Album reissues are nothing new. As long as I can remember, old, scratchy, and muddled albums have been cleaned up and released on shiny new CDs. But it is weird to me to see albums that are ten years old - sometimes newer than that - be remastered and rereleased.

I remember when Depeche Mode's Ultra was first released. I waited in line at midnight for Exciter - went to the concert, too. I'm not that old, that albums I remember as new are now being reissued... am I? The Cure started their reissues a year ago; I know some U2 discs are coming, too. What I am trying to say is, I am wary of these Depeche Mode rereleases.

It was time to dig out my old - no, not old... original Ultra and Exciter CDs. Four CDs went into iTunes: two versions of Ultra, two versions of Exciter. And guess what? I couldn't tell which one was the original, and which was the reissue. I went through all the tracks. I played small sections at a time from songs, back to back. And they all sounded the same. What does this mean to me? Ten year old albums do not need a reissue. On top of that, Ultra and Exciter are far from Depeche Mode's best albums. I don't need two copies.

Where you want to look are the bonus DVDs that each CD comes with. Each DVD follows a basic formula: a Depeche Mode "short film," the album in 5.1 and stereo mixes, a few live tracks, and a few "additional tracks" (didn't these used to be called B-sides?). The set also includes liner notes and complete lyrics - even for the B-sides.

The short films are each approximately 45 minute documentaries, covering the time period of each album (for Ultra, that is 1996-1998; for Exciter, it is 1999-2002). I would guess that, if you got all the Depeche Mode reissues, you could combine all the bonus documentaries into a complete timeline of Depeche Mode. The interviewees include producers, band members, and record label execs - people who were there and can give first-hand accounts.

If you don’t own these two Depeche Mode albums but are planning on buying them, splurge for the reissues - why not? If you already own these albums, enjoy them. Don’t bother with the reissues unless you are a true Depeche Mode fanatic.