The vocals slowly fade away, as does the music shortly thereafter, leaving a sound of lifting off into space. A temporary loss of consciousness or a soul moving onto the next plane? This is quite possibly the greatest song in their catalog.
Other songs leave the object of affection undefined, allowing the music to be for different types of Masses. “Behind the Wheel” is about putting someone or something in control. The narrator would “rather not be/The one behind the wheel.” It has a great driving synth line that provides the rhythm for the rest of the music to be built around. “To Have and To Hold” is a line from wedding vows, but a marriage to what? The narrator admits to flirting “With all kinds of dirt/To the point of disease,” and now wants “release/From all this decay.” Yet again, many things can fill that void. “Sacred” is right up front as a missionary sells “the story/Of love’s eternal glory.”
“The Things You Said” is about a damaged relationship due to a betrayal of confidence. Normally reserved for teenage years, but there’s no age cut-off for hurt feelings resulting from duplicity. The narrator discovers the error in giving out trust in this instance. “I thought we had something precious/Now I know what it’s worth.” The keyboards have a music box fragility that captures the delicate pliability of intimacy.
“Strangelove,” the first hit off the album, echoes the theme from “Master and Servant,” combining the pleasure/pain struggle with hints of sadomasochism. The narrator asks, “Will you take the pain/I will give to you/Again and again/And will you return it.” Yet, he’s very upfront about fulfilling his own needs. “I give in to sin” and “There’ll be days/When I stray.”
The accompanying DVD offers the music in PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and DTS 5.1. It also includes the B-sides for all three singles, such as their take on the classic “Route 66” and Beethoven’s "Sonata No. 14 in C#M" performed by Alan Wilder, and four 5.1 remixes.
A great extra and a must-have for fans is the 37-minute short film, “Depeche Mode: 1987-88 (Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes)” that examines this period in the band’s history. Recent interviews with the band and their team reveal what went into the creation of this album, from the plans to the happy accidents. They also discuss the subsequent tour that followed, the final night of which was captured by D.A. Pennebaker in the film 101.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
this was the first Depeche Mode cd i bought.
the funny thing was that i got it a few days after actually walking out of a DM show. gawd, the show was so boring. maybe it was their drug phase.
anyhow, my only complaint with Music For The Masses is that i wish they'd sequenced the opening like their show opener: Pimpf->Behind The Wheel was a killer opening pair.
2 - El Bicho
"maybe it was their drug phase."
or maybe you needed to be in a drug phase.
I am curious why you bought the CD, if you had just walked out of a show?
3 - Mark Saleski
me and my friend made it about a half way through. there were several songs that really hit the mark...like the opening two, and then a little later a few from Black Celebration (including "Stripped").
i don't know...the presentation was very lifeless. it was fairly obvious that nobody was actually playing instruments. tapes were rolling. the only person who seemed even moderaly "alive" was Gahan.
4 - payday
Two decades ago, a band named Depeche Mode was born to give great music to its listener. And after 20 years of being in the music industry, the band is returning from the concert scene. The Depeche Mode free concert will be performed in April on Hollywood Boulevard, to promote their new album. The band will be playing a concert at Madison Square Garden later in the year, with nosebleed seats going for over $50, so they aren't hurting for payday cash advance loans. Depeche Mode is considered to be the longest lasting and most successful of New Wave electronic bands from the 80s, and is still a top concert draw. The band will repair credit with fans that are strapped with the Depeche Mode free concerts.