions of the film ("Behind The Wheel," "Mercy In You," "Fly On The Windscreen" and "Everything Counts"), the music videos from SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION, the original concert projections used on the tour, and two relevant documentaries. At any rate, without bias, this video is truly one of the best live performance documentaries that are out there. It captures a band in top form, an audience in almost trance-like devotion, and, thanks to Anton Corbijn, the film is dripping with color and, at times, in hazy focus...much the way you'd remember the show if you had been there. Recommended to all.

Yeah, the video footage is wierd even for them, and Dave was approaching walking pharmacy status at this point, but close your eyes and listen: you'll find that this is the best 90 minutes of music Depeche Mode has ever performed. I'll just touch on a few highlights:

1. Everything Counts - While I never considered it among their best songs BEFORE hearing this show, the version on here ranks as 4 of the best minutes of music I've ever heard. They seem to have added a darker synth harmony to it which, combined with "In Your Room" style drum and bass lines, make the song extremely haunting. It BURIES the 101 version.
2. In Your Room - They actually perform the album version here. Typically, they perform the single version, with Martin playing that noisy grunge guitar part. Not here!!! They do the album version, complete with the Enigma style synth solo in the middle. Love it.
3. Walking in My Shoes - The backbeat starts, there's a guy walking around wearing a giant duck's beak on his face being projected onto the screens behind the band, and this intense little synth line plays and actually makes a skipping sound just before the main piano riff launches you into the song. That decending line returns just before the song ends, and carries the intensity of the tune into the outro. Going back and listening to the album version will be painful after this treat.
4. Both Judas and I Feel You feature Floyd-esque video footage which somehow fit the songs better than anything MTV could have handled. The former showing candles melting in reverse, and the latter showing Dave in various poses, occasionally going haywire and fuzzing out during the noisy parts of the songs intro.
5. The intro. WOW. Imagine the most original rock concert intro you've ever seen. This'll top it.

Forget Paris 01. Forget Pasadena 88. THIS is the Depeche Mode concert to own. Like I said: it's the best 90 minutes of their entire career.

I saw Depeche Mode live in Copenhagen in 2001, and I was quite dissapointed in their performance back then. The Paris 2001 DVD wasn't much better - Dave's voice simply wasn't as good as it had been (not to mention that the Exciter material wasn't the best the band had done). This concert, however, is superb - Dave's vocal performance is really amazing, and the full band is at their best.

The set-list is great, featuring a nice ballance of newer songs from the Faith and Devotion album, mixed with old classics. Of course we'll all have some favorites which we would have liked to see included (I, personally, sorely miss One Caress and Strangelove, and would have preferred A Question Of Lust rather than Stripped or Behind The Wheel, but that's a detail). The song arrangement is great, and the song order works very well, even though I was quite supprised to find the song Fly On The Windscreen in the encore - I'm only a casual DM fan, and have never heard this song before - and found it very dull - so I think it would have been much better to either leave out this track or place it earlier in the setlist, and take in a greater hit in the encore.

The sound is great, and makes the music a real pleassure to listen to. Also, the sound editing is fine.

As to the visuals - the filming is a bit dark, but this is done intentionally to emphasize the visuals on the 9 smaller screens along the seperation of the upper and lower level of the stage, and this works great. Even though the lighting from the lights over the stage is limited, the overall visual result is great, and fully captures the live atmosphere. The somewhat unusual stage layout also works very well in my oppinion, and I think it's a pity that they discarded this one the second leg of the tour.

As to the extras, I think they are great. The two extra songs from the set ARE on disc 1 in my region 2 version of this release - I'd like to have them re-edited back into the set, but they haven't done that. The documentary and the interview with Antoni Corbijn are very interesting. The promotional videos are nice extras, even if they have been released elsewhere.


All in all, this is a release everybody with some interest in DM should own - it features the band at their very best, and is among the strongest live recordings I own.

Rating: 10/10

I highly recommend this dvd. I owned this same concert on VHS video for several years and so I was excited to see it come out on DVD. However, when I read some of the other reviews here about "grainy" video, I held off. Finally I bought it and I am 100% happy with it, and I don't understand what this talk of "graininess" is all about. I find the video to be very sharp and clear, and better than the VHS video. But the DVD also includes a number of extra features - such as an MTV special with interviews with DM, and the original video that is on the screens.

I think this concert captures DM at their peak - and I saw them live in both 1988 at the Rose Bowl concert, and on the most recent Exciter tour and have the dvd's of those concerts too, so I can compare. And their series of videos for their individual songs is too abstract and boring for my tastes. THIS dvd from 92 or 93 is the one to have!

I have always believed that this film achieved the pinnacle of concert cinema, even rivaling Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense." Anton Corbijn's direction was totally meticulous, contemporary and cinematographic. As for the group, what can you say? Alan Wilder was always the true creative genius, and as fans know, "Songs of Faith and Devotion" (the material behind this film) was Wilder's experiment and his urgency basically broke up the band. This was Depeche Mode's last and best achievement. Also, Dave Gahan wasn't quite as nerdy as he's become in live performance now (yes, it's ironic).

OK, so here's the problem: The transfer sucks, and adding to the comments that the manufacturer didn't go back to the original prints for a quality transfer, the big problem here is one that should have expired years ago in the DVD world: It's not in anamorphic widescreen format. Rather, the full-screen image contains black bars on the top and the bottom.

What this means is that all modern televisions (i.e., HDTVs) will display the film as a small box inside their full, widescreen frames. Isn't that great? Good job, Mute (or whoever performed the transfer). The DVD is totally worthless, especially for the future.

