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Some Great Reward
1984 studio album by Depeche Mode From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Some Great Reward is the fourth studio album by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 24 September 1984 by Mute Records. The album peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 51 in the United States, and was supported by the Some Great Reward Tour.[5] This also saw the band using samplers, much like they did in their previous studio album Construction Time Again (1983), which they would continue to use in their following studio albums Black Celebration (1986), Music for the Masses (1987) and Violator (1990).
This was the first album where they achieved chart success in the US with the single "People Are People" which reached No. 13 on the charts in mid-1985 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a Top 20 hit in Canada. It was also the first album that peaked at a higher position on a chart that was not from the band's home country as it peaked at No. 1 in Germany.[6] Singles "Master and Servant" and "Blasphemous Rumours", which was released as a double A-side with "Somebody", both also charted in Europe.
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Background
The band had released their previous album, Construction Time Again, in August 1983, and followed up with a supporting tour that lasted through early 1984.[7] In February 1984, the band played a one-off live show at Birmingham Odeon for the BBC TV show Oxford Road Show, a month before the release of the album's first single, "People Are People", which was released before the rest of Some Great Reward was completed.[1] In July 1984, while recording the album, the band's US label Sire Records released their first compilation album, People Are People, when Construction Time Again failed to chart in the US.[8]
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Recording
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Recording for Some Great Reward began around Christmas, 1983.[1] Singer Gahan said of the new album, "We wanted to definitely go somewhere else ... the idea of going to another country [to record the album] really appealed to us."[9] The band recorded most of the album at Hansa Studios, knowing that David Bowie and Iggy Pop had recorded some of their albums there.[a][9] Producer Gareth Jones said that, going into the recording sessions for Some Great Reward that the band wanted to evolve, shed their "wimpy" sound, and "make powerful, strong records with a lot of atmosphere."[9] For the album, Depeche Mode continued to incorporate found objects into their music by hitting or dropping them in front of microphones and sampling the sound, a practice they'd started on their previous studio album, Construction Time Again.[9] Album track "Lie to Me" was one of the band's favorite tracks, although Gore expressed regret that the album version wasn't maybe as good as it could have been.[9]
Lyrically, compared to their earlier albums, the band addressed more personal themes such as sexual politics ("Master and Servant"), adulterous relationships ("Lie to Me"), and arbitrary divine justice ("Blasphemous Rumours").[10] "People Are People" took "social and political subject matter and [made] it quite poppy and commercial" and ended up being one of the band's more successful singles to date,[9] although by 2006, the band's view of the song soured, with Andrew Fletcher calling it "our biggest hit that we don't play [live anymore]".[9]
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Tour
The Some Great Reward Tour was the band's longest to date,[5] starting in late September 1984 and running through the end of July 1985.[11] A concert held at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle in Hamburg, West Germany, was recorded and issued as a video release titled The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985). The European release featured 16 songs, while the North American version featured 11 songs. The video has not yet seen a DVD release.
American synth-pop and electronic band Book of Love were the opening act for all 15 tour dates of the North American leg of the tour.[12]
Critical reception
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Melody Maker's Barry McIlheney hailed Some Great Reward and noted a "truly remarkable development" in Dave Gahan's voice, concluding that while "[i]t used to be okay to slag this bunch off because of their lack of soul, their supposed synthetic appeal, their reluctance to really pack a punch", the album "just trashes such bad old talk into the ground and demands that you now sit up and take notice of what is happening here, right under your nose".[23]
NME critic David Quantick was critical of the sound of the record, and felt that it "suffers from too many missed grips on good ideas". He continues: "It ought to be an intelligent chart contender, a mix of commercial class and magpie manipulation of the unconventional; it isn't. When that bonk and clatter is used... it's just a nod to left-field, rather than use of the sound." Of the songs and singing he says: "Often the tunes are ordinary; Martin Gore, as ever, favours a bit of a drone. In small doses (singles) this is fine. Over 40 minutes, the interest begins to wane. Dave Gahan's voice has improved greatly – in that he's learned how to use its limited range – but like the melodies, it imparts mucho sameiness to the record." He concludes: "Depeche Mode can be one the few acts worthy of the name pop group. It's just that they should be so much better."[24]
In Number One, Sunie expressed similar reservations: "The sadly under-rated Depeches turn out consistently excellent singles. But 45s rather than LPs remain their forte [...] They've progressed a million musical miles from their boppy origins, but Martin Gore's lyrics haven't kept up. Over a whole LP, their gaucheness is a major distraction from the record's musical merits."[15]
Carole Linfield, in Sounds, felt the balance of powerful music and personal lyrics was just right: "The combination of the Depeche strength of vocal and now the Depeche delicacy is going to be hard to beat... This package is a carefully assorted, daintily arranged symphony ... one that carries emotion, devotion and yet never gives way to feebleness or predictability. OK... the lyrics look trite, often naïve and frequently clichéd when printed out [...] Yet Depeche have the right balance and necessary gauche to pull it off. Perhaps it's simply that power – never mawkish – that sustains it. Whichever way, the combination locks in. The Depeche Mode clicks."[21]
German DJ Paul van Dyk cited Some Great Reward as his all-time favourite album, stating it is "one of the albums that really has influenced both myself and probably everyone who is somehow involved in electronic music."[25]
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Re-release
In 2006, Some Great Reward was re-released with a bonus DVD. The CD was remastered and was released on a CD/SACD hybrid. The bonus DVD includes the B-sides "In Your Memory" and "(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me" in addition to a remix of "Somebody" and several live versions of some of the songs from the album. The DVD also includes a documentary on the making of the album.
The remastered album was released on vinyl in March 2007.
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Track listing
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All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except "If You Want" written by Alan Wilder. All lead vocals by Dave Gahan, except where noted.
2006 Collectors Edition (CD + DVD)
- Video
- Audio
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Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Some Great Reward.[26]
Depeche Mode
Technical
- Daniel Miller – production
- Depeche Mode – production
- Gareth Jones – production
- Ben Ward – engineering assistance
- Stefi Marcus – engineering assistance
- Colin McMahon – engineering assistance
Artwork
The artwork photo was taken by the Round Oak Steelworks in Brierley Hill near Dudley, England. The Steelworks was demolished in 1984.[27] Nowadays Merry Hill Shopping Centre is at the location.
- Brian Griffin – photography
- Stuart Graham – photography assistance
- Martyn Atkins – design
- David A. Jones – design
- Marcx – design
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Charts
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Certifications
Notes
- Bowie and Pop had recorded albums like Lust for Life and "Heroes" 7 years earlier at Hansa Studios
References
External links
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