Customer Reviews

Songs of Faith and Devotion [CD + DVD]

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

 

 

What does it take to followup an album considered, by many, to be the ultimate work of one's career and still be able to outdo it? Bands have been trying to answer that question successfully since practically the beginning. After having one of the biggest and best experiences of their lives with 1990s Violator, Depeche Mode were asking themselves that very same question. The last thing they wanted to do was repeat themselves and make Violator II. But the daunting task of coming up with their-then next album would end up taking its toll almost to the point of complete annihilation.


The compared studio working atmosphere between making Violator and making Songs Of Faith And Devotion was as different as night and day. On Violator, everything that could go right, did. Even ideas or insights that were initially discouraged were done so in a positive way. The band were a full-fledged unit, working together creatively and collectively, and it was a great time to be had by all. Working on Songs Of Faith And Devotion, on the other hand, was a complete and utter nightmare. The constant arguments and disagreements over everything and anything. The psychological breakdowns into severe depression and self medications. The once united bandmates were now single entities, working on their own, unable to reach that common ground they had found so easily only a few years earlier. This was Depeche Mode at their very darkest.


And yet through all the pain, agony and hardship, an album, that seemed destined for massive destruction, emerged from the depths of despair, that many, including the band themselves, consider one of their best works. From the classic opening of I Feel You, into the dark and relenting journey of Walking In My Shoes, to the soulful Condemnation, with a strong and mesmerizing lead vocal by Dave Gahan that he considers "the best contribution I made to the making of this album," into the seductive decadence of In Your Room, and all the way through to Higher Love...the Mode had turned darkness into magic and light all over again. A feat that would result in a #1 album on the billboard charts in both the US & UK, as well as many other countries.


But there was little time to celebrate, as the Devotional Tour would begin and never seem to ever end for the band. Over 150 shows all across the globe. Playing to more than 2 million people. No real rest...just constant partying and performing, day and night. The casualties would soon start coming in. Andrew Fletcher's massive fight with depression finally took its toll and he was forced to leave the tour early. Dave's heroin addiction and an ideology of himself as a rock God on his way towards the downward spiral, helped to fuel his decision on an attempted suicide. Martin's constant drinking with his own personal demons, that seemed as if they would never relent. And Alan...who would make the decision that would change Depeche Mode forever...quitting the band for good. It all seemed like the beginning of the end for a group of people who had been together, at that time, for over a decade.


As we all know now, this was not to be the end, but merely a new beginning. This Remastered CD of Songs Of Faith And Devotion is yet another great sounding experience for every fan to cherish and enjoy. And the DTS and 5.1 Surround Sound found on the DVD is sure to be a trip you will take again and again, with amazing clarity. The UK version also includes a Super Audio Compact Disc layer (SACD) on the CD that is also a wonderful experience to listen to (sadly, the US versions of these Remastered Depeche Mode albums do not contain the SACD).


Also included on the DVD are a plethora of bonus tracks and remixes, including the B-sides: My Joy & Death's Door, and the superior sounding Zephyr Mix of In Your Room. No live tracks for this release, perhaps indicating a future release of Songs Of Faith And Devotion Live (perhaps in more complete form?).


But the best bonus of all is the amazing and outstanding 36 minute Short Film - Depeche Mode: 1991-1994 - "We Were Going To Live Together, Record Together, And It Was Going To Be Wonderful" - A.Wilder. In my opinion, this is the best of the Depeche Mode short films, and gives the viewer the unique experience of following the band through the darkest period of their career, through vintage film of the studio & tour work as well as with interviews by Dave, Martin, Andy, and Alan, as well as producer, Flood, Mute's own Daniel Miller, and others, recreating the experiences. And the last few shots of Alan, as he explains his decision for leaving the band are reason enough for checking this film out again and again. Simply Amazing.


Songs Of Faith And Devotion (Remastered) - A Classic, New & Improved!


Stay Devoted!


"When Here In My Mind, I Have Been Blind. Emotionally Behind. I Have Faith I Will Find." M.L.Gore

If I were to name my 3 favorite Mode albums, they would be 1986's 'Black Celebration,' 2005's 'Playing the Angel,' and this one, released in 1993. Reviewer "alan5973" mentions that the band had wanted to avoid making a "Violator 2," and he is correct. Rather than recreate the tightness and savvy of 1990's 'Violator' (a near-flawless record) the Mode went for a more "organic" sound, opting for less-precise production and incorporating live drums, heavier guitars, strings, uilleann (sounds like a bagpipe) and choir singers. The result was a mix of 'tech pop', rock & roll, blues, and gospel, and ten tracks which shared a heavy religious theme... and it was absolutely brilliant.

The '93 release of this album did not, in my opinion, do it justice. The cassette version sounded fuller and clearer than the CD version, which is a problem you'll find in many CDs released in the late 80s and early 90s. Newer technology has made this remaster possible, and the result is mostly pleasing. The CD in this special edition sounds awesome, but the 5.1 mix on the DVD is... lacking. The mix, in half the songs, comes through the front and front/side channels, and in half the tracks ("Mercy in You" in particular) the mix is oddly flat. My friend and I had just listened to "Violator" in 5.1 and we were astounded, but when we tried this one we were underwhelmed. Granted, the mix on this record was "messier" than its predecessor, but we both felt that the capabilities of 5.1 were under-used on this release. Because of that and that ONLY my rating is 4 stars instead of 5.

