Depeche Mode 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion' 1993

SONG LYRICS by ALBUM

DEPECHE MODE

NEW ALBUM

"SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION"

The new, and tenth, Depeche Mode album "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" is one of the most eagerly awaited albums of 1993. Their last album "Violator" was their most successful to date and after the tour finished, playing to 1,200,000 people over eight months, the group decided to take a one year sabbatical. It took the young Essex group only three weeks to record their first album, "Speak And Spell", in 1981. The new work was made by David Gahan, Alan Wilder, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher over an eight month period from April to December 1992, with long breaks between recording and mixing sessions in Madrid, Hamburg and London.

"Your standards go up," Martin explains. "It takes longer until everybody is happy. And we've tried so many things before that, to be experimental and different takes longer." One of the secrets of the lasting appeal of Depeche Mode has been that they are indeed different from any group and any trend. Their music is always a welcome alternative to whoever and whatever happens to be in vogue. The voice of their lead vocalist David Gahan is one of the most distinctive and riveting in rock. Writer Martin Gore deals with subject matter that doesn't even occur to most lyricists, let alone get expressed in song form. Musician Alan Wilder stays on top of the latest developments in recording technology, with added input on the two albums from co-producer Flood. As Alan explains," He has the rare ability to be able to step back and have a producers' perspective but also the technical know how to be completely hands on with all the equipment. He's now become a crucial member of our team, and his contribution is vast".

The group Queen, who were born in the seventies and survived through the eighties were long considered the classic example of how four very different individuals could maintain a professional partnership that was in all their interests, realizing that people don't have to be the best of personal friends to work well together. With Depeche Mode, conceived in the eighties and destined to outlast the nineties, there has been the pleasant discovery over the years that the four members have naturally gravitate d to different tasks, respect each other's performance in the separate jobs and have no desire to compete. In simplistic terms, David is the singer, Martin the songwriter, Alan the musician and Andrew the coordinator. "I think this is the way a modern band should be", says Andy, referred to as Fletch. "If more modern bands were like that, they could run their affairs more successfully. Important financial matters that might bore many artists fascinate Fletch. "I liaise with our accountant, our office staff and our business staff and I really enjoy it to be honest. It's important to keep an eye on merchandising and royalties.

Mute, our record company, didn't have a computerized accounts system until recently, so it's a good thing Daniel Miller (who founded the label) is one of the most honest people I've ever met. We've got one of the best record deals in the music industry." "There has been a natural delegation of responsibility. 'Alan confirms.' I've always had a strong interest in the production side. A lot of the time its myself and Flood who are left there in the early hours of the morning, doing what we call 'screwdriver' work. It's sifting through bits of performance and restructuring it, which bores Martin most of the time and David to an extent, but I actually quite enjoy it." "I prefer the writing," Martin confirms. "Although you know you are creating when you're in the studio. You're starting totally afresh when you're writing. I've always found it a fascinating process. Sometimes I'll look at a song that I've just written and think that I know where it came from." Some of the most startling Depeche hits have had religious themes, including the 1984 UK top twenty hit "Blasphemous Rumours" and in 1989-90 "Personal Jesus". I've always had a fascination with religion", Gore admits. "I don't really understand it, but I've always longed for some sort of belief. A few of the songs on the new album have a sort of gospel feel." One of them," Condemnation", is a particular favourite of David Gahan. "I think that's the best lyrics and melody I've ever been given to sing and the best vocal I've ever sung", he affirms. "I wish I could have written it."

Other group members are full of praise for his performance of this and other songs on the album. "With this record we've tried to make David sing in a different way," Alan explains. "In simple things, like raising the register of the song so he has to sing higher than he would normally, forcing him to approach songs differently and making him go over and over things, trying different environments in which he hasn't sung before, not using headphones like we normally do, anything to try and get a different performance. He's responded really well. David has a very good attitude. He's willing to try things even if he doesn't understand why he's being asked to at the time. He knows that by repeatedly going over things eventually something will click and a special moment will occur". With "Condemnation", the new recording environment turned out to be a marble-tiled garage in the Madrid villa.

