Fretplay.com Depeche Mode CD reviews Depeche Mode guitar tabs Depeche Mode CD reviews Depeche Mode tabs Music for the Masses


Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses Audio CD

A fair review of the Depeche Mode "Music for the Masses" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Depeche Mode reviews here, or go back to the Depeche Mode tabs.

Depeche Mode Band: Depeche Mode
Title: Music for the Masses
Rating:
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Never Let Me Down Again 2: Things You Said 3: Strangelove 4: Sacred 5: Little 15 6: Behind the Wheel 7: I Want You Now 8: To Have and to Hold 9: Nothing 10: Pimpf 11: Agent Orange [*] 12: Never Let Me Down Again [Aggro Mix] 13: To Have and to Hold [Spanish Taster] 14: Pleasure, Little Treasure [*]

Slightly sad title
Aside for a song or two, the instrumentals may be the best work on here. Worthy addition as continued evidence into their 80's electro-pop innovations & domination, it nonetheless took the dawning of a new decade to seal the groups musical validity for me, here still appearing a little too sterile, coarse, or pretentious for the most part. . . not nearly the retro synth-salvation partial reputation suggests. .


Transitions
Although, I think this album is great and it has many quintessential DM songs, there are some songs that I often skip over. I am an avid fan of DM, and will do the best job at being objective about their work. These songs are definitely not my favorites, but I think mostly that they just don't appeal to me in the context of this album. This is why I label this "transitions". I love all periods of DM, but I notice this one seems to be one that incorporates the earlier "new wave" feeling of previous albums but also ushers in the darker era of DM. I tend to prefer the darker DM, but appreciate the earlier work especially if not simultaneously. If you are even a slight fan of their work, you will enjoy this album.


Must have album!
Their other albums are also good but would only recommend for die hard fans. If you like Depeche Mode then buy these 4 albums:

Some Great Reward
Black Celebration
Music for the Masses
Violator

These albums were released between 1985-1990 in consecutive order & have all of their best songs. These 4 albums are their classic albums.


THIS IS HOW THE mid80s SOUNDED - AND THEY SOUNDED GREAT!!!
Two such post-punk groups, THE CURE and DEPECHE MODE, better than most others, were able to grasp the decade's vibrations and broadcast them back as UNBELIEVABLE MUSIC. MTV had been already established as mainstream, the BOSS was getting soft in the Tunnel of Love, BON JOVI were more about the hair than ever - and the British invented Alternative music. Whereas the CURE were mostly edges, the DEPECHE MODE were mostly technopoetry.

This was the first album I ever bought as a CD - and I remember bringing it home to my new JVC HiFi, anxious to listen to the "crisp, digital sound" (little did I know that, only some years later, we would come to miss the fullness and richness of the old vinyl records). I was right to be anxious though: this was ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS - EVER!

MUSIC FOR THE MASSES is one of those rare albums that can be listened to from start to finish. No filler material here. The voices are atavisticly haunting; the keys persistently penetrating; and the lyrics stay with you for ever.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!.


Depeche Mode's Most Accomplished Album
Yet many of the tracks from "Music for the Masses" kept popping up. For years I overlooked this album, in favor of other Depeche Mode classics like Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion. Recently viewing a Depeche Mode documentary on Joost (check it out if you haven't), I realized what I'd been missing and picked it up immediately. Today, I can't get enough of it.

"Music for the Masses" is the band's most accomplished album without a doubt. When they recorded it, they were already entrenched into the dark synth-based sound that would characterize the second half of their career, away from the more catchy pop songs that were the norm in their music early on.

Every track in the album is a piece of art that collectively make the whole production sound as current and powerful at the time of this writing as it did twenty years ago, when it was released.


You can see a complete list of all Depeche Mode discography, or go back to the Depeche Mode tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

Search guitar tabs

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
[ Search tabs | Guitar tabs | Bass tabs |
Easy guitar tabs | Guitar solo tabs |
Acoustic guitar tabs | Guitar chords |
How to read guitar tabs ]
Forum topics
Music forums
- Bands and artists - Songwriting and lyrics - Tablature talk - Promote your band
Instrument forums
- Guitar basics - Gear & accessories - Bass guitar
Community
- The pit - Site Feedback - Reviews
[ User survey | About us | Privacy statement ]