Depeche Mode
Some Great Reward

THE REVIEW

After the disenchanted album "Construction Time Again," Depeche Mode (Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Alan Wilder, Andrew Fletcher) did not rest on the laurels of songs like "Everything Counts" (just to name one), but set to work at the Music Works Studios in London and the Hansa Studios in Berlin with the previous producer Gareth Jones and their mentor Daniel Miller, boss of Mute. The result of their efforts is "Some Great Reward," a beautiful and unique album, written almost entirely by Martin Gore, which distances them even more from the carefree beginnings and in some episodes (like "Blasphemous Rumours," for example) turns out to be a sort of prelude to the subsequent dark "Black Celebration".

The tracklist opens with "Something To Do" and its relentless beat and metallic noises, almost a trademark of the album, which contrast with lyrics reflecting the harshness of working-class life and the desire for escape from it. Following is, in my opinion, one of the best tracks on the album, that "Lie To Me," from whose lyrics the album title is taken, interpreted by the sultry and warm voice of Dave Gahan inviting his partner to lie to him in a reflection on the importance of truth. With the third song "People Are People," we return to lighter atmospheres, musically speaking, while the words describe a story of misunderstanding leading to violence narrated by the singing of Gahan and Gore. A sweet love song follows, "It Doesn't Matter," with touching lyrics superbly rendered by the splendid voice of Martin Gore and an accompaniment of almost "ambient" sound. In the next "Stories Of Old," Gahan sings about the perplexities of a man who does not want to sacrifice anything for love, aware of the precariousness of this feeling, while track number six, "Somebody," is a burst of emotions that hits the heart directly and leaves one stunned by the disarming sincerity of the request for love and understanding expressed in it. Everything flips in the catchy and famous "Master And Servant" that follows, where sadomasochism is the main theme of a somewhat singular relationship between two people, with the "classic" voluntary submission of those who love to be dominated by another; nearing the end of the album, before the final masterpiece, there is the only piece signed by Alan Wilder, that "If You Want," which in my opinion lowers the level of the work a bit. Finally, here we reach the best song of the album, the previously mentioned "Blasphemous Rumours." It is an extraordinarily successful combination of music and lyrics, where dark and chilling metallic sounds accompany stories of failed suicides and tragedies all orchestrated by a God with "a strange sense of humor," according to DM's religious vision.

In my opinion, "Some Great Reward" is a fabulous album, to listen and relisten to while paying attention to how catchy sounds contrast with introspective lyrics. In conclusion, an album to rediscover more than twenty years after its release and unmissable for Depeche fans.