Music for the Masses

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For other uses, see Music for the Masses (disambiguation).
Music for the Masses
Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses.png
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released 28 September 1987 (1987-09-28)
Recorded February–July 1987; Studio Guillaume Tell (Paris); Konk (London)[1]
Genre Electronic, post-punk, synthpop
Length 43:34
Label Mute
Producer Depeche Mode, David Bascombe, Daniel Miller
Depeche Mode chronology
Black Celebration
(1986)Black Celebration1986		 Music for the Masses
(1987)		 Violator
(1990)Violator1990
Singles from Music for the Masses
  1. "Strangelove"
    Released: 13 April 1987
  2. "Never Let Me Down Again"
    Released: 24 August 1987
  3. "Behind the Wheel"
    Released: 28 December 1987
  4. "Little 15"
    Released: 16 May 1988

Music for the Masses is the sixth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 28 September 1987 by Mute Records, and was supported by the Music for the Masses Tour.

Album development

Daniel Miller, who had produced Depeche Mode's previous album, voluntarily stepped away from production duties for this album, citing the growing tension in the studio that they had experienced during the recording of Black Celebration.[2] With Miller's approval, the band co-produced the album with David Bascombe, who had previously worked as a recording engineer with Tears For Fears and Peter Gabriel.[3]

Band members Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore both explained the album's title was conceived as a joke. Fletcher said, "The title's ... a bit tongue-in-cheek, really. Everyone is telling us we should make more commercial music, so that's the reason we chose that title."[3] According to Gore, the title "was a joke on the uncommerciality of [the album]. It was anything but music for the masses!"[4]

Cover art

The megaphone (or its iconic representation) on the album's cover was used during the breadth of the album's release: at press events, on the covers of the album's singles, and during the tour. Alan Wilder gave credit to Martyn Atkins, who had been a longtime Depeche Mode collaborator, for the use of the megaphone. "[Martyn came] up with this idea of a speaker, but, to give the kind of ironic element which the title has, to put this speaker in a setting which wasn't really to do with the masses at all. It was, in fact, the opposite. So you end up with this kind of eerie thing where you get these speakers or megaphones in the middle of a setting that doesn't suit it at all, like a desert or whatever."[3] The deserted natural setting in question being Peak District.[5]

An early alternative cover was rejected for the album. The rejected cover was also designed by Martyn Atkins and a test pressing copy was auctioned off by Alan Wilder in 2011.[6]

Re-release

In 2006, Music for the Masses became one of the first Depeche Mode albums (along with Speak & Spell and Violator) to be released on a special 2-Disc SACD/CD Hybrid + DVD format, in the vein of their 2005 album Playing the Angel, which had a limited edition SACD + DVD release. The format was the same as Playing the Angel's, the first disc had a special digitally remastered version of the album, while the DVD had the album on three formats (PCM Stereo, 5.1 surround sound and DTS 5.1) plus bonus tracks, and a documentary on the album. The re-release preserves the album as it was originally intended. Thus, the four bonus tracks do not appear on the SACD, but appear on the DVD. The DVD also features all B-sides from the Music for the Masses era, but unlike the album and the bonus tracks, the B-sides are only available in PCM Stereo.

The documentary, a thirty-seven-minute short film called Depeche Mode: 1987–88 (Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes) is an extensive look at the album, featuring commentary from a wide variety of people, including the current Depeche Mode, former member Alan Wilder, producer Dave Bascombe, Daniel Miller, Daryl Bamonte, Martyn Atkins (who came up with the loudspeakers idea for the cover), Anton Corbijn, and others. The documentary features new facts on the album, and also an extensive look at the film 101.

The re-release was released on 3 April 2006 in Europe. The US version was delayed to 2 June 2006 and is only available on a CD + DVD format, with no SACD. The DVD on all the versions are region independent however, so one can simply import the SACD version without worrying about the DVD being incompatible. The remastered album was released on "deluxe" vinyl 2 March 2007 in Germany and 5 March 2007 internationally.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[7]
The Austin Chronicle 4/5 stars[8]
Pitchfork Media 8.0/10[9]
Q 4/5 stars[10]
Record Mirror 4/5 stars[11]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 4.5/5 stars[13]
Sounds 4/5 stars[14]
The Village Voice B+[15]

