What was the last album you listened to?

Artist: Depeche Mode
Album: Black Celebration
Genre: Synthpop
Year: 1986
Standout tracks: Black Celebration, Fly on the Windscreen - Final, A Question of Lust, A Question of Time and Stripped

Of their fifth studio release, my expecations are as of now very high but having their last three, very uneven albums in the back of my mind I do hope that Black Celebration might just be the one which finally does it for me.

01. - Black Celebration - And we're off to a very promising start with the freezing yet still very moody title cut, which builds up slowly but then ends up erupting into a fantastic and upbeat opener. 

02. Fly on the Windscreen - Final - Next up is a much darker and heavier cut which might not be as melodic as the opener but damn this sure comes packs some slick beats and also the production here is amazing. 

03. A Question of Lust - While not bad or anything, my main problem with the far more quietly and peaceful of Martin Gore's "ballads" is that they often tend to lack a memorable melody or that little bit of extra to turn them up among the best cuts of an album, as clearly evident on Some Great Reward, where they pretty much ended up as nice little "fillers" stuck in between far better songs. Now this time however, Gore delivers a stunning tune which easily manages to stand out as one of the highlights, and not just on this album but of their career. 

04. Sometimes - And here I would start worrying as none of their earlier albums seemed to be able of backing up such a great start, but here I am beginning to think that I am in for a very big and positive change, as the gems just seem to almost come straight out of the assambly line. While not as powerful or memorable as the first three, Sometimes, while maybe a little too short still ends up as a soulful and pleasant surprise.

05. It Doesn't Matter Two - Okay, so I guess a filler was to come sooner or later. Not horrible or anything but the kind of stuff which reminded me of some of the dull sleepers which took up far too much space on A Broken Frame and this one is surely not on the same level as the first four cuts.

06. A Question of Time - After a few easy listening and soft tracks in a row, this album needed a bit of a energy boost and this surely makes up for that and more. 

07. Stripped - This was to be one of my earliest memories of the band, back in 2005 through the music documentary 101 (1989) and it still manages to be just as hauntingly powerful as ever. A stunning piece of music and once again the production here is truly something special to behold. 

08. Here is the House - Not an easy task of following up two such great songs and this is one of those which I did not really invest too much time or interest in with the first few times I heard the album, but it is one which gets better each time you listen to it. 

09. World Full of Nothing - As with Sometimes, this beautiful number is up there with the far more upbeat and melodic songs of this album, yet I would have wanted it to last a little bit longer as I think it would have been even better with a nice and lengthy outro.

10. Dressed in Black - Somehow this one always make me think of the older James Bond films with Connery and Moore, not sure why really but there is something about its mysterious and dark mood and also they way Dave sings it. 

11. New Dress - Closes the album off in a more industrial way of doing things, still I would have liked more to have Dressed in Black or World Full of Nothing doing that part, as this sounds almost like a b-side which was brought in at the last minute and instead puts me off a little.

Well, that was more like it. Without doubt the best album of their first five ones, not that the competition were all that great, but it is nice to see that they managed to get better from album to album and hopefully that will continue on with their next one.

8/10

Thanks.

It is nice to be able of listening to whole albums again, not done so for a long time and be able of finding new gems and favorites, even if some of the records is a bit of a hit or miss, Black Celebration is one of those which might just go even further up the rating scale with more listenings, but as of right now I think I must continue on as I have many more albums awaiting me, but I am looking forward to hearing what comes up with their next releases, as here I hope they do live up to my expectations and more.

The only remastered Depeche Mode record I own, is their debut Speak & Spell but I have not given much time on the bonus cuts.
However, I did notice that my copy of Black Celebration actually have 14 tracks, but only 11 is mentioned on the booklet/CD artwork.
Next up is Music for the Masses (1987), 101 (1989), Violator (1990), Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993) and Playing the Angel (2005).
Ultra (1997) and Exciter (2001) I might pick up on later, but the ones mentioned above and those I have heard and rated earlier in this thread are those I own as of now.

I only know of the singles coming from Ultra and Exciter but never got around to purchase either of em, Playing the Angel however I remember included some very strong and memorable cuts and I am looking forward to getting back to it, as I have not heard it since 2005.

I sure have some big hopes for Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion but first out I will have to go through Music for the Masses and then 101.

