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Rating: What could I review? Well....
Here, I'll review a single, can you guess by whom? Guess it?
Come on.....my little readers.....
Do you give up?
Well, today I will review a group that I have never reviewed in my life!
Today I wanted to talk about the legendary, grand, immense Depeche Mode, you know the ones who in the '80s were considered dirty and bad dark wave musicians, and today they fill the stadiums of the entire world, offering Planet Earth an increasingly inflated image.... They have been to Rock am Ring, to the Heineken Jammin Festival….
The single I want to review is "Personal Jesus". Now here the voices of non-believers, the various miscreants will rise, but I assure you that I will be totally impartial. This is a record that offers a myriad of insights that go beyond the religious theme, and the single that caused a great stir in August '89 can really be viewed from different perspectives.
Some critics even say that Depeche Mode don't believe; I don't share this because dM has precedents like "Sacred", a hymn to Faith, they released an album in '93 that is entirely focused on Faith, redemption, devotion, sin (You've sinned!). And indeed, this piece seems to reach mystical peaks never equaled by a rock group. Then I don't know how to interpret Marylin Manson's 2004 cover, horrible and chaotic, without any innovation. Bluesman Johnny Cash, on the other hand, makes it very much his own and makes it "come alive" on his strings.
Another point to consider in interpretation: it could be an ironic text, and here again dominated by the ambiguity that has always pervaded the "mafiosi" of Basildon. A song accompanied by an even more ambiguous video, shot by Corbijn, offering viewers scenes of excitement and sex on a ranch where protagonists are cowboys, their women, horses......but you see a cross at a certain point, and a phone receiver, that "receiver" mentioned in the text by the insightful Martin Gore.
It would seem that there is a personal Jesus who answers on a private line and is capable of solving all your problems.
And yes, Martin Gore wasn't right in the head....and he hasn't changed much today.
However, a point emerges: Gore's intimate and personalistic vision of Faith, on a theme shared by Dave Gahan, who has confessed on this point in numerous interviews, especially since he was "miraculously" saved in '96.
Another exegesis refers to Gore's statements that the song is dedicated to Elvis Presley and his daughter. Elvis was like a "Jesus" for her when she was going through a tough time....though I didn't quite understand this hypothesis.
The fact remains that "Your own personal Jesus" could refer to someone, who is not Jesus, but a flesh-and-blood man who lives to protect you and listen to your personal prayers, your most intimate requests. This extraordinary interpretation echoes the theme of "Somebody", a Depeche Mode song from '84 ("I want somebody", here echoed with "someone to hear your prayers, someone who cares"). The theme of confession is also central because this personal Jesus is a savior and forgives ("You know I'm a forgiver", Gahan's voice splendidly and alteredly whispers these verses).
That's why it quickly became a hit. It is a song with a fascinating theme, skillfully mixing electronic, rock, and blues, and big fans of alternative music loved it back in the day (in '89, there was no other band composing pieces of this kind – thanks also to the contribution of the producer of "Violator", Flood) and still love it.
Fascinating and mysterious, it unfolds marked by the motto "Reach out and touch Faith", also a catchphrase for those who follow Depeche Mode.
“Reach out and touch Faith” that could be an exhortation to reach out and pray, or aim for transcendence, or the receiver mentioned to speak with the personal Jesus, or it could mean “make love with Faith”… but the interpretation varies from mind to mind. There is never an absolute meaning in Gore's lyrics.
In live performances, it has been given even more rock and chaos by the frontman, who has the gift of charisma and emotional involvement. Martin Gore on his guitar indulges in the arrangement, but the guiding theme has actually been the same for 17 years.
Many say this is the band's most beautiful and representative single. I won't pronounce judgment....for once, I’d like to remain impartial, besides Rolling Stone's ranking speaks for itself, placing it in the Olympus of the greatest songs ever.
Let's move on to analyze the single. It consists of:
"Personal Jesus", a version exactly like the one on "Violator", but with a final variation, placing the motto "Reach out and touch Faith" at the end, while in the album version the electronic drums fade out.
Then there's "Dangerous", a song that hasn't yet driven me crazy, but that I consider very valid as a B-side, much like the fate that befell one of the other B-sides of "Violator", "Sea of Sin", which could very well have been part of the tracklist.
In the CD version (Europe release) there are various remixes, those of "Dangerous", a bit repetitive and not at all particular (Sensual, Hazchemix, something which doesn’t happen with the A-side "Personal Jesus" which is offered:
a) in a completely acoustic version, where Gahan's voice is laid bare
b) in the remix "Holier than thou approach", more rhythmic than the original, which has all the appearance of an extended version.
c) the superlative remix by François Kevorkian ("Pump Mix"), a pleasure that surely DJs around the world know. The ear becomes a means of excitement. The work with the drum-machine is meticulously curated, featuring a bass-line, musical reminiscences reminiscent of the Wild West, with an altered and distorted voice repeating "Jesus crossed himself" or such things. In any case, a true masterpiece, more than satisfactory to the listener. Kevorkian is the DJ who remixed "Violator".....remember the splendid "Hands and feet mix" of "Enjoy the Silence", another masterpiece of mixing, though included only in the single of Enjoy the Silence.
d) a final version, the "Telephone stomp mix", cute, but actually just serves to add to the number, since the Pump Mix already sufficiently satisfies ears craving pure electronic.
What can I say, then, a single to own, that made history, that precluded the success of "Violator", and that in August '89 left many speechless.
Remember that Depeche Mode up until then had offered the masses pieces like "Never Let Me Down Again" (a whole different thing from a musical perspective, perhaps the only common thread is the epic veil that covers the two songs), not to mention the Electro-Pop of the '80s.
"Personal Jesus" is therefore a first turning point, a song animated by the genius of Martin Gore, who inadvertently composed an anthem of the group (a masterpiece in my opinion superior even to the hit "Enjoy The Silence").
Salut a tutt.
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