WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME : DEPECHE MODE - LiVE SPiRiTS

I'm often accused of being unable to criticise Depeche Mode, seen as a cheerleader for the band unable to analyse their work objectively. Certainly my deep love of Depeche means that any new album is greeted with almost unbridled enthusiasm - my Spirit review is evidence of that alone - but when I do criticise the band, as I did when they released the pointless and amusingly expensive Mode boxset, I get criticised for offering a negative opinion. That's life I suppose, and if I'm silly enough to expect people to read things that I put up online about a band whose fanbase is, to put it mildly, dedicated then I am of course fair game. 

Depeche Mode split opinion in many areas, not least within their own fanbase. Everything they say, do or release is subject to levels of analysis that would make a United Nations debate seem under prepared. You know the battle grounds by now - Alan or no Alan, drums or no drums, obscure album tracks or greatest hits, anything new not being as good as anything old and so on and so on and so on until the internet runs out of space because someone in the Ukraine is telling someone in Montreal that the whole world changed for the worse when Alan left over two decades ago. It'll never end. 

Tours are one of the great uniting factors among Depeche Mode fans however. Everyone loves a Depeche Mode tour and the gigs are now huge communal meet-ups celebrating the best band there has ever been (note lack of objectivity - it was quite deliberate).Ok, not everyone loves the tours. People will always complain about setlist variation (very little of that since 1984 fact fans) or the new band set up, more of which in a bit, but, in the main, Depeche Mode fans love a Depeche Mode tour.

And Depeche Mode fans loved the Global Spirit Tour. The band played their biggest tour ever, taking in 130 mainly sold out dates. The enthusiasm for the tour was such that I managed to get all 130 gigs reviewed on this blog by fans who were at them and, in the main, the reviews were all positive. I went to nine gigs in total, from the Barrowlands to both nights in Berlin, and every one I went to was an incredible experience. Things like the new remixes of Everything Counts and Walking In My Shoes, "Heroes" at the London Stadium, Personal Jesus at the Barrowlands and three days in Berlin with friends old and new that I will never forget meant that the Global Spirit Tour was a remarkable event for me. I know many other people felt the same and so there was great interest in the live film that would inevitably follow the tour when cameras were noted at the Waldbuhne gigs.

Now, no live recording will replicate the feeling of being at the gig that was actually recorded; no-one would ever expect that. I was lucky to have been at the Waldbuhne and I genuinely thought that gig was one of the best Depeche shows I've been to as my review said. That night, Stripped sounded as good as it ever has done, a titanic track played against a backdrop of a glorious deep pink sky as the sun finally set over the stage. Never Let Me Down Again was louder than I had ever heard it and all the better for it and the whole set with the exception of the mood slowing Poison Heart and Where's The Revolution flew by, positively crackling with electricity from beginning to end. It was a special gig to be at and the crowd had an edge, infused with an unspoken agreement between us all that we would celebrate this glorious band in case, as is always rumoured, that this was going to be the last Depeche Mode show ever. The feeling that everyone present had that night could never be replicated but surely it could at least be hinted at on any release?. Surely LiVE SPiRiTS should show people just how good it was?

Sadly, it doesn't. This live album is flat. It's badly mixed, it seems too slow in places (play Stripped from this and then listen to the bootlegs - something has gone wrong somewhere) and, in places, it just sounds awful. It lays bare things you don't acknowledge on the tour such as a Depeche Mode gig being no place for a bass guitar or the sounds the band use on tracks like Everything Counts are weak cover band versions of the real thing, a real thing the band played for years with no need to alter it. There is far too much here that just doesn't fit - it's really strange.

Ultimately, it's just really disappointing. There are moments of absolute genius of course, such as The Things You Said (sigh...), Everything Counts' incredible intro (though PLEASE lose those bloody tom- tom fills - ARGH) and a quite glorious "Heroes," one of the night's emotional high points, but there are not enough of those moments. I usually try to shy away from the whole things-aren't-as-good-as-they-used-to-be thing, but it's no Devotional or 101. To be perfectly honest, the live tracks on the Limited edition 12" singles of Get The Balance Right, Everything Counts and Love In Itself have more life to them overall. 

