Depeche Mode
Devotional

THE REVIEW

The word "Devotional" encompasses not only the solemn, majestic, and nerve and psychophysical strengthening tour that the four Depeche Mode embarked on between 1993 and 1994, following the release of the historic album "Songs of Faith and Devotion", the rock-sacred gem of the Basildon group, with all its annexes and connections, but it also means talking about a live album of the same name as the studio album (considered by many to be unnecessary - perhaps it was the only live album in history that repeated the tracklist of a studio album, with interpretations that, however, must not be overlooked, see "I feel you", "Condemnation" (the frontman Dave Gahan's favorite song among the group's), the superb "In your room", "Higher Love", etc.

It's more relevant, however, to review the DVD (in '93 the VHS of the same concert was released). The DVD is an exception because it includes bonus tracks like "Policy of truth" and "Halo", and special content on disc 2. But what I want to review for you is the concert, perhaps one of the most beautiful and memorable of Depeche Mode alongside the "For the Masses" documented in 101 (with the same double DVD format) and the "Singles Tour 1998".

This was the period when Dave Gahan began to enter the heroin tunnel. The bandmates later often declared:
"We thought certain attitudes were made on purpose to imitate rockers of Mick Jagger's caliber (highly esteemed by Gahan), but then everything went back to normal, both during the studio album recordings and in concerts, until the last date of the tour when Dave threw himself into the crowd at the end of the concert, risking breaking his bones against the barriers".
A Gahan increasingly mysterious, of few words, with pure rocker attitudes, with the punk spirit of a time never dormant now at its peak, an unconscious Gahan, too often with a bottle in his hand. Then we all know how it ended....

But those years (1993-1994) were truly picturesque in their tragicomedy, more tragic obviously than comic. Dave, the kid from Basildon, who launched terrifying screams. He wanted a more rock sound for the group. Martin Gore and Alan Wilder obliged, otherwise, the last Depeche Mode record would have been "Violator". Now he had to interpret those pieces, that masterful "I feel you", which just by watching the video of "I feel you" you realize you are no longer facing the Dave Gahan who acted king in "Enjoy the silence", but a junkie posing as a sex symbol in his own way, linking the sacred material of Gore's new pieces to the damned spirit of rock.
Enough with the beating around the bush. These are attitudes that only if seen through a fan's eyes can perhaps be understood. Long-haired him, Dave, played at being the myth, and for me, he became one, even before he almost tasted death from overdose. He, deep down in his total unconsciousness, sang for us.

That concert masterfully filmed by Corbijn is a testimony, a document, a merit. Perhaps one of the best performances of the '90s. You can already tell from the opening song "Higher Love" that Dave sings covered by a veil (a breathtaking scenography!). And then, without having to scrutinize the individual songs, the new torment "Walking in my shoes" stands out, with Corbijn's demonic creature moving in the background, and again "Condemnation", "I feel you", experienced like an orgasm.
Among the past pieces emerge "Stripped", interpreted with the same emotion as always, "World in my eyes", which sees the other three Depeche working hard at the keyboards, and again "Enjoy the silence", with Martin Gore's solo missing in the "Violator" version, another reason for excitement, and again, how not to mention "Personal Jesus", which the Depeche have now turned into their "rock" banner, with those Gahan's shouts, that blues riff, mixed with the intoxication of electronics.

"Everything counts" here feels a bit like '90s dance (just kidding), but it's the testimony that DM know how to reinvent themselves every time. Indeed, because Alan Wilder improvises as a drummer (listening to him you'll say: but he doesn't improvise, he is a born drummer!). In short, the Depeche picture does not miss a beat. Fletch, despite about to experience the darkest depression of his life, appears focused.
The Fab Four of electronics appear as stars under the spotlight and in front of Anton Corbijn's camera which signs a masterpiece. "Devotional" is all this. A DVD to have and watch 101 times until you understand the moment the British band was going through: the acme of success that, as always, coincides with stress and depression (from those years there is also the specter of alcohol for Martin and Fletch). Everyone will emerge from this tour tried and tested. Dave Gahan will play the heroin star in a hotel in Santa Monica first, seen in his pitiful conditions even by REM's singer Michael Stipe, who was passing by, and who warns Corbijn and the others, in proximity to the suicide attempt in 1995. The specter of the damned rocker will loom until the clinical death from overdose in 1996, with a miraculous case of resurrection. The rebirth for Depeche Mode, orphaned from older brother Alan Wilder, will be suffered with "Ultra" (1997).

"Devotional": a myth documented on a DVD.