According to Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani, Music for the Masses showed the gloomier side of the "post-punk synthpop" scene during the 1980s and was a success with both music critics and consumers.[16] In a contemporary review for Playboy, Robert Christgau complimented the abnormal road symbolism of the lyrics, particularly on "Little 15", and believed that apart from the sadomasochistic metaphors, Depeche Mode succeeded in turning "adolescent Weltschmerz into something catchy, sexy and seemingly significant".[17] NME magazine's Jane Solanas felt Gore was "at his obsessive best" on Music for the Masses, particularly on "Never Let Me Down Again", which she called "an intriguing masterpiece, combining homo-eroticism with drug euphoria."[18] In a less enthusiastic review, Paul Mathur from Melody Maker was ambivalent towards the group's more mature, minimalist aesthetic and said although they had departed from their simpler pop sound, the record was "seamless, fluid, and, once the lights are out, particularly dull."[19]

In a retrospective review, Q magazine found the narratives on Music for the Masses to be among Depeche Mode's most uncertain and contemplative, and that most of its songs were "real diamonds in the darkness ... this was the point at which Depeche Mode were first taken seriously."[10] Alternative Press called the record "articulate, intricate electronic music that lacked the tinny feel of DM's early synth pop".[12] Music for the Masses was listed by Slant Magazine at number 75 on their list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[20]

Track listing

All songs written by Martin L. Gore, except "Route 66", written by Robert W. Troup Jr, and "Moonlight Sonata", a piano piece by Beethoven.

  1. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:47
  2. "The Things You Said" – 4:02
  3. "Strangelove" – 4:56
  4. "Sacred" – 4:47
  5. "Little 15" – 4:18
  6. "Behind the Wheel" – 5:18
  7. "I Want You Now" – 3:44
  8. "To Have and to Hold" – 2:51
  9. "Nothing" – 4:18
  10. "Pimpf" – 3:56 (5:00)
  11. "Mission Impossible (Interlude)" (hidden instrumental track) – 0:37
Bonus tracks on 1987 CD and cassette releases
  1. "Agent Orange" – 5:05
  2. "Never Let Me Down Again" (Aggro Mix) – 4:55
  3. "To Have and to Hold" (Spanish Taster) – 2:34
  4. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" (Glitter Mix) – 5:36
  • On the CD, there is a 22-second pause in between "Pimpf" and "Interlude #1", followed by a 30-second pause in between "Interlude #1" and "Agent Orange".
  • On the cassette, the four bonus tracks are on the B-side, with the rest of the tape without audio.

2006 re-release

  • Disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer.
  • Disc 2 is a DVD containing Music for the Masses in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo plus bonus material
  1. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:47
  2. "The Things You Said" – 3:55
  3. "Strangelove" – 4:38
  4. "Sacred" – 5:01
  5. "Little 15" – 4:14
  6. "Behind the Wheel" – 5:17
  7. "I Want You Now" – 3:28
  8. "To Have and to Hold" – 3:08
  9. "Nothing" – 4:12
  10. "Pimpf" – 4:55
Bonus tracks (in PCM Stereo)
  1. "Agent Orange" – 5:05
  2. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" – 2:53
  3. "Route 66" – 4:11
  4. "Stjarna" – 4:25
  5. "Sonata No.14 in C#m (Moonlight Sonata)" – 5:36
Bonus 5.1 audio mixes (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo)
  1. "Agent Orange" – 5:31
  2. "Never Let Me Down Again" (Aggro Mix) – 4:58
  3. "To Have And to Hold" (Spanish Taster) – 2:36
  4. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" (Glitter Mix) – 5:38
Short film
  1. Depeche Mode 87–88 (Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes) – 37:02

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Music for the Masses.[1]

  • Depeche Mode – production
  • Martyn Atkins – design, photography
  • David Bascombe – engineering, production
  • Mark Higenbottam – design, photography
  • David Jones – design, photography
  • Daniel Miller – additional production, help

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
France (SNEP)[34] Platinum 400,000
Germany (BVMI)[35] Gold 250,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Silver 60,000
United States (RIAA)[37] Platinum 1,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ [1]
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Raggett, Ned. Music for the Masses at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Rolling Stone Album Guide review
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-1980s/308/page_3
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select DEPECHE MODE and click OK
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Music for the Masses in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

Further reading

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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