“Sounds of the Universe” was no doubt an album that brought me back and to remind myself as a fan that you just have to go with the flow and appreciate what the band has to deliver. Especially as I grown along with the group and to their music, the old songs of the ’80s and ’90s were no doubt a highlight, because their music is a huge part of my youth.
Click here to purchase Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe (Deluxe Edition) on Amazon
GROUP: Depeche Mode
ALBUM: sounds of the universe (Deluxe Edition)
LABEL: Capitol
DURATION: 39 Songs (3 Hours and 11 Minutes)
ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2009
- In Chains
- Hole to Feed
- Wrong
- Fragile Tension
- Little Soul
- In Sympathy
- Peace
- Come Back
- Spacewalker
- Perfect
- Miles Away-The Truth Is
- Jezebel
- Corrupt
CD 2 – Bonus Tracks & Remixes
“Light” – 4:44
“The Sun and the Moon and the Stars” – 4:41
“Ghost” – 6:26
“Esque” – 2:17
“Oh Well” (Gore, Gahan) – 6:02
“Corrupt (Efdemin Remix)” – 6:29
“In Chains (Minilogue’s Earth Remix)” – 7:54
“Little Soul (Thomas Fehlmann Flowing Ambient Mix)” – 9:20
“Jezebel (SixToes Remix)” – 5:33
“Perfect (Electronic Periodic’s Dark Drone Mix)” – 5:21
“Wrong (Caspa Remix)” – 5:04
CD 3 – Demos
“Little 15” – 4:16 (Music for the Masses, 1987)
“Clean” – 3:42 (Violator, 1990)
“Sweetest Perfection” – 3:23 (Violator, 1990)
“Walking in My Shoes” – 3:22 (Songs of Faith and Devotion, 1993)
“I Feel You” – 4:03 (Songs of Faith and Devotion, 1993)
“Judas” – 3:25 (Songs of Faith and Devotion, 1993)
“Surrender” – 5:00 (“Only When I Lose Myself” B-side 1, 1998)
“Only When I Lose Myself” – 5:22 (The Singles 86>98, 1998)
“Nothing’s Impossible” – 5:02 (Playing the Angel, 2005)
“Corrupt” – 4:41 (Sounds of the Universe, 2009)
“Peace” – 4:33 (Sounds of the Universe, 2009)
“Jezebel” – 4:38 (Sounds of the Universe, 2009)
“Come Back” – 5:09 (Sounds of the Universe, 2009)
“In Chains” – 4:33 (Sounds of the Universe, 2009)
Depeche Mode returned with their 12th full-length album in 2009 titled “sounds of the universe” on a new label, Capitol Records and featured a refreshing blend of the group’s traditional synth sounds but also incorporating a dramatic but less brooding sound.
As a long time die-hard fan of the group, one of the difficulties I have had when “Ultra” and “Exciter” were released was the band putting a lot of their classic work away and changed their musical style, to not be stuck within the confines of the mindset of “the way they were”.
Even to this day, I still have “Violator” and “Music for the Masses” in my playlist and no matter how many years have passed, I just love the music that they produced during the 80’s and 90’s and I can understand why the band wanted to update their style overtime. But you have fans who will stick with the band no matter what type of music they play, but those who prefer for the band to stick with the style that they know and love.
I’m somewhere in between.
With “sounds of the universe”, the album was like a return of Depeche Mode right after Violator. The music that people are familiar with.
As I review the Deluxe Edition, I’m also going back to 2009 to add some parts of my previous review to my deluxe edition review.
The band reunited with producer Ben Hillier (who produced “Playing the Angel”) and the group has communicated that the sound of this album is to bring images of the universe and space travel. But listening to tracks such as “Fragile Tension”, “Peace” and “Jezebel” conjured up images of their 80’s work.
In fact, a song like “Peace” was like a tease as I was expecting to hear one of their older tracks “See you” but nevertheless, when you hear these old nostalgic synth sounds you can’t help but smile and think that perhaps David Gahan, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher knows that many of us still cling to their past music.
But of course, you get pretty cool tracks such as the single track “Wrong” definitely had that sexy, edgy David Gahan-driven track that is quite addictive and then you get the schmoozy but sexy Gahan/Gore track “Little Soul”. And of course really cool tracks like “Jezebel” which definitely has cool synth sounds and “In Sympathy” with it’s cool groove, with the underlying experimental tones playing behind-the-scenes.
