Customer Reviews

Remixes 81-04

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For fans of DM, this is a real treat. If you're not the type who likes remixes, don't bother with this - many of these songs are remixed beyond recognition. The early remixes staying truer to the originals than the newer ones, as technology advances and lets the remixer strip the tracks down to nothing and re-construct, rather than simply extend the songs. Martin Gore, songwriter for DM, has been quoted as saying he's not a big fan of having some outside person remixing finished tracks, and Vince Clarke, their original songwriter, has the same feeling. I am inclined to believe this is more a record company release, than something the members of Depeche Mode would have had a direct hand in. Nontheless, this is a nice collection, a real history of modern electronic dance music in one handy box. Buy the limited edition version, it has an entire bonus disc of extremely rare and new remixes. ( I pre-ordered mine and got it the day it was released in the US - thanks again AMAZON !! )

Remix albums often compile throwaway dance versions of old hits, and they're usually released to milk cash out of diehard fans who clamor for their favorite band's next studio effort. But the exception to the rule is Depeche Mode's "The Remixes 81-04." Not only is this collection justified, but it's a necessity for any Depeche Mode fan. Collecting new, rare, and previously released material, this 3 disc set compiles nearly 4 hours worth of hits over a span of 23 years. (A single disc is also available) House reworkings of "World in My Eyes," "It's No Good," and "Policy of Truth" sound not a day older than their date of release, while Air's chilled transformation of "Home," William Orbit's makeover of "Walk in My Shoes," and Rex the Dog's electro working of "Photographic" command rewinds. Some personal favorites (the 12-inch version of "(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me" and FC Catalan's "Surrender") are missing, but what DOES appear definitely earns the disc five stars. Enjoy the silence? No way. Turn up the volume and start dancing.

First off let me say that IF you don't already own the depeche mode back cataloge of singles then this is a FIVE star collection. Some of these mixes are absolute classics. especially the violator and songs of faith and devotion era tunes. There are also some rarities, the On-U sound mix of master and servant was only available on the DJ only 12" that cost around 30 to 40 bucks in the records stores. So for new commers to the depeche mode remix cannon this is a great buy with stuff that as a collector i spent years discovering. However, I don't think that anyone who isn't a depeche mode completist would be interested in this CD. for someone who wants to get to know depeche mode I think that the singles collection from a few years back is a much better "best of" hits. because let me tell you MOST of the mixes are not the "best of". The mix they choose of freelove is almost unlistenable, for example. And as far as the new mixes on the third disc, well I would say that they are at best adequate and at worst a laughably mediocure effort. Goldfrap sings along on her mix...as if it were a kareoke mix, the Nothing remix sounds like Dave Gahan is fronting The Strokes, and Clean is given the weakest, toothless treatment of any song since the paint by numbers house mixes of dream on, a plooding souless dirge of a song that was one of the jewels of Violator. don't get me wrong. I love depeche mode. and I love remixes. I have spent hundreds of dollars on wierd ass remix singles from all around the globe. I salivated over this release for months...but it is all for not. This CD is not worth the money...I'd suggest buying a single box set instead...or just wait and buy the differnt import versions of Enjoy the silence, as all the new mixes from this CD appear on those different discs. I will add that I was so excited to see a photographic remix...I love that song...I always have and have waited for new versions...but 30 dollars is too much to pay for such a milk toast effort.

Three different kinds of people will consider buying this 3-CD collection of reinterpreted Depeche Mode songs. The first is the DM fanatic, who will buy anything and everything with the band's name on it, sight unseen. No need for a review there. The second is not very familiar with DM remixes, and has not bought many of the singles, but would like to hear alternate versions of popular DM songs. Again, no need for a review -- just buy it already. It is the people in the third category who will need a review, people who already own several singles with remixes on them, asking themselves, "Do I really need three discs of Depeche Mode remixes? Will they be good?"

The answer is a resounding "yes." The Remixes 81-04 is chock full of experimentronica, ranging from industrial to ambient, from club music to pensive guitar rock. To call this collection diverse is to call the North Pole cold. So many artists have put their own spin on this music, that listening to these CDs is as much about discovering all the different artists who admire DM as it is about discovering those artists' wildly different takes on DM's music.