The live album, a few tracks aside, isn't one I'll return to much if at all. The DVD is great to have because it takes me back to that glorious night in Berlin and there are moments on it that brought me out of my seat like I was celebrating yet another glorious Mo Salah goal (Liverpool have just won the league - let me have this) but it doesn't get across the energy the whole arena positively fizzed with that night. I've seen people take issue with a number of the performance aspects on the DVD but I'm not that interested in analysing Dave's dancing, Martin's bouncing/dancing thing or Peter's petering. I'm interested in the music and sadly, this release doesn't hit the heights I need it to.

As I've mentioned above, I would never expect that this release would allow me to feel what I felt at the gig - even for a Depeche Mode fan that would be a demand too far. What I expected though was something that at least sounded like I know the band sounded that night at what a special gig. What we've got instead is a decent enough show that sounds like it was played at a decent enough venue during a decent enough tour. Nearly two years on from the Waldbuhne, it doesn't serve as a memento of a great tour; it serves as nothing more than a reminder a tour happened.

And, believe me, as a band cheerleader, I hate saying that.

LIVE REVIEW: DEPECHE MODE, FRIENDS ARENA, STOCKHOLM 5 MAY 2017

The Global Spirit Tour kicked off tonight in Stockholm in fine style, with Depeche Mode putting on a display that matched the energy that runs through the wonderful Spirit, creating a set list that not only saw the new songs fit in seamlessly, but one which also breathed life into a seemingly endless run of back catalogue classics. Spoilers will follow from this point, so if you don't want to know what happened, look away now.

 

As with the pre-tour shows, the set opened with Going Backwards (above) and So Much Love. Rather wonderfully however, once Martin's traditional pre show techno set ended, The Beatles' Revolution was partially played, before the boots from the front of Spirit marched towards us over the background of (I think) a remix of Where's The Revolution, prior to the show kicking off. Anton's stage design and films have been much maligned in recent tours, but this time, he's been rather clever. The usual screen is there of course, but there's a raised level behind Christian's drum riser and it was on there that Dave appeared as Going Backwards began and the effect was quite wonderful. It really is a powerful opener and already something of a Depeche classic. So Much Love is more powerful live than recorded and it's backed with a wonderful Anton film (below), showing the band performing it outdoors as a tight knit three piece and that is quite simply a glorious thing, What a start.

We then hit a run of three tracks that graced the pre-tour shows, starting with Barrel Of A Gun which seems to have finally found its feet, all dark power and gloriously gloomy metallic majesty. A Pain That I'm Used To came next, Peter Gordeno on bass duties of course, before Corrupt ended what you might call the familiar part of the set. I have grown to love this song since the Barrowlands gig and it sounded epic in a stadium setting.

The first surprise of the night followed with In Your Room.  How is that a surprise you might ask and you 'd be right to. Here's why - this was the album version, not the Zephyr Mix version that has clogged up the latter part of setlists in the last few tours. A full on, Songs Of Faith And Devotion friendly version that even features Martin singing the "wooaaaaah" parts after lines such as "Will you let the morning come soon?" to quite spectacular and downright gorgeous effect. The album version of In Your Room! I was blown away by it. Wow, wow, wow. The pre-tour version of World In My Eyes followed, all slinky and Kraftwerky in its electronic glory, before the majestic Cover Me arrived.  If Dave never writes a song again he can relax knowing that he wrote something this glorious. Against a backdrop of another black and white Anton film showing Dave as a spaceman wandering the earth looking sad yet incredibly rockstarish (Is Dave the spaceman from the Never Let Me Down Again film from 93/94?), the first half of the song flowed wonderfully, before the second half lifted the crowd up, transporting them to the stars with Dave, as its Krautrock synth symphony worked its magic. It's very much to Dave's credit that this song already feels very much part of the Depeche Mode landscape. It's undeniably brilliant.

