Depeche Mode • Devotional (1993)

Depeche Mode left to right: Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Andy Fletcher

Since some enjoyed the Madonna concert last week, I thought I would offer another live show of great music this week. So I picked the ElectroPop genius of Depeche Mode. Ever since the 1981 release of their debut album, 'Speak & Spell', Depeche Mode have made a habit of making hit songs, from "Just Can't Get Enough" to 2009's "Perfect", the band has managed to deliver on the music charts. Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher are the current line-up of the band, but can remember the time when Vince Clarke was part of the band, until he left to join Allison Moyet in Yazoo. Their music ran the gauntlet of cute an fun Pop to dark and inspired rock. I love them, and they are still on my playlist.

As the title would suggest, the show was taped from their 1993-1994 Devotional Tour, filmed in Barcelona, Spain, Liévin, France and Frankfurt, Germany. The show includes some of the best music, as well as some of the great music they were making in the 1990s. Their catalog is spectacular, and one could easily fill up up hours to cover their greatest hits, but they decided to limit keep the DVD under 2 hours. This makes for a tight and wonderful playlist, one that includes"

01 - Higher Love

02 - World In My Eyes

03 - Walking In My Shoes

04 - Behind The Wheel

05 - Stripped

06 - Condemnation

07 - Judas

08 - Mercy In You

09 - I Feel You

10 - Never Let Me Down Again

11 - Rush

12 - In Your Room

13 - Personal Jesus

14 - Enjoy The Silence

15 - Fly On The Windscreen

16 - Everything Counts

17 - Halo

18 - Policy Of Truth

Depeche Mode were also sounding great in 1993, so this is a great show to watch. Enjoy Devotional.

For more about the band, you can visit their official website. You can also follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook. To purchase the DVD of the concert, check out Amazon.

Depeche Mode Co-Founders Clarke & Gore to Reunite

Two of the original members of Depeche Mode have reunited for the first time since 1981. Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore have announced they will release a series of EPs and a new album under the band name VCMG.

"Out of the blue I got an email from Vince just saying, 'I'm interested in making a techno album. Are you interested in collaborating?'" reports Gore in a press release. The pair's first EP of remixes, Spock, will have an exclusive release on Beatport on November 30th before becoming widely available on December 13th. Their untitled new album is expected in early 2012.

Vince Clarke was one of the four co-founders of Depeche Mode in 1980. He soon left, citing creative differences, and went on to co-found Yazoo with Alison Moyet and, later, Erasure with Andy Bell. Gore became Depeche Mode's principal songwriter after Clarke's departure.

Saturday Night with Depeche Mode

It was 20 years ago this past March that the seminal album, Violator was released and solidified the position of a British band in music history. Keyboardist Andrew Fletcher, programmer/drummer Alan Wilder, vocalist David Gahan, vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Marin Gore made up the core of the band, with Gore writing the entire album, which was a turn for the band toward a slighter darker side of life. It was their 7th album, as the band had released their first in 1981, when they had Vince Clarke on keyboards. But he left the band in late '81, and joined with Alison Moyet to form Yazoo, and later teamed up with Andy Bell to form Erasure. By the time 1990 rolled around, I was rushing out to buy the latest from Depeche Mode, who had moved from New Wave Pop to their own special brand of dark rock/pop. And when I got 'Violator' home and listened for the first time, I was near giddy with the joy of the great music. Dark and brooding, with a distinctive sexy feel, the entire album was worth listen after listen. The album made it to #7 on the Billboard album chart. Take, for example, the first single, "Personal Jesus". It made it to the Billboard Top 20, and was #3 on the Modern Rock charts.



The second single, "Enjoy The Silence", was also a great one, with an amazing sound that is unmistakably Depeche Mode. The song went to #8 on the Pop chart, and went #1 on the Modern Rock chart.



The third single could be my favorite off the album, "Policy of Truth". The guitar lick is just amazing, and I could listen to the song over and over again. While the song only made it to #15 on the Pop chart, it was the second straight #1 on the Modern Rock chart, and proved to be a sexy hit in the clubs too.



The final single off the album was "World In My Eyes". Although it didn't do as well on the charts as the previous songs, it certainly had a great, sexy vocal from Gahan that truly captured my attention.



On Tuesday, November 9, you can buy their latest, 'Depeche Mode: Tour Of The Univere', the live show recorded in Barcelona. You can get the CD from Amazon, or the DVD Amazon. For more about the band, you can check out their official website.