It’s been well over a decade since the release of “sounds of the universe” and I have since grown to enjoy this album more through the years. And with me checking out the remastered versions of the albums, I was excited with the Deluxe Edition of “sounds of the universe” because you are getting 25 extra tracks, including remixes and demo versions.
Added is the “Oh Well (Black Light Odyssey Dub)” and this was a bonus track who purchased the album back in 2009 through iTunes. The original version was only featured as an extra track for the original Japanese album release and is included in this album. Wonderful song!
You get “Light” and “Ghost”, pretty cool tracks that incorporates the synths of old and a more modern style. I definitely enjoyed this song.
While “The Sun and the Moon and the Stars” almost has this lo-fi mix type of style. While “Esque” is an ethereal instrumental track with low chords, you then get remixes of “Corrupt” ala Efdemin Remix, “In Chains (Minilogue’s Earth Remix)”, “Little Soul (Thomas Fehlmann Feathers and Tear Mix)”, “Jezebel (SixToes Remix)”, “Perfect (Electronic Periodic’s Dark Drone Mix)” and “Wrong (Caspa Remix)”.
I have always been under the belief of owning Depeche Mode singles and remix albums that each remix track will be subjective, so they are hit and miss for those listening to it.
But I think what will attract people to this deluxe edition are the inclusions of demo tracks of older songs. You get the demo of “Little 15” (the original song was from their 1987 “Music for the Masses”), “Clean” and “Sweetest Perfection” (the originals were featured in their 1990 album “Violator”), you get three demos of songs featured in their 1993 album “Songs of Faith and Devotion” such as “Walking in My Shoes”, “I Feel You”, and “Judas”.
And then you get demos for “Surrender” (the original was the B-side of “Only When I Lose Myself” back in ’98), “Only When I Lose Myself” (which the original was featured in “The Singles 86>98”), demo for “Nothing’s Impossible” (the original featured in their 2005 album, “Playing the Angel”) and of course, demos for songs from “Sound of the Universe” for songs “Corrupt”, “Peace”, “Jezebel”, “Come Back” and “In Chains”.
Overall, “sounds of the universe” is an album that grows over you in time. During the first playthrough, I was thinking that the album was OK but by the second and third playthrough, I found myself digging the tracks and listening to it more and more. You do get a little of everything in this album and there are songs that are catchy and addictive but I found myself gravitating towards songs like “wrong” and the songs that felt like classic DM!
But the question for those who have the original version is if it’s worth purchasing the Deluxe Version of “Sounds of the Universe”? And for me, the answer is “yes”.
For one, what I enjoy about “Deluxe” or “Super Deluxe” editions are the inclusions of alternate versions or demos of songs. Remixes are cool but again, they are hit and miss. And subjective to the listener.
For “Sounds of the Universe (Deluxe Edition)”, the extra tracks, the remixes and the 14 demo versions are enough to entice Depeche Mode fans. But if they are not important to listeners, then the original would suffice.
But the fact that the deluxe editions are not overly expensive, in this case, under $17 for the digital version of “Sounds of the Universe (Deluxe Edition)”, to me, that’s a deal for 39 songs! So, for me, it’s a definite must buy for the many wonderful inclusions and making this a worthy deluxe edition release.
After all these years, more than four decades later, DEPECHE MODE still are able to create good music and while there are people who will dismiss the group for not being as good as they were in the ’80s or early ’90s, well, like any major ’80s group, especially those reaching out to their old and new generations of listeners, you have to adapt.
But as long as they don’t stray too far from their original sound, then I’m all for it. Depeche Mode is a band that is always creating music, different styles of music and I applaud them for their creativity. But as a fan, “Sounds of the Universe” was no doubt an album that brought me back and to remind myself as a fan that you just have to go with the flow and appreciate what the band has to deliver. Especially as I grown along with the group and to their music, the old songs of the ’80s and ’90s were no doubt a highlight, because their music is a huge part of my youth.
I’m much older Depeche Mode fan now, but I still enjoy Depeche Mode and this deluxe edition of “Sounds of the Universe” is definitely worth owning!
Click here to purchase Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe (Deluxe Edition) on Amazon
