Depeche Mode release their twelfth album, the aptly titled 'Ultra' on April 14 on Mute. Following 1993's platinum selling, No. 1 album, 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion', 'Ultra' was recorded and produced in New York, Los Angeles and London during the last year by Tim Simenon. The album stands as a personal and artistic triumph from a band who lived through their darkest days during its creation. Depeche Mode - singer Dave Gahan, songwriter Martin Gore and "backbone" Andy Fletcher - have survived personal and professional upheavals, including the departure of Alan Wilder and Gahan's much publicised drugs busts and rehabilitation, to make the most diverse, engaging and exhilarating album of their 17 years together.
Including the hit singles 'Barrel Of A Gun' and 'It's No Good', 'Ultra' unveils a sophisticated soundscape that draws influence from contemporary dance, gospel, blues and even country sources. In the words of Dave Gahan: "I think it's true to say there's elements of every kind of music in Depeche Mode, and that's what's unique about us is that we don't limit ourselves to one area. We listen to styles that compliment that song and take it to that place rather than sticking to a format."
Once more turning his pen to matters of the frailties in human relationships ('It's No Good', 'Useless'), predetermined fate ('Barrel Of A Gun'), alienation ('Sister Of Night') and redemption ('Home'), Martin Gore has created broad and evocative songs for Gahan to fully dramatise. With Tim Simenon at the controls, the brooding and sensual dance aesthetic that Gore's original demos first brought to mind has been fully realised. "He really helped us out, because the way the songs were written and demoed they lent themselves to a dance direction, but not dance in a disco sense," Martin explains.
Even so, fired by a restless imagination, the band also step out on a limb for the intriguing, Martin Denny-esque 'Jazz Thieves', the blues drenched 'Freestate' and the gospel noir of 'The Bottom Line'. "A lot of people are far too narrow minded in what they listen to," considers Gore. "There's been a lot of really interesting music that's happened over the last 100, as opposed to the last five to eight years."
Depeche Mode's broadness of musical vision is reflected in the choice of collaborators who appear on 'Ultra': Jaki Liebezeit, drummer with German experimental pioneers Can, former Living Colour/Tackhead bassist Doug Wimbish and pedal steel guitarist supreme B.J. Cole. As Tim Simenon enthuses: "Martin's an amazing songwriter and I want people to take their hat off to him."
Dave Gahan considers his vocal performances on 'Ultra' to be the best of his career: "They really take you to a place, wherever that place may be, and they take you on a journey, tell you a story and you listen, you know, it draws you in. 'Sister Of Night', for me personally, is one of the best vocals I've ever produced."
As he sings on the album's closing track 'Insight'; "I'm talking to you now/The fire still burns." Lesser bands may have crumbled by now, but Depeche Mode are firmly, defiantly back in business.
Full track listing for 'Ultra' is as follows:
Barrel Of A Gun / The Love Thieves / Home / It's No Good / Uselink / Useless / Sister Of Night /Jazz Thieves / Freestate / The Bottom Line / Insight
'Ultra' is released on CD/MC/LP.
The catalogue numbers are:
CD CDSTUMM148
CASSETTE CSTUMM148
LP STUMM148
'Ultra' was released on April 14 1997.
Depeche Mode about the album's songs
"Barrel Of A Gun"
'Barrel Of A Gun' was written by Martin Gore during the three-month break from mid-May 1996 till mid-August 1996. He also said about the song: "'Barrel Of A Gun' was little difficult in the timing of the vocals. It's rap inspired, which Depeche hadn't done before, so that was a struggle sometimes, but that made it really interesting."
Martin Gore: "'Barrel Of A Gun' is about understanding what you're about and realising that you don't necessarily fit into somebody else's scheme of things. You can have slight diversions from your path, but I think there is something that is written for us, that is meant to be. I'm not being totally fatalistic. I think that we do have a say in things, but I don't think that say is very strong." 'Barrel Of A Gun' was one song of Ultra that remained very similar to the original demo. All the parts were basically there, so it was just a question of bettering the sounds and making it a bit harder. But that was probably one of the most similar demos to the finished version. I think we originally started off with loops for the intro, and then tried to recreate them. It's very hard sometimes because a loop has an immediate atmosphere, but you don't always want to use a loop. So in this case it was a matter of recreating it by cutting up various loops to get snares and bass drum sounds. "I think that after Alan left the band, and after an absence of four years, we all individually came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to release something that was a bit more of a challenge, something that wasn’t necessarily so Depeche Mode-like. We felt that “Barrel Of A Gun” was probably about the furthest from what we’ve done in the past. I think it was me who first tentatively suggested that maybe 'Barrel Of A Gun' should be released as a single. I expected a lot of resistance and expected all the others to be arguing for days, saying ‘you must be mad’, but immediately they said ‘we’ve actually been thinking the same’ – so it was such an easy decision to make. I think we’re all really pleased we took that route, and didn’t release “It’s No Good” as the first single."