As seasoned Depeche watchers no doubt expect, Dave then headed off for a much deserved break, leaving Martin to sing a full band version of Home and a piano version of A Question Of Lust. Yes I've heard both before many times, and, yes, I wish Martin had perhaps been a tad braver in his choices, but I got to see him sing A Question Of Lust live and that can never, ever be a bad thing. Dave then popped back up ontstage to sing Poison Heart, faithful to the album version and sounding a little restrained. It will come into its own as the tour progresses though, and the "Ohhh-ohhh-ohhh" parts are destined to become sing along classics. Our last song from Spirit followed with Where's The Revolution, a song that was built for huge stadia like Friends Arena, Dave took to the raised part of the stage again here, recalling his preaching role in the video and it added to the song's rabble rousing atmosphere nicely. Surprise number two came next with Wrong returning to the set. It started off in a remixed fashion, before turning into the sort of stomping version the song should have had on the Tour Of The Universe. It really worked coming straight after Where's The Revolution. 

Two surprises are nice, but a third would surely spoil us wouldn't it? Well spoiled we are, because, after a techno type remix intro that I must say fooled me, a familiar metallic scraping noise arrived and, all of a sudden we were being insincere in Korea. Yes, it's Everything Counts, and I make no apologies for losing my marbles when that came on. Of course, it fits perfectly with Spirit's themes and it makes absolute sense for the song to feature in the setlist, but all that aside, Everything Counts  could be the only song that played and it would never fail to make me grin like a lunatic. Welcome back you delicious beauty. 

By this point we were in full flow and the main set ended on three songs most bands would give their entire careers to even half emulate - Stipped, Enjoy The Silence and Never Let Me Down Again, the latter of which sounded as powerful as all the bombs in the world going off at the same time. Those three songs played in a row, coming at the end of what has been a relentless, powerful set, with a band rejuvenated and on their best form in years is truly something to behold. It's at times like these that you wonder how some people can say they don't like Depeche Mode. How can that even be possible? As an aside, Anton's film for Enjoy The Silence (above) was remarkable. It features, among other animals, a sheep, a cow, a horse, a rabbit and a chicken, all hanging around looking bemused. Oddly, it works, although I have no idea what it means conceptually. Moo-sic for the Masses maybe?

Unusually, there was only one encore, but it was 5 songs long and ended the night on a high. It opened with the traditional Martin slot and he sung Somebody. Perhaps you might think it's a bit of a safe choice and a bit overplayed, but it sounded lovely tonight. Walking In My Shoes followed it and it is the same version as the pre tour shows, if anything sounding even more powerful. What a song. I will never tire of it, We then for the final surprise of the night, a surprise that seemed to take everyone's breath away, as the band launched into a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes." Soncially, it was a very modern day Depeche take on the song, with Martin's guitar backing up Dave's vocals nicely and it was played against a backdrop of a black version of one of the flags from the Spirit cover in a fitting tribute to Bowie. It's hard to play a cover of that song and get away with it, but Depeche did, perhaps because, without that song and Vince Clarke overhearing Dave sing it, we wouldn't have Depeche Mode in the first place. 

All good things must end, and that means Depeche must finally call it a night, They ended with blistering versions of  I Feel You (another old song that sounds more alive than ever) and Personal Jesus, leaving the crowd simultaneously wanting more and feeling like they'd had the Depeche Mode gig of their lives. A stunning show and, if this is just the tour opener, then we are going to be in for a treat over the next twelve months or so.

Spirit showed that there is still a lot of life in Depeche Mode and that alone was a wonderful thing. To see them follow their best album in 20 years with a show as alive and as thrilling as this is another thing altogether. Do all you can to get a ticket for one of the Global Spirit Tour gig. There are very few bands left like Depeche Mode and, in all honesty, when they are on this form, there are no others that can touch them as a live act. Get on board.

LOW - IN MEMORY OF DAVID BOWIE, 8 JANUARY 1947 to 11 JANUARY 2016

In the wake of the news of his death yesterday, I debated whether or not to write anything about David Bowie as I don't know what I can say that hasn't already been said a million times since yesterday morning. Someone like him comes along once in a generation and his music has touched so many people over so many years that the wall to wall coverage of his passing on television and radio yesterday seemed wholly appropriate. It was only on seeing that and on hearing people talk about how he'd changed their lives that I fully realised just what David Bowie meant to the world. Until that point, I guess I'd only thought about what he meant to me. What do I write though? I don't know enough to write an obituary of sorts, I'm not expert enough to write about his back catalogue. I wanted to write something though as I feel I have to let something out as I'm still stunned by his death. As Low is my favourite David Bowie record, I thought I'd focus on that.

