List | D | Depeche Mode | 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion' CD 1993

Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	I Feel You	4:35
2.	Walking In My Shoes	5:35
3.	Condemnation	3:20
4.	Mercy In You	4:17
5.	Judas	5:14
6.	In Your Room	6:26
7.	Get Right With Me	2:54
7.	Interlude #4 (I Feel You)	0:58
8.	Rush	4:37
9.	One Caress	3:32
10.	Higher Love	5:56
	Total	47:24

Comments:

This album is quite different from Violator and all their previous material. It's got a lot more guitars, scratches, supposedly some live drums (often a lot funkier than the usual DM) and some more diverse styles of music. There's even a touch of gospel on tracks like 'Condemnation' and 'Get Right With Me'; a sort of religious overtone here and on many of the songs on the album. Some songs are like a darker extension of Violator - 'In Your Room' and 'Higher Love', for instance, and to some degree also 'Walking In My Shoes'.

Something else that is quite new for DM is that on this album they've brought in people from outside the band to play and sing on some tracks. For instance, the strings on 'One Caress' are real, with a conductor and an ensemble.

The short excerpt of 'I Feel You' after 'Get Right With Me' sounds like it was taken from one of the Brian Eno remixes on the limited 'I Feel You' single. I suppose it was, too. According to the Depeche Mode FAQ it's called 'Interlude #4'.

When it comes to production, this album has a very distinct Flood 'feel' to it, especially on the drums. Somehow, they remind me of another album that he produced way back in 1989, that I also happen to own. (Flood has also produced U2, Nitzer Ebb etc. and even the good old 'Violator').

So, what can I say about this album? Actually, even if it's not very much like their previous work, it's probably the best thing they've ever released. It's completely, utterly, stunningly brilliant. Too bad that the sound master Alan left after this album - maybe that'll give him more time for his excellent Recoil project...?

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