Dave Gahan: "'Barrel Of A Gun' for me is more a figurative speaking song, it's about not having much choice to make decisions. I think we are all born with genetic lineage, which means we can stray from it, but we can only stray slightly. There is also your whole social background. We all have certain cages, and that's what the song is about. I didn't have too many choices when I was in the position I was in, so the song not particularly about death. The rest of the songs are though. (laughs)" Ultra is one of my favourites, 'Barrel of a Gun' in particular, because I think Martin was also playing with this imagery as well, sort of pointing the finger at me. When I perform that song now, it really describes the way I felt at that time: This creature that was barely existing, but somehow still thought he had it going on (laughs). Martin was spot-on with his lyrics. I mean, I don’t even know if the song was written about me, or for me, or poking at me to say "For f–k’s sake, get your s–t together!" But it worked. I liked it."
"Home"
Martin Gore: "To be honest that song was written at a pretty dark period in my life when I was recognising the amount that I was depending on alcohol to fill my daily existence. I saw that my whole lifestyle was being affected by that fact and I think the song was a way of recording my "resignation" at the situation." "It's got a great atmosphere and a great string arrangement."
"It's No Good"
Martin Gore: "This is the one that sounded most like Depeche Mode on Ultra, but I still really like it, because it's again, just on that right side of commerciality. I think it's really good when we achieve that balance." "I specifically remember "It's No Good", and one of my friends will be very pleased that you asked about that one, because, there's a friend of mine Denise D'Sylva, who lives in Australia, and I don't see her very often at all, but when I wrote that song, I thought that maybe it was a little on the "poppy" side. We always have this kind of like, line that we draw in the sand, and if a song crosses over too much, then it's like, "Ohhh, we're not sure, what are we gonna do?" If we do it, we're gonna have to really change it or something. So I didn't think, 'Oh, this is an amazing song, this is a great hit', I was, "I'm not sure about it", and I actually remember playing it to Denise D'Sylva on a guitar, and she said: 'No Martin, that's it. You gotta do that. That's a hit.'
Dave Gahan: "It was the most Depeche Mode sounding song that we've put out for a long time. The title itself is pretty funny, Depeche Mode's new single, 'It's No Good'. I like that."
"Useless"
Martin Gore: "It's one of the rockiest pieces that we’ve ever done and it's probably up there with 'I Feel You'. I think we're on that right side of another line when it comes to rock, but I don't think we'll ever be a rock band or a heavy metal band. We might branch out and do things like pop or we might do some rock but we'll still retain some identity."
"Sister Of Night"
Dave Gahan: "The only vocal on Ultra that I recorded at Electric Lady Studios - the only vocal I performed high - was 'Sister Of Night'. I can hear how scared I was. I'm glad it's there to remind me. I could see the pain I was causing everybody." "'Sisters Of Night' is actually my favorite on the album, in terms of the vocal on there. It kind of glides along. I sometimes find it really hard to listen to myself, but on that particular song, I would say that's really kind of "me," if that makes any sense. It's a really honest vocal. I particularly got into the song quite a bit."
Martin Gore: "'Sister of Night' was the only vocal track Dave managed to complete during several weeks in New York last spring. He came to the studio every morning but sounded horrible. I asked if he was alright and he said that everything was OK. He continued to lie like that, day after day."
Andy Fletcher: "The closest it came to coming apart was after the New York recording session, where we got one vocal out of Dave in six weeks. He was in a typical state where he was incapable of singing. He went out to Los Angeles to try to sort himself out. We heard two weeks later on the radio that he'd OD'd. We felt that at this point we were hitting our heads against the wall and getting absolutely nowhere. I did a lot of searching to decide what to do with the band because at one point I thought it was better for David if the band didn't exist anymore because it wasn't doing him any good."
SINGLE
Barrel Of A Gun
It's No Good
Home
Useless
VINYL RELEASE
12" (STUMM 148) UK
Side A. Other Side
1."Barrel Of A Gun" 05:35
2."The Love Thieves" 06:34
3."Home" 05:42
4."It's No Good" 05:58
5."Uselink" 02:21
6."Useless" 05:12
Side B. This Side
1."Sister Of Night" 06:04
2."Jazz Thieves" 02:54
3."Freestate" 06:44
4."The Bottom Line" 04:26
5."Insight" 06:26
6."Junior Painkiller" 02:11
● MATRIX: RUNOUT / BARCODE
Barcode:5 016025 311484
Runout etching side A:MPO THE EXCHANGE STUMM 148 A¹
Runout etching side B:STUMM 148 B¹ MPO
Cover: Made in England. Track 12 is not mentioned on the artwork. B6 is a hidden track not listed on release. With printed inner sleeve. Matte cover.