Let's consider the remixes that are fairly familiar. If you do not already own the remixes of "Policy of Truth," "Personal Jesus," "Rush," "Painkiller," "In Your Room," "Useless," "Route 66," "Strangelove," and "I Feel Loved" present on these discs, that is reason enough to buy this compilation. They are easily some of the best DM remixes ever, and if you do not already own them on their respective singles, you might as well get them here. In all cases they are as good as the originals, but in different ways.

There are a number of relatively obscure versions here as well. The opening Split Mix of "Never Let Me Down" stays fairly true to the original album version, but treats the ears to an extended trip. William Orbit's Random Carpet Mix of "Walking in My Shoes" is much longer, and even more seductive, than the remix of the same name found on the WIMS single. The same is true of Danny Tenaglia's Labor of Love edit of "I Feel Loved." All of these are somewhat familiar, but take the treatment to longer lengths and deeper depths than the listener is accustomed to.

Then there are the remixes that are either totally new or previously unreleased (or so rare that they might as well have been previously unreleased). Daniel Miller's subtle yet significant reworking of "World in My Eyes" is an enchanting masterpiece, an elegant cousin to the album version found on Violator. Timo Maas brings a minimalist techno approach to "Enjoy the Silence," and although it initially underwhelms, it also gradually begins to feel "right" as it is not just another dance version of a song that has been remixed more times than anyone can count. Furthermore, Goldfrapp here shows that "Halo" CAN be remixed well; but up until this point, it just hadn't been approached the right way. What no one understood was that the song needed LESS of a beat, not MORE. The Colder version of "Clean" is another successful remix of a song that kept getting changed without getting improved. In this case, a beat reminiscent of that found in "Personal Jesus" was the appropriate choice.

Interestingly, a heavy guitar approach is applied to "Freelove," "Nothing," and Mike Shinoda's Reintrepreted "Enjoy the Silence." All of these are well-executed, reverent homages to their respective originals, and not just the nu-metal disasters they could have been. It's a testament to the fundamental beauty of DM's songwriting that their music can sound good even with completely different instrumentation.

Out of the 37 tracks on these three discs, only two are relative disasters. LFO's "Lie to Me" adds clunky sounds to an opulent song, completely missing its point. And Adrian Sherwood's curious deconstruction of "People Are People" is historically relevant in its approach, but not very pleasant to listen to.

Even with those two tracks in mind, Remixes 81-04 is a must-have for people in all three categories. While not every song is better than its album version, if you enjoy remixes and you enjoy DM, you will be very satisfied with this purchase.

Depeche Mode has been my favorite band since 1985. I eagerly anticipate anything and everything new that comes out directly from them and even tribute albums. As one of the bands who pioneered the creation and inclusion of remixes, you'd think they'd have higher standards than this. Way too many of these remixes are just 6-8 minutes of drum beat with the lead vocal track sort of distorted in the background. Little if anything new or revulolutionary in terms of approaches to these songs to be heard here. Not horrible, a few good ones, but mainly a bunch of mediocre re-treads. I agree that for many of these songs, there are MUCH better remixes to be had. Not sure why they didn't get included here.

First, let me say that you need to hold out for the 3 disc edition listed here, as opposed to the single or double disc versions, if you are a hardcore DM fan.

There are a few excellent mixes here, to be sure. Highlights for me include Air's Remix of "Home," DJ Shadow's take on "Painkiller," the Portishead version of "In Your Room," Dave Clark's acoustic "Dream On," and the Headcleanr "Nothing." And there are a number of other solid revisions. BUT...

A number of the mixes are of the overlong, repititious nature - the kind of thing that leads some to hate electronica. There are too many mixes which are nine minutes long, seven or so of which are nothing but the same industrial beat, over and over and over again.

Also, there are a few great remixes, which can be found on the internet or on B-sides, which are sorely missed. There have been much better versions of "Enjoy The Silence" and "I Feel Loved" than are employed here.

To summarize, this is a great addition to the DM collection, but it is definitely not the 5 star material a more judicious playlist would have yielded.

