ARTIST: Depeche Mode
TITLE: Some Great Reward
LABEL: Mute
GENRE: Pop
BITRATE: 198 kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 40min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-10-02
RIP DATE: 2006-09-28

Track List

01. Something To Do                 3:47
02. Lie To Me                       5:03
03. People Are People               3:52
04. It Doesn't Matter               4:45
05. Stories Of Old                  3:14
06. Somebody                        4:27
07. Master And Servant              4:12
08. If You Want                     4:40
09. Blasphemous Rumours             6:21

Release Notes:

The peak of the band's industrial-gone-mainstream fusion, and still
one of the best electronic music albums yet recorded, Some Great
Reward still sounds great, with the band's ever-evolving musical
and production skills matching even more ambitious songwriting from
Martin Gore. "People Are People" appears here, but finds itself
outclassed by some of Depeche Mode's undisputed classics, most
especially the moody, beautiful "Somebody," a Gore-sung piano
ballad that mixes its wit and emotion skillfully; "Master and
Servant," an amped-up, slamming dance track that conflates sexual
and economic politics to sharp effect; and the closing "Blasphemous
Rumors," a slow-building anthemic number supporting one of Gore's
most cynical lyrics, addressing a suicidal teen who finds God only
to die soon afterward. Even lesser-known tracks like the low-key
pulse of "Lie to Me" and the weirdly dreamy "It Doesn't Matter"
showcase an increasingly confident band. Alan Wilder's arrangements
veer from the big to the stripped down, but always with just the
right touch, such as the crowd samples bubbling beneath "Somebody"
or the call/response a cappella start to "Master and Servant." With
Reward, David Gahan's singing style found the métier it was going
to stick with for the next ten years, and while it's never gone
down well with some ears, it still has a compelling edge to it that
suits the material well.