Music for the Masses

For other uses, see Music for the Masses (disambiguation).

Music for the Masses
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released	28 September 1987
Recorded	February–July 1987
Genre	Synthpop
Length	43:34
Label	Mute Sire (US/Canada)
Producer	Depeche Mode and David Bascombe
Depeche Mode chronology
Black Celebration (1986) Music for the Masses (1987) Violator (1990)
Singles from Music For The Masses
"Strangelove" Released: April 13, 1987 (1987-04-13) "Never Let Me Down Again" Released: August 24, 1987 (1987-08-24) "Behind the Wheel" Released: December 28, 1987 (1987-12-28) "Little 15" Released: May 16, 1988 (1988-05-16)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Melody Maker	[2]
NME	(favorable)[3]
Pitchfork Media	[4]
Record Mirror	[5]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[6]
Sputnikmusic	[7]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Music for the Masses is the sixth studio album by Depeche Mode. It was released by Mute Records on September 28, 1987, and was supported by the Music for the Masses Tour.

Mainstream success in the United States

The album became the band's highest-charting in the US upon its release, reaching #35 on the Billboard 200. It also contained more hit singles than any of their previous releases. While there was no extremely popular single from the album ("People Are People" from Some Great Reward reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100), the three singles that were released all made it onto the Hot 100, a feat that hadn't been achieved by any Depeche Mode single after those from Some Great Reward. Moreover, all three singles achieved modest success on the chart.

The first single from the album, "Strangelove", only reached #76 and spent 6 weeks on the chart upon its initial release. "Never Let Me Down Again" was then issued and hit #63, spending 10 weeks on the chart. Its success was duplicated by "Behind the Wheel" which had a similar chart run. This propelled a re-released "Strangelove" (as "Strangelove '88") to #50, making it the highest-charting single from the album.

The story was similar in the United Kingdom. While no single reached the chart heights of Depeche Mode's early career, "Strangelove" narrowly became the band's second-highest charting single since 1984 when it hit #16. The two follow-up singles charted in the upper 20s. The album was less successful, reaching only #10, though it was a major success throughout Europe. Generally, this album and its extracted singles continued the trend for Depeche Mode's releases to chart higher in Continental Europe than in their home country: "Strangelove" and "Never Let Me Down Again" both hit #2 on the singles chart in what was then West Germany, "Behind The Wheel" hit #6 there, and "Little 15" reached #16.

The Music for the Masses Tour was one of Depeche Mode's biggest, notably because of the sell-out Pasadena Rose Bowl show where the band performed in front of 60,453 fans, cementing their place in United States alternative culture. This made the band question if they had reached the peak of their careers, according to the 101 DVD, a documentary on the concert, but put that notion to rest with Violator, which was even more successful.

Re-release

In 2006, Music For the Masses became one of the first Depeche Mode albums (along with Speak and Spell and Violator) to be released on a special 2-Disc SACD/CD Hybrid + DVD format, in the vein of their 2005 album Playing the Angel, which had a limited edition SACD + DVD release. The format was the same as Playing the Angel's, the first disc had a special digitally remastered version of the album, while the DVD had the album on three formats (PCM Stereo, 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS 5.1) plus bonus tracks, and a documentary on the album. The rerelease preserves the album as it was originally intended. Thus, the four bonus tracks do not appear on the SACD, but appear on the DVD. The DVD also features all B-Sides from the Music for the Masses era, but unlike the album and the bonus tracks, are only available in PCM Stereo.

The documentary, a 37 minute short film called Depeche Mode: 1987-88 (Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes) is an extensive look at the album, featuring commentary from a wide variety of people, including the current Depeche Mode, former member Alan Wilder, producer Dave Bascombe, Daniel Miller, Daryl Bamonte, Martyn Atkins (who came up with the loudspeakers idea for the cover), Anton Corbijn, and others. The documentary features new facts on the album, and also an extensive look at the movie 101.

The re-release came out April 3, 2006 in Europe. The US version was delayed to June 2, 2006 and will only be available on a CD + DVD format, with no SACD. The DVD on all the versions are region independent however, so one can simply import the SACD version without worrying about the DVD being incompatible.

The re-mastered album was released on "deluxe" vinyl 2 March 2007 in Germany and 5 March 2007 internationally.

Reception

The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

1987 release: Mute / Stumm 47

1. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:47
2. "The Things You Said" – 4:02
3. "Strangelove" – 4:56
4. "Sacred" – 4:47
5. "Little 15" – 4:18
6. "Behind the Wheel" – 5:18
7. "I Want You Now" – 3:44
8. "To Have and to Hold" – 2:51
9. "Nothing" – 4:18
10. "Pimpf" – 3:56 (5:25)
    "Interlude #1 - Mission Impossible" (hidden instrumental track) – 0:37

Bonus tracks on 1987 CD (CDstumm47) and cassette (Cstumm47) release.

