Depeche Mode
Some Great Reward

THE REVIEW

"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.