Five key singles in Depeche's career can be identified. The first is "Just Can't Get Enough", their initial UK top ten hit in 1981 and the record that came to typify their technopop sound with founding member Vince Clarke," before the group was a democracy," as Fletch quips. Early Depeche Mode material continues to sell to new fans. The second crucial Depeche single was "Everything Counts", a 1983 UK hit that brought criticism of the music business into the airwaves and introduced an adult tone to the young band's music. As Fletch points out, the group had the freedom to make this statement because of its close relationships with Daniel Miller's Mute Records in the UK and Seymour Stein s Sire in the US. "People Are People" was a particularly important record. It achieved what is still the group's highest British chart position (4) and introduced them to the American top twenty in 1985. Despite these distinctions, it is one of Martin Gore's least favourite compositions. "It's just not very subtle," he mourns. "I like the songs to be ambiguous enough for people to get their own meaning from them."

Martin broke new ground for top forty radio with the lyrics of "Personal Jesus," one of the best selling 12-inch discs in American history and their first US gold single. As happened with Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA", many listeners read their own meaning into the song. "We often get fans coming to concerts with meanings that are a million miles away from what I intended," Gore related," but they still seem very passionate about what they feel. I like that."

A final key single was "Enjoy The Silence", the first Depeche US top ten single and another million seller. In Britain this was chosen Best Single of 1990 by the listeners of BBC Radio for the BPI awards. Now a new group of songs stand ready to join t his select list. First in line is "I Feel You", chosen as the single both because of its infectious appeal and because its hook line "this is the dawning of our love" seems symbolic for the return of the musicians to listeners' attention. Other tracks including "Condemnation", are likely to follow. One piece noteworthy for its distinctiveness is "One Caress" on which Martin sang live to the accompaniment of a twenty-eight piece string orchestra. With this album Depeche Mode continue to make musical progress. As Alan explains," We've placed the emphasis on performance, using sequencers and other technology to re-arrange it in a way we couldn't if we were simply playing through the entire song Wilder himself will be playing more live drums on tour and Gore will come forward more to play guitar. Gahan is as fervent as an artist can be about his new work and the opportunity to perform it live. "I'd like to feel that this music will lift people and make them feel better about themselves and better in whatever they do. I'm just trying to push myself further. Central to Depeche Mode's determination to excel as a group is its' members awareness that each of the other individuals are performing at peak standard. "I value what David does on stage," Alan says," Without his performance as a front person we would be a very boring band to watch.

There are very few good front men around, and I think he doe s it well." Gahan returns the compliment to Wilder in a discussion about his studio technique. "Alan will sit there for twenty four hours until it's right. It s very special to me when people care that much about everything and want it to be that good. That s what is unique about Depeche Mode. It has been three years since Depeche Mode issued their last album, Violator, which achieved career high chart positions of two in Britain and seven in America. 1990 was spent on the World Violation Tour, which ended at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and 1992 was predominantly devoted to recording the new work. In between band members have managed to get some personal time off from the virtually non-stop schedule that has given them nine top ten UK LP's in nine releases and D.A. Pennebaker's documentary film Depeche Mode 101, filmed in part at the Pasadena Rose Bowl concert in front of 75,000 fans. The way Depeche Mode feels about returning to the road is best summed up by David. "We're getting to a stage now where the music's moving onto a higher ground, and it really moves me. The most important thing in my life right now is to get out and bring this music to the fans, now it's the circus, now it begins."

Depeche Mode will play near you in 1993

Depeche Mode about the album's songs

"I Feel You"

Alan Wilder: "All the drums on there are played. Most of them were sampled and then sequenced in the form of drum loops. That's not to say that they don't change as the song goes on. There's a series of loops, which are sequenced together, using Steinberg Cubase, in a different structure from how they were originally performed."

Martin Gore: "The whole 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion' project started off with the basic principle that we wanted to become more live, spontaneous and have a lot more performances involved. So that whole album turned out to be the rockiest that we've ever wanted to achieve. 'I Feel You' is probably the pinnacle of that and it's about the closest we're going to come to sounding like a real authentic rock band."

