The Best Of... attempts to right this wrong with almost the right formula. Finally, the breadth of releases has been distilled to a generous single CD. It still has a few problems, but is a much stronger contender than its predecessors.
The most curious aspect of the release is the inclusion of Volume 1 in the title. Since I don't have any inside information on their future plans, I can only speculate that it means one of two things. (1) Depeche Mode plan on staying together for a while longer, and will at some point in the future release a Volume 2 to accommodate future releases and further back catalog. Or (2) there is already a Volume 2 in the works to hold tracks that didn't fit on the first CD, in addition to fan favorites.
Besides the fact that they're getting back to releasing too many discs for a best-of, this approach has problems. The main issue is this is almost a really good collection on its own, and leaves too few essential selections for an adequate follow-up. Except for the fact that no material from Black Celebration, one of their most popular and single-worthy albums, is represented in favor of newer material that could be of marginal interest, it includes a majority of the tracks one would expect to find here. The other issue is there's room. They could have squeezed on one or two more cuts and really made it an impressive and well-rounded collection with just one disc. As it is, it both looks incomplete due to its title, and feels incomplete due to its omissions.
As a bonus to those on the fence about its value to their collection, it includes the new track “Martyr.” Personally, I feel that the bonus tracks from both of their most recent best-of releases have been some of the strongest of their later output. While “Only When I Lose Myself” catered to more of the epic mid-tempo tracks that Martin is expertly capable of writing, “Martyr” is a more radio friendly track that straddles the line between their more guitar-focused efforts and a healthy dose of vintage programming sounds. It's comparable to “Suffer Well.” (Which we could have dropped for “A Question of Time,” don't you think? Sorry, I promise to let that go now.)
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