First let me say I loved this dvd! This tour was the first that I'd ever seen the band live so - with repeated playings - this was a thrill for me to relive that.

Second this tour was when the band's original four members were still together. Making watching them play together more special for me.

Featuring many of my favorite songs and the crowd experience on "Never Let Me Down" I highly recommend this dvd.

I saw Depeche Mode a couple of times on the "Faith and Devotion" tour, and also bought the "Devotional" VHS when it came out all those years ago.

DVD1 of "Devotional" is a transfer of the original VHS movie, and the great improvement is of course the sound, which is exceptional. The performance of the band is outstanding, and the song selection rightly focuses on the "Faith and Devotion" album, but other nuggets include "World in My Eyes", "Never Let Me Down" and "Enjoy the Silence". DVD2 brings some extras which, frankly, I don't really care all that much for. I do wish that they had added the 2 bonus tracks (including a superb "Halo") on DVD1.

In retrospect, we can now say without much of a doubt that DM era-1993 was DM at its peak. Once you can over the fact that Dave Gahan desparately seeks street-cred (tattoos, long hair, etc.), you have to admit that his voice was better than ever. Adding live drums was a stroke of genius. The songs rocked. Last but not least the stage design by Anton Corbijn was superb. This is a thoroughly enjoyable DVD, and a must for any DM fan. Highly recommended.

I was hyped when I read about this release. I got it last night, and watched it all the way through. The good news: the sound is great, most of the songs use alternate arrangements ( or mixes, if you prefer ) which is a nice change from listening to the Faith and Devotion cd ( I especially like the revamped "Everything Counts", it has a funk, a grit, that it never had before ). The visuals are spare, they enhance but do not distract from the concert. Dave Gahan is in strong voice ( wailing like a bluesman, he sings the heck out of Condemnation, one of my all time favourites, unlike the newer version on the One Night in Paris dvd, where he croons Condemnation in a slow, more controlled, almost "lounge-act" kind of way .) Now the bad news : the "extras" one disc two are just not that special. The videos are most all available on "the Videos 86-98 +" DVD. The projections I can already see on the regular part of the concert on disc one. The interview with Anton Corbijn is of little or no consequence. The two bonus concert tracks should have been put on the first disc, where they belong. The only thing I really enjoyed is the documentary, although it is too short. I would have liked to have seen more behind the scenes things, like in the "101" DVD, but I didn't direct or put this film together, so griping about it is futile. And as I never had the original Devotional VHS, I cannot comment on other reviewers saying the film itself looks "grainy". A few minor gripes aside, this is an outstanding release, showcasing Depeche Mode at their performance peak.

I just purchased this DVD and I cannot believe I haven't bought this sooner.

I bought the Paris '01 DVD a few years ago. While the Paris DVD is good... Devotional absolutely BLOWS the Paris show out of the water. Dave sounds awesome on this DVD because he doesn't over-extend himself like he does on Paris. He just lets the sound flow... and he sounds great. The song selection on this disc is fabulous.


Higher Love - The best intro to any DM concert I have seen.

Behind the Wheel - The energy of the crowd when this song is played is something else.

Condemnation - I have found a new love for this song after hearing it live on this DVD. Dave hits every note perfectly. The version he did of this song on Paris PALES in comparison to this DVD.

Stripped - Best visuals for the entire concert during this song

I Feel You - The first time a drumset was introduced during a live DM concert was for this song. Hearing those live drums go off is a memory I will never forget

Rush - Another song that sounds much better live


The two bonus tracks of Halo and Policy of Truth are both excellent. I can't believe these were left off the original VHS.


I can't say enough of this DVD. The visual extras are real cool. The SOFAD videos are nice as well (even though I already had them with Singles 86>98 DVD).


Maybe I am a bit biased because the Devotional Tour was my first DM concert (I also saw Devotional Summer Leg, Exciter , and Touring the Angel tours).

But trust me when I say BUY THIS DVD!

I have been a depeche mode fan since the late 1980's and I must say that it was this tour and the album they were promoting that put the band at the peak of their career. Many will disagree with me,especially those in the Los Angeles area who attended the Rose Bowl show some few years earlier. Rock n Roll history will show that every time a batch of bands make it big during a certain decade,very few will survive going into the next decade when they are encountered by a swarm of young new bands and/or a new sound of music. The Stones survived when exiting the 1960's,Bruce Springsteen survived when exiting the 1970's,and Depeche mode survived when exiting the 1980's. By the time this tour took place,80's alternative music was replaced by the grunge sound and new non-american bands such as those from England were rare to find. Fortunately few 80's bands like Depeche Mode were still alive and keeping their fans happy. A few years ago,fans were asked on the Depeche Mode official website what Depeche Mode concert on vhs would you like to see on dvd,and the Devotional concert was voted number 1 by a landslide. It was about time they put it out. The setlist is one of the best among DM concerts on vhs or dvd. It features the best of the best of DM songs at the time,unlike the "live at Paris" dvd where the majority of songs were from the "Exciter" album and "Ultra" album,an album Dave Gahan said was his least favorite DM album (source...Blender magazine). This is also the DM dvd to get because it was the last tour to feature Alan Wilder who sadly decided it was time to leave following the end of the tour. It was also the first DM tour to feature the band with back-up singers. I must admit that the back-up singers used for both the singles and exciter tours were absolute horrible and useless but the ones used in this tour were excellent and used only for the necessary songs needed. I saw this show in Los Angeles in november of 1993 when they played not 1 or 2 ,but 5 shows at the Forum. To see this tour on vhs was great but to see it on Dvd with several extra songs not on the vhs version is far beyond great!! JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH!!!!!