Dave Gahan: "And then 'I Feel You' came on while listening to Martin's demo tape: That was the moment when I looked into the mirror with the broomstick and started miming air guitar. I was ready to do something with some purpose, and suddenly things started to fall into place."

"Walking In My Shoes"

Alan Wilder: "The piano part at the beginning of 'Walking In My Shoes' was put through a guitar processor, which distorted it and made it more edgy. We added a harpsichord sample on top of that." "The piano part at the beginning of 'Walking In My Shoes' was put through a guitar processor, which distorted it and made it more edgy. We added a harpsichord sample on top of that."

Martin Gore: "If I really had to stick my neck out and choose my all time favourite song, it would probably be "Walking In My Shoes". I think it has a great melody—the words and the subject matter really complement each other perfectly. The instrumentation is also interesting."

"Condemnation"

Alan Wilder: "On 'Condemnation', we put the piano through some kind of wobbly pitch-shifter. The idea of that track was to enhance the gospel feel that the song originally had without going into pastiche, and to try to create the effect of it being played in a room, in a space. So we began by getting all four members of the group to do one thing each in the same space. Fletcher was bashing a flight case with a pole, Flood and Dave were clapping, I was playing a drum, and Martin was playing an organ. We listened back to it. it was embryonic, but it gave us an idea for a direction."

Martin Gore: "Being the songwriter, I am not supposed to keep saying that I think it's a great song, somebody else is supposed to say it. I really like that song, but I am not sure that we got the best out of it. Our album version is sort of pastiche gospel but the single version, that we recorded using gospel singers, is probably better. Although I am still not sure that that's the optimum we could have got out of the song."

Dave Gahan: "I immediately knew the song. It wasn't necessarily completely accurate to the way Martin wrote the melody line or the phrasing or the timing. I just sang it, and [after] I sang it, the tape stopped rolling and it went on quiet. I've got my headphones on and I hear [producer] Flood's voice go, 'Yeah, I mean, you could do another one. But I think we got it.'" "When I first heard 'Condemnation', it was a total relief; I couldn't believe it."

"Mercy In You"

Alan Wilder: "That's a backwards high piano at the end of 'Mercy In You'."

"Judas"

Alan Wilder: "The beginning of "Judas" has Uillean pipes recorded straight, with backwards reverb mixed in."

Martin Gore: "'Judas' is an arrogant love song. We are not condoning unsafe sex. It is about wanting one hundred percent of someone in a relationship – the ultimate arrogance."

"In Your Room"

Alan Wilder: "That song was quite difficult. We recorded the song three or four different ways. One was entirely as you hear it in the second verse, with the smaller drum kit and the "groovy" bass line. But the whole song with that rhythm wasn't strong enough; it didn't go anywhere. We had the song structure from a fairly early stage. We knew where we wanted the verses, choruses, and middle eights. So I went in and played drums along with the track in one particular style, then did it again in a funkier style, and so on. The cymbals after the word "flames" was a late addition. Since that's such an up part of the song, it felt necessary to add something at that point. We put it in at the mix. It's often not until you get to the mix stage that it becomes obvious that another part is required. When you're in the recording process, you've never got it sounding good enough to tell. So quite a few of those embellishments get put on at the mix stage, like backwards cymbals." "Convinced of the song's potential as a single, [Alan] campaigned rigorously on behalf of the album version to the point where various different edits were tried, but was eventually out-voted in favour of a remix by Nirvana producer and current 'grunge' dahling of the press, Butch Vig. Unfortunately, as is often the case with outside remixers, Vig's interpretation did not relate to many of the aspects of the original and the track lost much of it's Depeche Mode character, falling short of it's intended sensuality and intensity."