Artist: Depeche Mode
Album: 101
Genre: Synthpop and New Wave
Year: 1989
Standout tracks: Stripped, Somebody, Things You Said, Nothing, A Question of Time, Never Let Me Down Again, A Question of Lust and Master and Servant

The concert video/documentary with the same name, was the one which got me into the whole synthpop/new wave era of british artists in the late 70s and early 80s, and I thought some of the live clips from 101 was very impressive and as an result, I did a lot of impulse purchases in the following days, not only that of Depeche Mode.
However, I rarely think I ever sat down a listened to the whole live record, but since I am through with their other 1980s studio releases, I thought I could finish of that decade with this album.

Disc: A

01. Pimpf - Where as the album version closing of Music for the Masses did absolutely nothing for me, at least this concert intro manages to do something which the original did not, as here it only last for less than a minute, but even by those small measures, it is still a complete "nothing" cut for my part.

02. Behind the Wheel - Follows up right afterwards, and while not a great one, still it was one of the few which stood out as one of the more memorable from their 1987 album. 

03. Strangelove - Dave's voice sounds a little off early on, but again the song is not a big favorite of mine and this live album seems to open up in a weak manner, lacking the punch I had hoped for.

04. Sacred - And the dull fillers keep on coming, Dave still seems to sing way too "low" and offbeat, and when the melody and music is such a bore, then once more it ends up making not much of a impressive opening of this concert album.

05. Something to Do - Finally, something which reminds me of a more upbeat and good live number. Still it sounds like the band has not yet reached "climax", the voice and music is still a little disappointing and the focus seems to be on how loud the teenage girls can scream, along with Dave and his constant and annoying "YEEEEEEEAH!".

06. Blasphemous Rumours - While not as powerful as the stunning closer from Some Great Reward, it still do sound very good here. 
However, such a thing of dark beauty such deserved to be among the closing acts, not among the opening ones, specially coming up after so many poor ones.

07. Stripped - Another stunning Depeche classic, and once again I cannot understand why they chose to use it so early on, should have been done during the last act as I think it would have been more effective. However, this is a great live performance and surely among the stand out cuts from 101.

08. Somebody - Even better and more powerful than the album version, as Martin surely delivers one hell of a performance here. 

09. Things You Said - Well, things did get not just a little better but improved greatly through the end of side 1, but as I have mentioned I wished these beautiful and atmospheric numbers would have worked out far better if they were brought in much later on, and instead focused on trying to boost up the poor start with more melodic and upbeat pop numbers.

Disc: B

01. Black Celebration - Comes nowhere as being nearly as solid as the album version, but still a superior start to part 2 than what I got with the intro of part 1.

02. Shake the Disease - Not sure if I have ever heard this one, cannot remember it was on any of their studio albums put out in the 80s, hm maybe as a bonus cut later on? Anyway, it does not much for me anyway.

03. Nothing - One of the few and best cuts of Music for the Masses, and compared to the dull and lame Sacred, Behind the Wheel and Strangelove, Nothing actually sounds miles ahead better and more powerful.

04. Pleasure Little Treasure - The poorest cut on this release and once again a number I have never heard before. Sounds cheap and when coming up after such a great act as Nothing, it ends up even even worse.

05. People are People - This I remember well from the documentary and concert movie, not great but surely among the better performances.

06. A Question of Time - Now this is the kind of great music they should have used far more of, earlier on but no matter where it ends up, it still sounds great.

07. Never Let Me Down Again - Probably the most famous cut from the 101 performance and rightely so. But I have always thought it was the final number to close it off with.

08. A Question of Lust - Feels and sounds like Stripped part 2, but in a fantastic way. And speaking of Stripped, these two would have worked wonders if they were coming up after each other, and not with so much space between them. 

09. Master and Servant - One of my favorite tunes from this concert and here it sounds better than the album version as well. 

10. Just Can't Get Enough - Surprised they could not find room for New Life but I guess this song was more famous or familiar with the american audience at that time.

11. Everything Counts - A good way of going out, but I would prefer Never Let Me Down Again, but that is just a small "complaint" from my part.

All in all, I have never been much of a concert/live album fan, as very few have lived up to the "hype" or big expectations, but I think in this case I actually enjoyed the movie more than the CD album, even if it does not include every song in its full.
I  guess this was Depeche Mode's "U2" flirting with america, as they seemed to only become bigger and more successfull with every new release and would probably hit their commercial and creative peak only a few years on.

Not a great live record, too many dull and forgettable fillers along with a few really bad ones. Also the song selection suffers greatly from having so many poor ones among a few great and makes it as a very frustrating at times, uneven album.

6/10