As I said, the CD in this set sounds great. On the DVD... well, at least there's an option to play it in PCM Stereo. It sounds a bit better that way.

Gotta say, this was my first DM CD back in the 90's (yes, I was a late bloomer for DM I'm afraid). However, I fell in love with the original mix and after listening to this new 'revision', the mix has suffered greatly. Honestly one of the worst 5.1 mixes I've ever heard. I love the idea of surround mixing and listening to music in surround (Queen's 'A Night at the Opera' is the best example), but right from the get go "I feel you" had to be one of the worst excuses for 5.1 mixing I've ever heard. You would think for a band that really embraced technology they would have done a better job here, but no such luck I'm afraid. I am going to see if I can return this. Shame on you DM, you really let me down here.

This is one of the rare times that Rhino began with the best of intentions, then just executed terribly. Here's how Rhino blew it on the entire Depeche Mode multi-title CD/DVD remaster series:

1.) The remastering is heartbreakingly sub-par. I'll get to that.
2.) They relegated the great bonus audio tracks & remixes to the DVD.
3.) The 5.1 mixes and the video clips should have been released on dedicated DVD editions.

Let's start with the remastering.

You (real) DM fans who have all the Singles Boxes; go to Box #5, pull out the "#28 Walking In My Shoes" disc, and cue up Track 1. Now, compare it to the Rhino "remastered" Faith track... BIG DIFFERENCE, huh? The Faith version has greatly diminished clarity, like a heavy towel had been draped over the speakers.

Try the same A/B test again against another Box#5 single, "#27 I Feel You", track 1. You'll see that the audio dichotomy I'm describing here is not trivial.

Yes, the remastered audio on the CD in the new Faith set is better than the original 1993 single-disc CD release. But, after you perform the A/B tests described above, you know the audio is not what it COULD have been, and probably now, never will be. That's a bitter pill to have to swallow for the Depeche fan, especially after laying out $20+ for this set.

I've also A/B'd tracks from all five of the Rhino 2006 sets against their respective Singles-Box counterpart. I found the same sub-standard remastering. What a terrible disappointment.

Let's move on to the DVD included in each set, and the decision to locate the remix and additional audio tracks there rather than the CD.

Simply: CD audio BELONGS in dedicated CD format. Multi-Channel audio/video BELONG in dedicated multi-channel formats. No matter what the marketing morons say, mixing the two plays to such a small portion of the market, it's just idiotic. In the case of the DVD's in the DM/Rhino sets, here are two perfect examples why:

How many DM fans don't have home surround sound systems, or DVD-capable units in their cars, and are ridiculously limited to listening to the bonus audio material on their home DVD player thru their television? How many DM fans don't appreciate not being able to Fair Use the DVD audio tracks on their portable audio devices?

Also, the DVD in each set consists of three components: A 30-minute video documentary, the 5.1 mix of the album, and the bonus tracks/remixes. Say you don't have a surround system and can't utilize the 5.1 album. So, ask yourself: How many times will you want to repeat the video? How many times would you like to listen to those great bonus tracks? I doubt many people would answer to a 1:1 ratio between the two! Me? Probably 1:100+!

Rhino should have followed their own Elvis Costello remaster-series model, and produced each of these albums as a two disc, standard CD-audio set. Then, Rhino could have released the multi-channel and video content as separate DVD retail versions, for those who desire to purchase, and are equipped to play them.

At the very least, however, Rhino seems to have learned its lesson from the Talking Heads Dual-Disc remaster-series fiasco and eschewed that horrid format for the Depeche releases (go to any TH DD-title on Amazon and scan thru the reviews if you want to read some REALLY p'd-off consumers, including myself!).

As an aside: I also checked the recent UK single-disc remasters against the Rhino CD's. As another reviewer noted below, the audio is identical to both versions.

What the previuos reviewer expect from a reissue? This one it is a perfect reissue: stunning package, awesome sound, interviews, new songs, bonus, different type od sound (sacd, DTS, Dolby). I just can't understand how someone could rate this item as 1 star.

With this release DM finally became the truly sleazy sweaty rock band they always secretly desired to be (or at least frontman Dave Gahan did). For the followers of DM through their career this album certinaly came as a shock - it certainly did to me. But when you work through the initial resistance this album shows itself to be a truly memorable achievement. Whilst Violator saw DM master their skills and cement their position as the masters of electronic rock, this recording showed them pushing the envelope. From I Feel You's screeching guitars and pulsating energy (check out the Afghan Swamp Surgery mix on Maxi CD for a super treatment of this song!) to the stripped back Condemnation Depeche Mode moved into areas no one would have thought. Apparently recorded under extremely tense conditions with addictions and works stresses - the tensions seem to emanate from the album. The production on a DM album has never been so good and Alan Wilder's departure is sorely missed. This album clearly showed the manic obsession the guy applied to all DM productions. Every track is different and every track shows a different side to the band from the classic synth warmth of songs such as Walking in My Shoes and Higher Love to the electro frenzy of Rush and then to the soulful Get Right With Me and the super sexy In Your Room. This album shimmers, rocks, grinds and crunches. As a long time fan and owner of all their CDs - this is the CD I always come back to me when I want to release some tension. A True Classic.
Remastered Editon sounds even better - but look for the version with the documentary for some revelaing insight into the making of the album.