Martin Gore: "I think 'In Your Room' could be potentially bigger as a hit single than 'I Feel You', but it's six and a half minutes long. It could be edited down, but I think part of its beauty is its length. It'll be difficult to work with it." "The worst memory about In Your Room is the making of the video. We spent a whole day in the studio filming and I probably had lunch at some point, but it was just something really small, like half a sandwich. We finished filming at about 8 o'clock, and went back to the hotel and I forgot to eat. We went to the bar and I didn't eat ... We went out to a club, met some guy who gave me some stuff, so I was up all night until probably 9 or 10 in the morning. We had a band meeting at 12 o'clock and I managed to sleep for about an hour. Then I got up and I've never felt so dreadful in my life. I managed to literally crawl to this meeting, I had to lay on the floor just saying 'Yes' or 'No', that was all I could muster.[2] And that was when I went into a seizure. So whenever I see this video, I just think, 'Oh, God' ... It brings back terrible memories."

Dave Gahan: "Often, with a lot of those sort of songs bring out all these sad emotions and lost time, like 'In Your Room', that's kind of how it felt, you know, during those darker times for me, if you like. I was in my own little room. I felt very protected in my own little room for a while and I was invincible and I could come out when I wanted and go back in when I wanted and the room was a safe place, but now that room scares me and I don't really want to go in there any more. So, when I was singing that song on the last tour Singles 86-98, it was almost like I could sing it from outside the room, but go there for a little bit and look at it and peer in. It was a lot more fun than singing it like it was the last time I was going to sing it every night. For instance, on 'Songs of Faith and Devotion', on that tour, I really got off on the whole kind of darkness of that period of my life and it got really boring." "'In Your Room', I think it's one of my favourites, actually, to perform."

Andy Fletcher: "Consider the issue of Dave Gahan suggesting that Butch Vig (producer of Nirvana’s Nevermind and Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream) remix the third single from Songs, In Your Room. Vig brought his own guitarist to add a new track – at first crackling then bursting into sonic overdrive – to the emotive ballad, upping the drums and giving it an alt-rock treatment that's surprisingly controlled amidst classic Gore melodrama like Your favourite mirror, your favourite slave... "It's an interesting mix, completely different to what we would have done, though we prefer our own original mix," notes Fletcher, despite initial rumours that the mix at one stage was to be consigned to the vault never to be released. For Fletcher, it's a matter of their roots: "We still like to consider ourselves European sounding and away from that American grunge sound, we’re not jumping on that bandwagon in any way."

"Get Right With Me"

Martin Gore: "We had already done the vocal tracks on all the songs, but Flood had this idea about a gospel choir. I was very suspicious, I thought we would lose what we’d already achieved. Which was actually quite good! It sounded a bit like Beatles circa 66-67. And I like The Beatles. But as soon as they came into the studio and started singing, the song was given a whole new dimension."

"Rush"

Alan Wilder: "The nice thing about backwards reverb is that it adds space to a sound without making it washy. I'm against using a lot of reverb most of the time, because I can't stand the distancing effect it makes. But I do often want to hear sounds in a space, or try to keep all the clarity of a sound while still trying to put it somewhere. Backwards reverb can do exactly that. There's a part in the middle of "Rush," the sort of progressive rock track near the end of the album, where the voice has lots of backwards reverb; that really sets the vocal part off."

"One Caress"

Alan Wilder: "Once we decided we wanted "real" strings, there was only really one or two choices as to who should arrange them. Will Malone arranged the strings for Massive Attack's 'Unfinished Sympathy', a particular favourite of both myself and Martin Gore. The strings were recorded at Olympic Studios in London, using a 28 piece sting section, to which Martin sang the vocal "live" - thus equalling the fastest ever recording of any one Depeche Mode track, the other being Somebody."

Martin Gore: "The best thing about it was that it was so spontaneous. The string quartet came in and played and I sang with them live. We recorded the song in three hours, usually every song takes about a month. I don’t share the belief that synthesizers and samplers aren’t real instruments, but there’s something special with musicians, real string players. They’ve studied many years to play their instruments. I felt within me that my music was suddenly taken more seriously. I know I shouldn’t feel that way. But however stupid it might sound, suddenly hearing ”real” musicians who have studied music for years performing your song makes it, in a way, come off as more serious. It’s just a feeling, and a false one. But it’s there."

Andy Fletcher: "That was meant to be just a B-side, but it turned out so well we thought we'd put it on the album."

