Depeche Mode
Music For The Masses

THE REVIEW

Music For The Masses is not just the title of an album; it is a true declaration of intent.
It is the determined will of one of the most important bands of the last twenty years to bring the electronic sound to the ears of the whole world in the second half of the eighties. Even the artwork on the cover, with images of large speakers hanging from a pole, seems to confirm this intention.
Delusions of grandeur? Not at all, a winning bet, as for DM, after the release of this album, came the absolute pop consecration.

Music For The Masses was a huge success in Europe and also broke into America, reaching the top of the charts. Indeed, the Depeche would later be welcomed in the USA by massive crowds in arenas usually reserved for football and rock concerts, as testified by the video documentary 101.
The level of arrangement on this album is extremely high with the band in its "historic" lineup (Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Alan Wilder, Andrew Fletcher), the production is signed by DM and Dave Bascombe with the touch of the inevitable Daniel Miller, hence an impeccable sound with treated guitars and synthetic sounds as well as industrial percussion and abundantly reverberated voices according to the style of the time.
Even in the themes addressed, Music for the Masses is a pop album, in fact, the lyrics talk about feelings, destiny, spirituality, definitely universal themes.

The album opens with Never Let Me Down Again (one of Depeche's most famous singles), which appears as a subtle metaphor on the man's relationship with drugs (I'm takin a ride with my best friend, I hope he never lets me down again... never want to go down, never want to put my feet back down on the ground...)
A suggestive synth bass line (A. Wilder, of course) introduces us to "The Things You Said", a splendid electronic ballad where the lead vocals and just a few keyboard phrases make us dream for three and a half minutes, immediately followed by Strange Love (My all-time favorite, I was 13 when I heard it for the first time on the radio), that is, Love with its ups and downs, keyboard carpets prepare us to dance with the most ingenious riff ever conceived in the history of electronic pop, supported by catchy and technological rhythms, with Dave's voice in great shape at the forefront.
Even in "Behind the Wheel", the synthesizer riffs along with the straight drum dominate the scene. Here in the lyrics, Dave escapes the male chauvinist stereotypes and lets the woman take the wheel (oops, the handlebars) (you're behind the wheel tonight).
The album magnificently closes with the pompous "Pimpf", featuring strings and timpani.

The beauty of this album lies in the sheer genius of the vocal melodies and keyboard riffs. The Depeche, between "highs" and "lows," know how to hit and go straight to the heart of the listener.
This album also represents the perfect synthesis of the sound and spirit of new-wave and synth-pop.
Tragically carefree or fatalistically vacant like the track "Nothing" (a nice poor copy of Never Let Me Down Again), the eighties watch us from the grooves of a vinyl, there's even the purple ink stamp of SIAE in the middle, since back then the adhesive sticker hadn't been invented yet... but it's really true, we were better off before!