Depeche Mode
Songs Of Faith And Devotion

THE REVIEW

"Songs of Faith And Devotion" represents a point of no return for Depeche Mode, a sort of culmination of their musical style.

For the first time, Gore and company make less use of synthesizers, which until then had been the faithful companions of the musical adventures of the Basildon group. Besides the constant introduction of the guitar, a major novelty is the introduction of the Acoustic Drums, masterfully played by Alan Wilder (even though the sounds will be processed several times on the synthesizer) and moreover, this is the first Depeche Mode album to feature external musicians and backup singers.

The main theme of the album is Faith, but it is not specified what kind of faith it is, whether faith in love or faith in God... it could be both, but I'm not going to talk about that, but about the music, the 9 tracks that make up this authentic masterpiece of Pop and Electronic music. The first song that opens the album is "I Feel You" which will also be the first single released from "SOFAD". The track is a techno-blues, with a guitar riff that immediately sticks in your head, and Dave's vocals are expressed to the maximum with the song that is almost yelled by the singer, who until a few years earlier was closed in a sort of glass, the glass represented by the overly simplistic sounds of Electropop.

The second track is "Walking in my Shoes", that is "try walking in my shoes" a song dedicated to categories of people who are in difficulty (see addicts... divorcees, etc.), who knows if Gore, when he picked up the pen, thought of Dave and the fact that drugs were starting to take him away and consume him. The fact remains that "Walking in my Shoes" perhaps represents the most successful song of Depeche Mode's entire career, with a mystical arrangement, which makes it a starting point for many reflections. Next is "Condemnation", a sort of atypical song for Depeche Mode (for the drum sounds, suitcases are used) but which is still a gem. Here, Dave Gahan's vocal potential is pushed to the limit, and "Condemnation" can be listed as the most innovative song of Depeche Mode's entire career. The background choir is the work of Martin Gore and Alan Wilder.

Then "The Mercy in You", a sort of Trip-hop, about which there is not much to say. And here we are at "Judas", the first of the songs sung by Martin Gore, "Judas" is a song, in my opinion, more beautiful live than on the album, perhaps ruined by the Celtic arrangements, which certainly do not do justice to this little gem. Perhaps the masterpiece of the album is "In Your Room", a 6-minute song (naturally, I'm talking about the album version, the 4-minute single version might not even be worth mentioning) with an intro that gives you goosebumps with a bassline that perfectly recalls the heartbeat and Dave's vocals that blend with this heartbeat in a gentle and non-cold way. Here Alan Wilder fully expresses his potential as a drummer.

Here we are at "Get Right With me", perhaps the least successful song of the album but not a bad song for that. The next song is "One Caress", the other song sung by Martin Gore. Beautiful arrangement with a real string orchestra accompanying Martin Gore and company. The album closes with "Higher Love", a song that also follows the style of "In your Room", with a slow intro, but then grows gradually.

What can I say... after this album, records will be released that are certainly beautiful, but that will never compare with this album, a true masterpiece of the entire twenty-year career of Depeche Mode.