Paper Monsters [ENHANCED] [IMPORT]

Dave Gahan

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: June 3, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Import
• Label: Japanese Import
• ASIN: B00008YJDD
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #332,358 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The solo debut of Depeche Mode frontman David Gahan has been a long time coming, so you'd expect the album to be brimming with messy ideas formulated while Gahan was forced to sing Vince Clarke and Martin Gore songs while his own were filed away. Yet Paper Monsters is not the wild work of someone newly liberated. These songs feel as if they were written over a short period, rather than plucked from 20-year-worth of unrecorded tunes. There are basically three types of track here: powerful Depeche-style glam ("Dirty Sticky Floors," "Bottle Living"); quiet, urban mood music ("A Little Piece," "Bitter Apple," "Stay"); and rumbling industrial tracks ("Black and Blue Again," "Hidden Houses," "Goodbye"). Lyrically autobiographical, songs deal with Gahan's trouble with relationships and intoxicants and, though they lack Gore's sense of drama and perversity, they do have a maudlin charm. --Dominic Wills

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hold on, you opened my eyes today, April 25, 2003

By	"fantasma_240" (Bs As) - See all my reviews

Well, who would have guessed? Dave Gahan made not only a fine fine album, but also one that easily overshadows his fellow bandmate's Counterfeit 2, and could rival Exciter any day.

Let me start saying that I love DM, I have all the albums, and most of the singles. BC, V, SOFAD and U, are in my view their best, and Exciter seemed okay, but a little worn out and uninspired. So I didn't think Counterfeit2 or Paper Monsters would be any better, but know I admit how wrong I was.

Paper Monsters brings back the freshness and sense of aventure DM used to have. I'll explain song by song:

1-DIRTY STICKY FLOOR: The radio-friendly hit. It sound a bir like DM in the SOFAD era, something between Rush and My Joy. A nice song, and good opener.
2-HOLD ON: So the question was "now what?" And here comes this gentle, soulful ballad. Somewhere between "The Love Thieves" and "Goodnight Lovers".
3-A LITTLE PIECE: Atmosphere! It is all about atmosphere! A really slow song, reminiscent of Higher Love, even In Your Room (SOFAD version).
4-BOTTLE LIVING: Rocking again. Dave plays harmonica in this bluesy tune. A reference in the DM catalogue is not easy, could be something of a "The Doors meets Depeche Mode".
5-BLACK AND BLUE AGAIN: A mid tempo, semi obscure song. A little bluesy too. The verse of Useless could be something to compare it to, but it is all Dave.
6-STAY: Great ballad! Remember when DM seemed to make songs like Waiting For The Night" effortlesly? Well this is it. A powerful, very emotional, fluid, touching song. Minimal arrangements, soulful singing.
7-I NEED YOU: Probably the only song that seems a bit rough, as if it still needed some arranging. This is the most danceable song in the album, with the kind of dry machine sound that DM used in Music For The Masses (Nothing, for example), but past the nineties.
8-BITTER APPLE: Ever heard the Beatles' White Album? There is a song in there titled "Goodnight", very much like this one. Dave sings over strings, and when he gets to the chorus, a strange but beautiful vocal arrange makes the song stand out.
9-HIDDEN HOUSES: The best song in the entire album. Again, remeber classical DM at their best? Think of Clean, something like that. This one is a song that would shine even among the best DM songs. Definitely, this is his crowning achievement.
10-GOODBYE: A rare, haunting atmospheric song. This is the one most difficult to get used to, but that is saying a good thing, because it's mistery requires you to dig deeper and deeper.

So, not only do I use URGE you to get this, but also, I think now it is the time for DM to open up and include one or two Dave Gahan songs in the next album. It is about time. Listen to this album and you will be thinking as I do. And wouldn't it be wonderful?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Depeche Mode-free Gahan delivers a one off, August 4, 2003

By	Get What We Give (Georgia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

David Gahan may be the voice of DP, but he isn't the soul and body of the group. This fact is apparent with Paper Monsters.

I don't want to perform a comparison between this album and those of Depeche Mode, but the fact of the matter is that is exactly what must take place.

Without a doubt, there would be no Depeche Mode if it were not for Martin Gore. He IS the body and soul of Depeche Mode to David Gahan's voice of the same. To further my simile, a voice without a body and soul could only be hollow - and that is what this album is - hollow.

Don't get me wrong - I'm an enormous DP fan. I'm a huge Gahan fan (I just wish he'd get his personal life sorted out). But, I've long since acknowledged that blind alliance is a futile effort in any endeavor.

The songs in Paper Monsters are flat, even with Gahan's rich voice. The orchestrations are not full; and lyrically there is no variation in them. For these, it seems, we are in need of Martin Gore.

I don't dislike Paper Monsters, I just don't like it as much as I would like to. However, it's still new and I haven't really digested the whole thing at once (I've found this to often be necessary with later DP albums). I loved Violator from start to finish from the moment I heard it, then when Songs of Faith and Devotion came out, it took me a while to learn to like it. The same happened with Ultra. That's because each time DP cranks out an album it sounds just a bit different. They are a cutting edge group and have been since their inception. If the group's name was any indication (Depeche Mode is french for "fast fashion"), then they have given us what they promise.

If he is following under that mandate, then Gahan is certainly making the appropriate strides. However, I don't think this is an intentional transformation. I think that Gahan has created an album that is his own - and frankly it's just not as good as it could/should be.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Days long gone..., May 18, 2003

By	emk "the one and only" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Save for the Welsh band Melys's release of Casting Off Pearls, I haven't been excited about music in quite a while. Then comes along Dave Gahan with this beautifully pieced album. It's kind of wonderful. The song that really hooked me is Bitter Apple. "If I close my eyes.. you're mine tonight". I don't really care to review this album.. but I had to review it to give it 5 stars. I've been playing it non-stop for over two weeks.. still not tired of it. Saint Etienne's Finisterre is also pretty good. Dunno about Gore's Counterfeit2.. haven't really listened to it. Ramble ramble ramble.