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Rating: "You can get away with anything when you've produced a great piece." (August, 1984)
These words by Alan Wilder are also the title of the film/documentary that accompanies the remastered edition of one of the most significant albums of the electro-pop genre tinged with industrial: Some Great Reward.
It's a pivotal period for electronic music, particularly for Synth pop, and thus for Depeche Mode, the flag bearers of the genre, who had already pushed beyond the limits of A Broken Frame in '83 thanks to the contribution of a musician and programmer like Alan Wilder and the historic record producer Daniel Miller.
With Construction Time Again, the path of experimentalism was undertaken, drawing from the best German tradition, so much so that The Landscape Is Changing, one of the perhaps most convincing tracks of that album, contained a sample, almost imperceptible to the ear, sampled from a song by Einstürzende Neubauten: the declaration of a musical turning point.
Simultaneously with the last live performances of the Construction Time Tour, which in the early months of 1984 also came to Italy, specifically Milan and Bologna, the Mode returned to the studio, at Music Works in London to record a good piece quite faithful to their usual style, a piece capable of winning over the audience, a brilliant spring hit that was also unpretentious: Gore wrote a text eloquent in meaning and a very catchy melody (the piece was called People Are People), while the Wilder-Miller duo put their mark on it in the London recording studios to transform it into one of the emblematic songs of the Mode's production in the '80s. The single sold quite well, fans recognized a classic yet "new" and "original" sound, while a great success overseas pleased the record company which decided to release a collection of the same name. In People Are People, hints of the typically industrial flavors that would characterize the upcoming album begin to be seen. Great success, but the four Londoners don't like the city. To their eyes, it appears as a grey metropolis, poor in creativity, poor in opportunities. They are driven by an insatiable "exotic" desire, the desire to explore the world.
Miller opts for a trip to Berlin. What might initially seem like a pleasure trip turns out to be one of the most exhausting experiences still remembered by the members of the group (Wilder, in particular). Yet, footage from that era shows optimism, a joy for life, and also dedication to every kind of healthy post-work pleasure - is that the "great reward"? - including S&M clubs where, according to Gore, real life comes alive in the magical Berlin nights. A fairy-tale city, with the wall still standing, evoking both allure and unease.
The album, which will be titled Some Great Reward (from a verse of the song Lie To Me), is mixed in one of the temples of European music, the Hansa Miscraum, and the producer Gareth Jones (among the most experienced in electronic, pop, industrial music), provides invaluable help to the band which is almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The effort of Gore & Co. will be rewarded: from it, astounding pieces will emerge, masterfully mixed with the aim of creating some of the most evocative atmospheres in all electronic music history: industrial/metallic sounds, drumbeats, samples of all kinds. A treasure for those passionate about electronics, programming, and mixing.
The atmospheres created by the pieces will mainly indicate a new maturity, both at a compositional and production level. Dismal sounds begin to echo here and there, anticipating the Mode's tendency towards "black." Indeed, most consider Construction Time Again, Some Great Reward, and Black Celebration a natural trilogy since they are part of the same musical journey reaching its peak with the '86 album. The same Gareth Jones will be confirmed as the producer for the singles Shake The Disease and It's Called A Heart (1985), and for the aforementioned album of maturity.
Amazing tracks, as was said. Original lines, touches of genius, and an unconditional tendency to make music in every possible way, even while having fun.
The famous Master And Servant, an industrial-pop gem, released as the second single, is the projection of certain dom/sub fantasies by Gore, but also of a disenchanted realism permeating all the lyrics from first to last. Deep lyrics, sometimes alluding to a dom/sub type of relationship, where the partner is somewhat idealized as the "ruthless" employer (the image can sometimes even seem ironic). It's the theme that recurs in the "grey" Something To Do, an anthem for the alternative to work alienation in factories and routine (what could this alternative be according to Gore?), while Lie To Me is a harsh disillusionment with the idealized love relationship, and again Stories Of Old, an original ballad centered on the sacrifice of love, which resumes melodies of almost medieval inspiration juxtaposed with "industrial" rawness. For instance, look at the cover made by Brian Griffin depicting two newlyweds promising love while an imposing industrial construction site dominates the background.
Somebody, a memorable song in which Gore's sublime voice, intertwining with delicate piano notes, gives way to an extreme request for affection and understanding (recorded in the Hansa acoustic room with Gore singing naked - a metaphor of man in need of the warmth of affections - accompanied by Wilder).
Blasphemous Rumours is an unusual piece that goes further and already hints at the dark Modes to come: the religious issue is tackled from a perspective that sees God as a cynical and ruthless being while the cruel fate cuts down the stem of youth (two news events are the starting point for a cry, not atheistic but disappointed by faith, of profound pathetic intensity). Initially, radios and networks decide not to air it due to pressure as it is deemed against the common morality of a Europe still a bit too blind, where perhaps music exploring the world and life, in general, can shed some light.
In the US, the Mode are broadcasted by the first alternative radios appearing in those years.
Issues of modern times reach the masses through the media, sometimes in pumped-up and glittering programs with a typical '80s taste, where the sparkling spotlights clash with the image of a girl slitting her wrists.
In live performances, the Mode will prove to be a band only seemingly "icy" (as Scaruffi and Zaccagnini will very roughly define them). Quite the opposite: it is a group that plays, has fun, and knows how to offer joys and food for thought to a new audience, discovering year after year that musical growth can only come by eliminating every kind of preconception.