Depeche Mode has had so many remixes done over the years, that I was interested to see what they picked for this collection. Here is my overview of the three-disc set.

I'm pretty familiar with most of the selections on Disc One. I especially like Air's re-working of "Home" and Jack Danger's mix of "Rush". In both cases, the song works well with the guest artist's style. In contrast, Renegade Soundwave and Underworld don't really do much with "I Feel You" and "Barrel Of A Gun" respectively. Other personal favorites on this disc are "Never Let Me Down Again", "Policy Of Truth", "Freelove", and The Beatmasters' working Name That Tune into "Route 66".

Of the three discs, Disc Two had the most moments that had me thinking "I've heard better mixes of this song". The mixes chosen for "Everything Counts", "Dream On" and "It's No Good" are particularly bland. On the plus side, I enjoyed the mixes chosen here for "Useless", "In Your Room", "Master And Servant" and "World In My Eyes". Consider this disc a 50/50 split.

Disc Three is easily my favorite disc. I have to give points for including Adrian Sherwood's Bizarro World version of "People Are People" titled "Are People People?" The main attractions here, though, are the new remixes. Rex The Dog's Dub mix of "Photographic" actually works quite well in spite of the lack of vocals here. "Little 15" and "Halo" both have spare arrangements that work well with the song, and I got a kick out of Headcleanr's rock mix of "Nothing". Closing the disc, Mike Shinoda's remix of "Enjoy The Silence" has to be considered a pleasant surprise. One wonders what Linkin Park might sound like with a different singer (yeah, I know, never gonna happen).

With the exception of A Broken Frame all of Depeche Mode's albums are represented on the set. I have to give points for including some of Vince Clarke's contributions besides the arbitrary "Just Can't Get Enough". Overall, a very nice collection.

If you love club or electronic music then you should have it as well. All these remixes are excellent. There are old ones from singles they released in the past years and there are new remixes on here as well. One of my favorite remixes on this set is the Goldfrapp Remix of Halo. Awesome remix! You can also hear Allison Goldfrapp's vocals in the mix as well. Another great remix on this collection is Clean (Colder Version). It's absolutely amazing what they have done to this song. Of course the Timo Maas Remix of Enjoy The Silence is excellent. The only complaint I have about this collection is they left off the 16B remix of Enjoy The Silence as it isn't on the CD Single either and the one track I was soooo looking forward to finally owning has been left off too. That track is Freelove remixed by Deep Dish. Why hasn't that been released yet??? Because of that I give the collection only a 4. Anyway, this is still a great collection and worth owning. Make sure you get the limited edtion 3 CD set so that you get that extra CD of music.

After having released the last 3 singles box sets (4,5 and 6) and re-issuing the first three (1,2 and 3), DM has taken a low road by releasing this album, which is not even the best of their remixes. The "Bonus" Disc (Disc 3) contains some reworked remixes of DM's catalogue and not the best either. The remixed version of "Clean" doesn't hold up to the original non-single track from "Violator". The original song has a flawless beauty to it that is not matched. The remix-redub of "Photographic" is pretty lack luster. The remix of "Halo" is obvious as it is uninspired. (The song's sinister synth rhythms replaced by harps and played as a melodrama is just wrong.) The Timo Maas remix of "Enjoy The Silence" is serviceable but offers little. Too bad you have to buy the single "Enjoy The Silence" to get the much better remix by Ewan Pearson and Cicada's remix of "World In My Eyes." These two mixes are really the superior of the 2004 reworkings.

What is sad is that Depeche Mode feels they have to remind their fans that they are still here even after Martin Gore's failed solo-effort and Dave Gahan's better solo effort. Now that is sorted, hopefully they can get on and make a great album.

This set is fantastic! Can't stop listening! 95% of content is something I never heard before, and I thought I've heard it all.
CD#3 totally kicks ass!!! I really like that remixes are not positioned earliest->latest, but rather mixed together. The quality of recorded sound is spectacular! The design of the set is outstanding, box is properly sturdy and I like it shiny like that, too. Slip is a good idea . Yellow, blue, pink CDs and sleves- cool! The set gives you a 4 hour non-stop parteeeeey.