Yes, their early albums suck and are dated,light and overly synthy..
but VIOLATOR, SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION, ULTRA are the 3 albums that transformed them in to fantastic musicians, and having seen them perform live..they are HIGHLY underrated and should never be insulted with the awful title of synth-pop. They are capable of far more than that. I'm a die hard Prince and DM fan. I love them both, but I've NEVER heard Prince touch the level of pain and depth of "In Your Room". But then again, I've never heard DM rock the pocket like "Gett Off" or "Housequake"

It's really starting to bother me that everyone seems to hate their 80's output for the most part.

GangstaFam said:

Well, I think that the only necessary pre-Black Celebration Depeche Mode album is The Singles 81-85. Their albums up until 1986 were spotty, and most of the best cuts were pulled as singles. Of course, from Black Celebration on, the albums are definitely necessary.

I like Songs and Devotion and Ultra, but give me Speak and Spell, Some Great Reward and Black Celebration over them any day.

That said, nothing can touch Violator.

love depeche mode

Axchi696 said:

I think other than one, maybe 2 songs, Some Great Reward is stellar.

GangstaFam said:

Same goes for Speak and Spell, damn it!

Moonbeam said:

I love it, but it's not as meaty or substantial an album as their work 84 and onward. That said, I do enjoy most of the songs on there. I think it was having Vince Clark that made those such tight little pop songs. It took them awhile to get their footing after that.

Axchi696 said:

I'm not that much of a fan, but I thought Depeche Mode started making good albums from Black Celebration onwards. Violator's their masterpiece.

I completely disagree with this.

I find that all of the albums after Violator to be on a completely different levl than their earlier work. They changed thier sound almost completely. I feel it was to compete with the other grunge acts of the 90's. And this was not to their benefit either. Also Dave's vocal range becakme more deeper a well as being more upfront. I enjoyed his singing before, when there wasn't too much emphasis on it.

One of the reasons I disagree that they have gotten "better" is that their entire foundation up to Violator had been that of an electronic synth/industrial sound. Not many others were doing this as well as they were..and in fact copied from them. Once SOFAD came out, they were the followers. It was the lyrical hooks anddefining sounds that made Depeche Mode...Depeche Mode. Albums like Some Great Reward, Black Celebration and Music for the Masses were good because they pulled on these strengths...creating strong songs that would hook and stick to you.

I'm not saying that thier current music is bad. It's just different...a lot more slower and dense. But I always get the sense that they are trying to "capture" their old sound while incorporating their new sound. This is very evident with the song "It's no good". I am also not certain about the departure of Alan Wilder and how that had an effect on the band. Although it is VERY evident that Dave's addiction certainly can be heard in the music,lyrics and his voice.

Axchi696 said:

Some great reward and on....

superspaceboy said:

Finally someone with some sense!