The rest is enclosed in the smile and humility of four guys.
Highly recommended in remaster CD+DVD version (with bonus tracks in various 5.1 mixes and documentary on the making of the album)
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Something to Do (03:46)
My little girl
won't you come with me
come with me
tell me
Is there something to do
I'm going crazy with boredom
come with me
tell me
Grey sky over a black town
I can feel depression
all around
you've got your leather boots on
I can't stand another drink
it's surprising this town
doesn't sink
you've got your leather boots on
Your pretty dress is oil stained
from working too hard
for too little
you've got your leather boots on
You're feeling the boredom too
I'd gladly go with you
I'd put your leather boots on
I'd put your pretty dress on
02 Lie to Me (05:03)
Come on and lay with me
Come on and lie to me
Tell me you love me
Say I'm the only one
Experiences have a lasting impression
But words once spoken
Don't mean a lot now
Belief is the way
The way of the innocent
And when I say innocent
I should say naive
So lie to me
But do it with sincerity
Make me listen
Just for a minute
Make me think
There's some truth in it
Come on and lay with me
Come on and lie to me
Tell me you love me
Say I'm the only one
Promises made for convenience
Aren't necessarily
What we need
Truth is a word
That's lost its meaning
The truth has become
Merely half-truth
So lie to me
Like they do it in the factory
Make me think
That at the end of the day
Some great reward
Will be coming my way
Come on and lay with me
Come on and lie to me
Tell me you love me
Say I'm the only one
03 People Are People (03:52)
People are people, so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
So we're different colours, and we're different creeds
And different people have different needs
It's obvious you hate me, though I've done nothing wrong
I've never even met you, so what could I have done?
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
People are people, so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
Now you're punching and you're kicking and you're shouting at me
I'm relying on your common decency
So far it hasn't surfaced, but I'm sure it exists
It just take a while to travel from your head to your fist
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
People are people, so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand
05 Stories of Old (03:14)
Take a look at unselected cases
You'll find love has been wrecked
By both sides compromising
Amounting to a disastrous effect
You hear stories of old
Of princes bold
With riches untold
Happy souls
Casting it all aside
To take some bride
To have the girl of their dreams
At their side
But not me
I couldn't do that
Not me
I'm not like that
I couldn't sacrifice
Anything at all
To love
I really like you
I'm attracted to you
The way you move
The things you do
I'll probably burn in hell
For saying this
But I'm really in heaven
Whenever we kiss
But oh no!
You won't change me
You can try
For an eternity
I wouldn't sacrifice
Anything at all
To love
Take a look at unselected cases
You'll find love has been wrecked
By both sides compromising
Amounting to a disastrous effect
Now I've got things to do
You have too
And I've got to be me
You've got to be you
So take my hand
And feel these lips
And let's savor a kiss
Like we'd savor a sip
Of vintage wine
One more time
Let's surrender
To this love divine
But we won't sacrifice
Anything at all
To love
06 Somebody (04:27)
I want somebody to share
share the rest of my life
share my innermost thoughts
know my intimate details
someone who'll stand by my side
and give me support
and in return
she'll get my support
she will listen to me
when I want to speak
about the world we live in
and life in general
though my views may be wrong
they may even be perverted
she'll hear me out
and won't easily be converted
to my way of thinking
in fact she'll often disagree
but at the end of it all
she will understand me
I want somebody who cares
for me passionately
with every thought
and with every breath
someone who'll help me see things
in a different light
all the things I detest
I will almost like
I don't want to be tied
to anyone's strings
I'm carefully trying to stay clear
of those things
But when I'm asleep
I want somebody
who will put their arms around me
and kiss me tenderly
though things like this make me sick
in a case like this
I'll get away with it
07 Master and Servant (04:12)
There's a new game
We like to play you see
A game with added reality
You treat me like a dog
Get me down on my knees
We call it master and servant
We call it master and servant
It's a lot like life
This play between the sheets
With you on top and me underneath
Forget all about equality
Let's play master and servant
Let's play master and servant
It's a lot like life
And that's what's appealing
If you despise that throwaway feeling
From disposable fun
Then this is the one
Domination's the name of the game
In bed or in life
They're both just the same
Except in one you're fulfilled
At the end of the day
Let's play master and servant
Let's play master and servant
Let's play master and servant
Come on master and servant
09 Blasphemous Rumours (06:22)
Girl of sixteen
Whole life ahead of her
Slashed her wrists
Bored with life
Didn't succeed
Thank the Lord
For small mercies
Fighting back the tears
Mother reads the note again
Sixteen candles burn in her mind
She takes the blame
It's always the same
She goes down on her knees and prays
I don't want to start
Any blasphemous rumours
But I think that God's
Got a sick sense of humour
And when I die
I expect to find Him laughing
Girl of eighteen
Fell in love with everything
Found new life
In Jesus Christ
Hit by a car
Ended up
On a life support machine
Summer's day
As she passed away
Birds were singing
In the summer sky
Then came the rain
And once again
A tear fell
From her mother's eye
I don't want to start
Any blasphemous rumours
But I think that God's
Got a sick sense of humour
And when I die
I expect to find Him laughing
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Other reviews
By VIOLATOR 88
"Some Great Reward is a fabulous album, to listen and relisten to while paying attention to how catchy sounds contrast with introspective lyrics."
"Blasphemous Rumours is an extraordinarily successful combination of music and lyrics, where dark and chilling metallic sounds accompany stories of failed suicides and tragedies."