11. "Agent Orange" – 5:05
12. "Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:55
13. "To Have and to Hold (Spanish Taster)" – 2:34
14. "Pleasure, Little Treasure (Glitter Mix)" – 5:36

• On the CD, there is a 22 second pause in between Pimpf and Interlude #1, followed by a 30 second pause in between Interlude #1 and Agent Orange.
• On the cassette, the four bonus tracks are on the B side, with the rest of the tape without audio.

2006 re-release

Mute: DM CD 6 (CD/SACD + DVD) / CDX STUMM 47 (CD/SACD)

• Disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer.
• Disc 2 is a DVD which includes Music for the Masses in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo plus bonus material

1. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:47
2. "The Things You Said" – 3:55
3. "Strangelove" – 4:38
4. "Sacred" – 5:01
5. "Little 15" – 4:14
6. "Behind the Wheel" – 5:17
7. "I Want You Now" – 3:28
8. "To Have and to Hold" – 3:08
9. "Nothing" – 4:12
10. "Pimpf" – 4:55

Bonus Tracks (in PCM Stereo):

1. "Agent Orange" – 5:05
2. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" – 2:53
3. "Route 66" – 4:11
4. "Stjarna" – 4:25
5. "Sonata No.14 in C#m (Moonlight Sonata)" – 5:36

Bonus 5.1 Mixes (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo):

1. "Agent Orange" – 5:31
2. "Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:58
3. "To Have And to Hold (Spanish Taster)" – 2:36
4. "Pleasure, Little Treasure (Glitter Mix)" – 5:38

Additional Material:

1. "Depeche Mode 87-88 (Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes)" [37 Minute video]

• All songs are written by Martin Gore except "Route 66", which is a cover of the rock classic "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" written by Robert W. Troup Jr in 1946, and "Moonlight Sonata", a Beethoven piano piece performed here by Alan Wilder.
• Dave Gahan is the lead singer of all songs except for "The Things You Said" and "I Want You Now" which are sung by Martin Gore. However, Gore's background vocals can be heard throughout the entire album. "Pimpf", "Mission Impossible", "Stjarna", "Sonata No.14" and "Agent Orange" are instrumental.

Personnel

• Dave Gahan - lead vocals, sampler
• Martin Gore - keyboards, guitar, accordion ("I Want You Now"), sampler, backing vocals, lead vocals ("The Things You Said", "I Want You Now"), songwriting
• Andrew Fletcher - sampler, backing vocals
• Alan Wilder - keyboards, sampler, piano, programming, backing vocals

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (1987) Peak position Austrian Albums Chart[8] 16 French Albums Chart 7 German Albums Chart[9] 2 Italy Albums Chart 7 Netherlands Albums Chart 37 Spanish Albums Chart 1 Swedish Albums Chart[10] 4 Swiss Albums Chart[11] 4 UK Albums Chart[12] 10 US Billboard 200[13] 35

Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments France (SNEP)[14] Platinum 400,000* Germany (BVMI)[15] Gold 250,000^ United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Silver 60,000^ United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000^ *sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. ^ Raggett, Ned. Music for the Masses at Allmusic. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
2. ^ Wise, Damon (1987). "Music for the Pop Charts". Melody Maker. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090221090108/http://sacreddm.net/1980s/mel000087/mel000087main.htm. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
3. ^ Solanas, Jane (1987). "Basildon Bondage". NME. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090221090118/http://sacreddm.net/1980s/nme000087/nme000087main.htm. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
4. ^ Abebe, Mitsuh (20 July 2006). "Speak&Spell/Music for the Masses/Violator Album review". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/37466/Depeche_Mode_Speak_and_Spell_Music_for_the_Masses_Violator. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
5. ^ Levy, Eleanor (3 October 1987). "Depeche Mode: Music for the Masses Album review". Record Mirror. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090221070657/http://sacreddm.net/1980s/rmi031087/rmi031087main.htm. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
6. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews Depeche Mode". http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=depeche+mode. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
7. ^ "Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 17 December 2006. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=13116. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
8. ^ "Discographie Depeche Mode". AustrianCharts.at. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
9. ^ "Suchergebnis". Charts-Surfer.de. Retrieved 24 February 2009. Note: User must define 'neuer suchbegriff' search parameter as "Depeche Mode".
10. ^ "Discography Depeche Mode". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
11. ^ "Discography Depeche Mode". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
12. ^ "Chart Stats: Depeche Mode". ChartStats.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
13. ^ "Depeche Mode > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
14. ^ "French album certifications – Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses" (in French). InfoDisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php.  Select DEPECHE MODE and click OK
15. ^ "German album certifications – Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Music+for+the+Masses&strInterpret=Depeche+Mode&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked. 
16. ^ "British album certifications – DepecheMode – Music for the Masses". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Music for the Masses in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
17. ^ "American album certifications – Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Music+for+the+Masses%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

• Official Remaster Info