Far be it for me to understand what it is in the waters around Berlin that make it such a cathartic destination for pop and rock icons. Minstrels seem to go there to get something out of their systems; a list of artists who have made career defining albums in the German city is as deep as it is impressive: Iggy Pop. David Bowie. Lou Reed. Perhaps nothing though has been as genre defining as Depeche Mode whose mid-career record, Some Great Reward bonded Kraut rock and Phillip Glass doodlings into one of the greatest electronic recordings ever.
As inventive as mainstream records get before becoming alienating, Depeche Mode went for something “different” on Some Great Reward. Like other artists before them, they connected to the deep industrial roots of their adopted home city and made their percussion elements more raw and interesting. In the greater view of their catalog, this is the place the band departed from merely smart pop fare into something far more dynamic. That last term – dynamic – is really the only way to describe this recording from top to bottom. Hit songs like “Lie To Me” and “Somebody” might smack of dance pop standards or melodramatic balladry, but the layers the band implemented in their recording make them something far more. The magic of “People Are People”, “Blasphemous Rumours” and “Master and Servant” are undeniable: controversial, overtly humane yet still the type of sing along work that moves units. A groundbreaking album like Some Great Reward is only as good as the focus of its parts. In the interest of not gilding the lily, there must have been some mysterious aura uniting those divergent parts long enough to be so innovative. Depeche Mode made other great records but none were quite so impressive.
EXTRAS:
The documentary “You Can Get Away With Anything If You Give It A Good Tune” attempts to define Depeche Mode’s place in that greater Berlin thing. A studio centric short film, watching the process of assembling this dynamic, often enigmatic record couldn’t be more entertaining. There are also 5.1 DVD Audio versions of all the album tracks, bonus studio tracks (“In Your Memory” and a “Somebody” remix) and live highlights from autumn 1984 shows in Basel and Liverpool.
It is the same case with this Depeche Mode re-release as it has been with most of the others: an exhaustive, rewarding effort from top to bottom. It’s a shame more don’t receive this treatment. |