"Higher Love"

Alan Wilder: "We would usually reach a consensus to form a short-list of potential singles. For example, "Higher Love" was on this list for the SOFAD singles but never made it and there were differences of opinion about in which order they should appear. Dave felt very strongly that "Condemnation" should have been the first single but he was out-voted. I wanted "Walking In My Shoes" as a second single and got my way but I really wanted the original version of "In Your Room" instead of the Zephyr mix. This is all a good example of the problems of democracy - somebody usually ends up disappointed."

12" (STUMM106) UK

● MATRIX: RUNOUT / BARCODE

Barcode:   5 016025 311064

Other Labels:   Made In England

Runout etching side A:   STUMM 106 A1 DMM

Runout etching side B:   STUMM 106 B1 TOWNHOUSE DMM DMM

Vinyl record format:   STEREO

Cover: Made In England. Printed inner sleeve included. Initial copys came with a 15 x 21 cm window sticker (see picture).

Cassette (C STUMM 106) UK

● BARCODE

Other:   Made in England

Barcode:   5 016025 411061

Cover: Made In England. Printed inner sleeve included. Initial copys came with a 15 x 21 cm window sticker (see picture)

CD (CD STUMM 106) UK

"I Feel You" 04:35

"Walking In My Shoes" 05:35

"Condemnation" 03:20

"Mercy In You" 04:17

"Judas" 05:14

"In Your Room" 06:26

"Get Right With Me" (Interlude hidden track, starting at 02:55 (00:57)) 03:32

"Rush" 04:37

"One Caress" 03:32

"Higher Love" 05:56

● MATRIX: RUNOUT / BARCODE

Barcode:   5 016025 611065

Other: CD   Made in England

Runout:   CDSTUMM 106 · MASTERED BY NIMBUS

CD record format:   STEREO

Cover: Made In England. Original - The first edition with Nimbus Matrix without Mould SID Code. Some copies include also "Mute/Documentary Evidence 7" booklet.

MD (MDSTUMM106) UK release 05 February 2001

"I Feel You" 04:35

"Walking In My Shoes" 05:35

"Condemnation" 03:20

"Mercy In You" 04:17

"Judas" 05:14

"In Your Room" 06:26

"Get Right With Me" (Interlude hidden track, starting at 02:55 (00:57)) 03:32

"Rush" 04:37

"One Caress" 03:32

"Higher Love" 05:56

● BARCODE / OTHER

Barcode:   5 016025 911066

DCC (DCC STUMM 106) UK

"I Feel You" 04:35

"Walking In My Shoes" 05:35

"Condemnation" 03:20

"Mercy In You" 04:17

"Judas" 05:14

"In Your Room" 06:26

"Get Right With Me" (Interlude hidden track, starting at 02:55 (00:57)) 03:32

"Rush" 04:37

"One Caress" 03:32

"Higher Love" 05:56

● BARCODE / OTHER

Barcode:   5016025511068

DEPECHE MODE COMMERCIAL TV

PRODUCTION DETAILS ALBUM

"I Feel You" 04:35  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe.

"Walking In My Shoes" 05:35  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe.

"Condemnation" 03:20  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe.

"Mercy In You" 04:17  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe.

"Judas" 05:14  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe. Uileann pipes by Steafan Hannigan.

"In Your Room" 06:26  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe.

"Get Right With Me" (Interlude hidden track, starting at 02:55 (00:57)) 03:32  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe. Additional vocals by Bazil Meade, Hildia Cambell and Samantha Smith. | "Interlude" - Remix by Brian Eno. Additional guitar by Jamie West-Oram. Additional synths by Brian Eno.

"Rush" 04:37  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe.

"One Caress" 03:32  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe. Strings arranged and conducted by Wil Malone.

"Higher Love" 05:56  •  Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Mixed by Mark Stent. Engineered by Steve Lyon, Chris Dickie and Paul Kendall. Assisted by Jeremy Wheatley, Mark Einstmann, Shaun de Feo and Volke Schneider. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe.

THE 8th STUDIO ALBUM

discussion album

1993