MC RELEASE
Cassette (C STUMM 148) UK
Side A
"Barrel Of A Gun" 05:35
"The Love Thieves" 06:34
"Home" 05:42
"It's No Good" 05:58
"Uselink" 02:21
"Useless" 05:12
Side B
"Sister Of Night" 06:04
"Jazz Thieves" 02:54
"Freestate" 06:44
"The Bottom Line" 04:26
"Insight" 06:26
"Junior Painkiller" 02:11
● BARCODE
Label Code:LC5834
Barcode:5 016025 311481
Track 12 is not mentioned on the artwork. Released with printed inner sleeve.
CD RELEASE
CD (CD STUMM 148) UK
1."Barrel Of A Gun" 05:35
2."The Love Thieves" 06:34
3."Home" 05:42
4."It's No Good" 05:58
5."Uselink" 02:21
6."Useless" 05:12
7."Sister Of Night" 06:04
8."Jazz Thieves" 02:54
9."Freestate" 06:44
10."The Bottom Line" 04:26
11."Insight" 06:26
12."Junior Painkiller" 02:11
● MATRIX: RUNOUT / BARCODE
Label Code:LC5834
Barcode:5 016025 611485
Mould SID Code:ifpi 2303
Mastering SID Code:IFPI L122
Runout: C4961 CDSTUMM 148 :: 1:4 MASTERED BY NIMBUS
Cover: Made in England. Track 12 is not mentioned on the artwork. "CD Stumm 148" on booklet / "cdstumm148" on sticker.
BOX SET PROMOTIONAL RELEASE
ULTRA
CD, VHS (MUTE BX STUMM 148) 1997 UK
CD
1."Barrel Of A Gun" 05:35
2."The Love Thieves" 06:34
3."Home" 05:42
4."It's No Good" 05:58
5."Uselink" 02:21
6."Useless" 05:12
7."Sister Of Night" 06:04
8."Jazz Thieves" 02:54
9."Freestate" 06:44
10."The Bottom Line" 04:26
11."Insight" 06:26
12."Junior Painkiller" 02:11
VHS
Ultra Electronic Press Kit
UK promo-only custom box set, contains promo t-shirt, regular CD & EPK video, in soap-powder style custom box with tear-off serrated strip.
VIDEO
'Ultra' 26.02.1997 (Short Film)
DEPECHE MODE COMMERCIAL TV
AUDIO | RELEASES
PRODUCTION DETAILS ALBUM
"Barrel Of A Gun" 05:35 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Percussion by Victor Indrizzo.
"The Love Thieves" 06:34 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Additional vocals engineered by Gareth Jones.
"Home" 05:42 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Additional vocals engineered by Gareth Jones. Strings arranged by Dave Clayton. Strings scored and conducted by Richard Niles. Strings coordinated by Graham Perkins.
"It's No Good" 05:58 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Percussion by Victor Indrizzo.
"Uselink" 02:21 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Gareth Jones. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. System 700 by Daniel Miller.
"Useless" 05:12 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Drums by Gota Yashiki and Keith Le Blanc. Percussion by Danny Cummings. Bass by Doug Wimbish.
"Sister Of Night" 06:04 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.
"Jazz Thieves" 02:54 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.
"Freestate" 06:44 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Additional vocals engineered by Gareth Jones. Percussion by Danny Cummings.
"The Bottom Line" 04:26 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Percussion by Jaki Liebezeit. Pedal Steel Guitar by BJ Cole.
"Insight" 06:26 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.
"Junior Painkiller" 02:11 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.
ULTRA PREVIEW
Barrel of a Gun
Files already available in the "Audio Files" pase Lofficial lyrics!
For sale since February, 3rd, 1997.
The Love Thieves
MP3 File (2,711,405 bytes, 06:27) : lovet16.mp1 (Thanks to Jesus Roncero)
MP3 File (1,094,680 bytes, 04:33) : Ithicves.zip only works with Winplay 2.4)
WAV File (480,058 bytes, 00:60) : lovetlie.zin
Very Violator sounding, Dave sings heautifully (those lessons paid off), laws ofnice spooky guitar sounds.
Home
MP3 File (2,290,102 bytes, 05:27) : home.zip (Thonks to Jesus Roncero)
The next Mode single will be It's Nu Good, with b-side Slowblow (one word, an instrumental). This was supposed to be the first single, but it sounds very DM so they wanted to go with something different-hence RnaG. Most commercial song, very Policy of Truth, very good.
Uselink
NO SOUNDFILE AVAIL.ABLE (yet ;)
Short instrumental that sound a bit like Japan (the hond), kinda dated but good.
The second halfis very slow, very bullady, This starts offwith weird effects (thre's lots of them), and goes very stark, almost Stripped-stark, just synths and a bit of guitar. Reference