Originally released in March 1993, this is a harder sounding Depeche album with the hits "I Feel You", "Walking In My Shoes", "Condemnation" and "In Your Room". Other noteworthy tracks include "Mercy In You", "Rush" and "One Caress" with its orchestral background. Despite conflicts within the group and personal problems this album features some of the best songs Martin Gore has composed and the band has ever recorded.

The DVD features two B-sides "My Joy" and "Death's Door" along with six remixes. Two of them, "Condemnation(Paris Mix)" and "In Your Room(Zephyr Mix)" already appeared on "The Singles 86 > 98". But the highlight here is the 36 minute documentary spotlighting the difficulties making the album along with the subsequent tour. At the very end, Alan Wilder gives a brief explanation regarding his eventual departure from the group.

If you liked the original album, you'll like this expanded and remastered edition. Rock fans will like it too.

I just got the new edition last night and there are some interesting problems with the remaster of the dvd. I was able to do a quick comparison of cd remaster and the dvd, the dvd stereo remaster is basically a new mix, I don't have 5.1 so I listened to the stereo version only. I have a few other cd's that are remastered and I have a dvd version as well of the same album so I know what it should sound like and this dvd doesn't cut the mustard. The dvd stereo version should basically have a little more "pop" and presence compared to the cd remaster and it doesn't. The cd remaster seems good to me from what little I have listened to it. I did a comparison with the original cd and the stereo image and seperation are night and day between the two.

What really surprises me is Alan Wilder was executive producer on this reissue and seems to have signed off on this dvd remaster and quite frankly I don't know why. I have an excellent pair of speakers but they are not anything like good studio monitors and I would have thought he would have picked up on this.

As I mentioned earlier I have a cd remastered version of the Yes Fragile album and a dvd 5.1 version. I have listened to the stereo version of the dvd and it is the same exact mix as the cd except that, due to the higher resolution there is more pop to it and slightly better stereo image. But they are almost identical and it is hard to tell the difference, and with this reissue of Depeche Mode you can definitely tell them apart. Something is not right.

First off, the main reason I have purchased all of these Depeche Mode special editions is primarily for the 5.1 surround mix. Being a huge fan of Depeche Mode and surround-sound music in general, the idea of remixing their music for this format seemed like a natural fit. And one listen to Violator proves that point beyond a reasonable doubt. I also appreciate the care that went into producing each set - with bonus tracks, videos, documentaries, etc. These definitely feel like truly special editions, unlike other sets where you get one disc with a cd on one side and dvd on the other. As a side note, I have to agree with Bob from LA - there is NO reason the bonus tracks should only be available on the DVD, but I wouldn't go so far as to suggest a multi-channel, dvd-only edition.

Anyway, getting back to SOFAD, my primary complaint with this set is that the 5.1 mix is completely off. After being blown away by the surround mixes for Violator, MFTM, and Some Great Reward, I had high expectations for this set as SOFAD is my favorite DM album. Unfortunately, whoever worked on this project (Alan Wilder?) either rushed through the project or was asleep at the mixing board. The bass on the opening track itself should be very deep and present, but instead, the whole song seems to get lost in the top end with very little midrange or subwoofer presence. There isn't much difference in the remaining tracks, again as if the idea of surround was an afterthought. I could go on, but this is sadly just a lost opportunity. Let's hope they don't miss the boat with Ultra.

In my opinion, SOFAD is Depeche Mode's best album. Many don't feel that way, but this album grabbed me when I was a teenager and has never let go. (yes, I had heard Violator and Music For the Masses before I heard this) I also think it has aged better than any other DM album. So 5 stars for the album itself.

So why the 2 star rating?

Reason 1. The remastering on the original album is sub par - I can barely hear an improvement. To be honest, I think all they did was turn up the treble on it, maybe its just my ears

Reason 2. B-sides on the DVD? What were they thinking? I'm sure you could find some complicated program online to rip the b-sides for your ipod(Fair Use, they should look into it) But its not worth the trouble

Reason 3. The DVD was interesting, but it just seems like a depressing 20 minutes of the band and producers whining about how the album turned out and how they couldn't get along

The 5.1, its alright, but that wasn't the big reason I bought it. I'm just glad I bought it used, so I paid a fraction of the new asking price. At least now I know not to waste my money on the rest of the remasters, just doesn't seem to be worth it. Shame on them for putting out such a bad product (though it is still better than the Talking Heads fiasco from a few years ago)