This in my opinion is DM's most challenging and genre combining album. way more space, organinc, and raw. It is not limited by the strict blips and bleeps and rigid pulses on some of their other albums.

It actually grooves more and has space in the songs for HUMAN sounds, REAL drums ("In Your Room") and feels more alive than most of their other records.

Recognize. "Condemnation"-gospel harmonies, "One Caress"-symphonic! Not to mention their image-- much less synth nerdy and much more alive...

True. To this day, SOFAD is the album I enjoy most by DM.
I like all the songs a lot, although I Feel You still has
very little to win me over. Anyway, the rest of the album
is superb.

Amazing songs and a very cohesive, atmospheric album

It's decent, but I wouldn't put it in their top 5.

by far my favorite DM album. i think "personal jesus" gets old fast, but the rest of the album makes up for it...especially "condemnation" and "walking in my shoes".

To me, this is one of their more overrated albums. I much prefer Ultra. Playing the Angel is their best since Violator, by the way.

Anxiety said:

PJ is on Violator, not SoF&D.

Oh, this is a Depeche Mode thread. I thought it was going to be about songs that have lyrics about faith and devotion in general, and I was going to answer all of Prince's output since 1996. And then I thought of "Mad Sex" which bizarrely made want to have a sandwhich.

JediMaster said:

oh, dammit...what the hell song am i thinking of, then..."i feel you?" the first single. it got on my nerves fast. so does personal jesus. hence my display of early senility.

Anxiety said:

Yes, "I Feel You" was the first single, and lead-off track on the album.

Anxiety said:

same here, i always confuse the two since they're both equally boring

I was disappointed by this album. Maybe because I was so into Violator - which I still love - this one seemed like too much of a departure and a forced attempt at being major rock stars.

IstenSzek said:

"Personal Jesus" is my favorite DM song.

Moonbeam said:

Anxiety said:

And my 42nd favorite song of all time.

As much as I love SOFAD, I'd have to rank it below Violator, Ultra, Black Celebration, and possibly even Music For the Masses. I find that the album becomes samey if you overlisten to it. Walking in My Shoes/I Feel You/Mercy in You are all kind of the same song.

The middle of the album with Judas-In Your Room-Get Right With Me is one of my favorite sequences on any album, however.

Moonbeam said:

i can't help it! i was, um, trapped in an elevator for 22 hours and they just kept playing "personal jesus" over and over! i used to be the biggest fan of the song in all history...i was a FAM of the song, even! but the elevator goblins tortured me and soured me to that beautiful song forever!

Anxiety said:

No excuse.

Moonbeam said:

i forgot to tell you, that was before i was abducted by the aliens who put a cage full of rats on my head and forced me to sing "personal jesus" in swahili until they were done probing me. i didn't even know i could speak swahili, much less sing depeche mode songs in swahili. it was very humiliating and bizarre, and whenever i hear that song now, i cannot help but experience an extreme sense of nausea.

What's next, a Music for the Masses thread?


I’m taking a ride With my best friend

Anxiety said:

STILL no excuse. It's beautiful in Swahili too. I should know, I made you sing it.

Moonbeam said:

i know you probed me with a tamboracca. i peeked through the blindfold. can i at least have it?

Axchi696 said:

TOTALLY AGREE!!

Anxiety said:

Famboracca, Famboracca, Famboracca, Famboracca khan
Famboracca khan, Famboracca khan, Famboracca khan
Famboracca khan, let me rock you
Let me rock you, Famboracca khan
Let me rock you, that’s all I wanna do
Famboracca khan, let me rock you
Let me rock you, Famboracca khan
Let me rock you, let me feel for you
Famboracca khan let me tell you what I wanna do
Do you feel for me, the way I feel for you
Famboracca khan let me tell you what I wanna do
I wanna love you, wanna hug you, wanna squeeze you too
Let me take you in my arms
Let me fill you with my charms, Famboracca
’cause you know that I’m the one to keep you warm
Famboracca, I’ll make you more than just a physical dream
I wanna rock you, Famboracca

I recognize that this album, albeit good, was the cause of the fall of DM...who have come back and claimed their rightful recognition.

My biggest issue was that they decided to go the "grunge route" in thier way...but it created distortion and murkyness in thier music. Had this been the only foree into that sound, I probably would not have minded but they continued with it, and while they got soem good milage out of that sound, I think they lost the intrinsic DM sound. This was also the first album that had more than 3 skippers.

My other issues were the single Condemnation, which IMHO was terrible...this is a DM song??? His voice was very try----yyyying on that song. And the follow up album Songs of Faith and Devotion ...LIVE? WTF? I saw that tour live and it was my last...If IU had to hear Dave go (OH CHI-CA-GO) one more time, I'd be in jail for killing David and there wouldn't have been any more DM albums.

Then there were the album side issues...Namely the loss/involvement Alan Wilder had on this album. I am not going to blame him for the sound, though I know/think he had a lot to do with it. WHy THIS sounded like it did and the OTHER projects he worked on...NITZER EBB's Ebbhead and RECOIL's Bloodline sounded like they did, I don't know...but they were the better sounding albums...again IMHO.

Anxiety said:

You hit it on the head. Both lead off singles sounded very similar and even on the next one Barrell of a gun continued the sound even more so.

lilgish said:

Now THAT's an Album

JediMaster said:

Agreed.

superspaceboy said:

I think that one's overrated too. I love a lot of individual songs, but as a whole I think it's lacking compared to Black Celebration.

Moonbeam said:

Hmm, I love the Pump Mix of PJ, but otherwise to me it's one of the least interesting songs on Violator.



Oops, am I in trouble now?

CandaceS said:

I think it's strange that people don't like this song. It's the first time they really integrated real instruments into their music, and I think the results were fantastic. It's what brought them out of the 80's and made them still relevant in the 90's. The other 2 biggest songs from that album, "Enjoy the Silence" and "Policy of Truth" feature the guitar prominently as well. I think it was a great addition to their already wonderful sound.