The Singles 81-85

Depeche Mode | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 23, 2011)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reprise
• ASIN: B00000HY5N
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,360 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #42 in Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave & Post-Punk > Post-Punk
  • #56 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > General AAS

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The question we have to ask is "Why?" Depeche Mode released The Singles, 86-98 because there was no comprehensive singles collection representing 1986 through 1998. But why release a singles compilation covering 1981 through 1985 when Catching Up with Depeche Mode already covers this turf? For one thing, the singles "Leave in Silence," "Everything Counts," and "People Are People," which were absent from Catching Up, are included here. All the songs are digitally remastered, but how much does digital enhancement really do to improve the sound of early-'80s synth-pop, which is so dated? Not much. However, it's natural to release a comprehensive singles collection that nicely coincides with 86-98. Both compilations are great for first-timers. And the two remixes on 81-85 ("Photographic [Some Bizarre Version]" and "Just Can't Get Enough [Schizo Mix]") will snag collectors. But maybe the answer has nothing to do with marketable packaging. DM have always fancied themselves as notorious. The liner notes for 81-85 include one negative review and one positive for each song. Perhaps as an attempt to fend off the specter of "where are they now?" Depeche Mode feel the need to remind us how controversial they are by reminding us how controversial they were. --Beth Bessmer

Product Description

The Singles 81-85 by Depeche Mode

This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Mode rules - Evolution similar to Pink Floyd, September 6, 2002

By 

David Hogan "Iron Horse" (Edison, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Singles 81-85 (Audio CD)

Okay, hear me out on this one. The similarities between the respective evolutions of Pink Floyd and The Mode are downright SCARY. Both sagas begin with brilliant, innovative, utterly original songwriters (Vince Clark/Syd Barrett) whose material (minimalist pop/psychadelic pop) instantly makes their bands top 10 juggernauts. But, after just one album (Speak & Spell/Piper at the Gates of Dawn), these respective geniuses have had enough, and leave for other projects (or just go clinically insane in Syd's case). After the abrupt exit of their respective original frontment, NO ONE gave either DM or Floyd any chance of success. After all, what were they to do without their only songwriter and catalyst??

But no one suspected that two of the most utterly brilliant songwriters and arrangers of their generation were waiting in the wings: Martin L. Gore for DM and Roger Waters for Floyd. At first, however, Gore and Waters had attempted to simply copy the style of their predecessors, thereby coming up with mediocre songs like "See You" and "The Meaning of Love" (not nearly matching the incredible pop appeal of the Clark-penned "Dreaming of Me," "New Life" or "Just Can't Get Enough"). Eventually, however, both songwriters were able to break away from the shadows of those who came before, and each carved their own nitche in music history.

Martin Gore's first great song on his own was the eminently catchy "Everything Counts," a social commentary on business in Britain, similar in subject matter to Pink Floyd's "Animals." Both Gore and Waters have unique writing styles, but fairly similar to each other in their dark content and lush musical backdrop of later albums like Black Celebration and Music for the Masses (and of course Dark Side of the Moon in Waters' case).

Another similarity: Martin Gore and Roger Waters are both incredible songwriters and could conceivably sing their own songs and do so on occasion ("Somebody"), but mostly leave the singing to their sex-appeal drenched lead singers, a pair of Dave G's: Gahan and Gilmour. Do the similarities ever stop???

Also, it should be said that both the Mode and the Floyd did not hit the peak of their commercial success until long after the original frontmen (Clark/Barrett) departed. Also, for some odd reason, stupid critics never really gave either band a chace.

Now, if Vince Clark were to go clinically insane from too many acid trips, and if DM put out an album called "Wish Vince was Here"...now that would REALLY be scary. God, I really hope some of you '80's synth heads have heard of Pink Floyd, or else this review made absolutely no sense to you.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Amazon review, January 26, 2004

By 

greg556 "greg556" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Singles 81-85 (Audio CD)

Beth Bessmer's Amazon review is the first one I've ever read that did not feel like it was written by a real scholar of rock music. This one sounds like it was written by someone who can't like a song if it doesn't have a guitar solo. All her premises are just wrong. Catching Up was an American release, Singles 81-85 British. Catching Up was just what it says--an opportunity for Americans to catch up with them. And the Men from Mode's sense of HUMOR is completely lost on Bessmer. They included negative reviews of their songs because they were _funny,_ not to fend off the specter of "where are they now." Bessmer talks about this compilation like it came out last year--it came out in '85! How could they be lamenting their obscurity at the height of their popularity? Depeche Mode only sounds "dated" to someone who thinks Mtv "alternative" grunge music is timeless. Depeche Mode wasn't "a" synth band, they were THE synth band, and their music from '81 to '85 is still better than about anything made in the last 10 years. 4 stars because this isn't the place to start with DM. Their albums are always better than their singles. Start with Some Great Reward.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawless Synth Pop, June 3, 2000

By 

Andrew Tonkovich - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Singles 81-85 (Audio CD)

This is probably Depeche Mode's most consistent album, which should come as no surprise since the band's early albums contained a lot of filler. While this album is similar in content to Catching Up with Depeche Mode, it adds a few essential singles that were omitted from that US only compilation (the fantastic "Get the Balance Right," "Everything Counts," "Leave in Silence," and "People Are People") and deletes a couple of relatively poor tracks ("Flexible" and "Fly on the Windscreen," which sounded more at home on Black Celebration). Also, it contains an early mix of Speak & Spell's finest track, "Photographic," that is significantly more spirited but just as enjoyable as the album version. I normally don't recommend greatest hits packages, but The Singles contains nearly every essential song from Depeche Mode's early cannon. As a bonus, the CD's liner notes include some (occasionally) hilarious old review snippets for each song. Get this and add Black Celebration, the uneven but historically noteworthy Music for the Masses, and Violator for a fairly comprehensive collection of the most important synthesizer pop band of the 80s.