When I was in my teens, I went through the stage of getting into music and that stage still hasn't ended 25 years later on. Bowie was one of the artists that I read about back then as being influential and someone whose music I had to hear. Bands I loved then such as Depeche Mode spoke of him as an influence and bands I was getting into at the time, like The Cure, New Order and Pet Shop Boys, used him as a reference point so I had to explore. My love at the time, as it still is now, was electronic music so Low seemed to be the obvious Bowie starting point. Thankfully, my mate Jamie, who was always ahead of us all on that sort of thing, had Low and made me a copy from his Dad's original vinyl. Speed Of Life was scratched on the record, so I got a special fade in version of it - that sort of thing was important. From the off, Low transfixed me. It bursts from the blocks with Speed Of Life, before an unstoppable run of three art pop classics arrives. Breaking Glass is astounding both lyrically ("Don't look at the carpet/I drew something awful on it") and musically with the combination of guitar and Eno infused synth noises a riot of joy. It's followed by What In The World, like Breaking Glass a sort of three quarters finished song, an idea, but something quite superb. The album's best known track Sound & Vision rounds off the run absolutely perfectly. "Pale blinds drawn all day/Nothing to do, nothing to say" fitted yesterday's global mood too, echoing the hollow feeling I had from around 7 a.m.

The atmospheric Always Crashing In The Same Car slows the pace but still stuns me now and then Be My Wife arrives, all pub piano and buzzing guitars - still one of my favourite Bowie tracks. What was Side 1 of this record company horrifying album then ends with the instrumental A New Career In A New Town. This is a sensational track. A yearning instrumental, its title perhaps referencing Bowie's career refreshing move from America to Berlin, it rounds off the first part of the record wonderfully. What I noticed yesterday was that the harmonica riff from this is mirrored in I Can't Give Everything Away, the last track on Blackstar. Given that it is now fully apparent that Blackstar was Bowie saying goodbye, I don't think that mirroring is accidental. Was that Bowie saying a musical goodbye, saying he was going somewhere new? Maybe not, and maybe I've overthought things a tad too much. Can't help but notice the same riff and wonder though.

Side 2 of Low is comprised of four experimental instrumentals that take Bowie's then interest in the European electronic sounds of Kraftwerk and Eno and Krautrock and turn it into something unique and quite breathtaking. Warszawa is the most striking track, with its mood and atmosphere dark and romantic. Art Decade is a slow moving piece, filled to the brim with electronics and effects from Eno's box of tricks. It's followed by Weeping Wall which is propelled along on a buzzing main riff before the song takes a distinct turn in the direction of Cluster or Neu and the closing Subterraneans is more ambient in tone, a beautiful end to a staggering album. To think he did all this immediately after his American conquering Plastic Soul days - it's astounding. Low is one of those albums everyone should hear. If you ever get the chance, do the studio tour at Hansa in Berlin too. To stand where he stood when he came up with this and Heroes is quite something.

I could say more about Bowie and about his other works that have thrilled me. Hearing The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust just about blew me away, the song Heroes itself whose light never dims, the opening riff to Rebel Rebel which positively fizzes with energy and so on. He leaves an unparalleled back catalogue and one that will be discovered and rejoiced in by people for years and years to come. Leaving us with Blackstar was something I guess you'd describe as typically David Bowie. What seemed to be a jazz influenced, fairly experimental record when you heard it last week, has turned into a stunning way of saying goodbye, knowing all that we now know. It's hard to think of any other artist who would have the talent to do something so remarkable. I loved in when I heard it before yesterday morning, and now it breaks my heart when I hear it now, but I can't stop listening to it. As ever, David Bowie is one step ahead of us all, even when he knew the end was coming.

Goodbye David. Thanks for everything.