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Rating: "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.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 I Feel You (04:35)
I feel you
Your sun it shines
I feel you
Within my mind
You take me there
You take me where
The kingdom comes
You take me to
And lead me through Babylon
This is the morning of our love
It's just the dawning of our love
I feel you
Your heart it sings
I feel you
The joy it brings
Where heaven waits
Those golden gates
And back again
You take me to
And lead me through oblivion
This is the morning of our love
It's just the dawning of our love
I feel you
Your precious soul
And I am whole
I feel you
Your rising sun
My kingdom comes
I feel you
Each move you make
I feel you
Each breath you take
Where angels sing
And spread their wings
My love's on high
You take me home
To glory's throne
By and by
This is the morning of our love
It's just the dawning of our love
02 Walking in My Shoes (05:35)
I would tell you about the things they put me through
The pain I've been subjected to
But the Lord himself would blush
The countless feasts laid at my feet
Forbidden fruits for me to eat
But I think your pulse would start to rush
Now I'm not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Morality would frown upon
Decency look down upon
The scapegoat fate's made of me
But I promise now, my judge and jurors
My intentions couldn't have been purer
My case is easy to see
I'm not looking for a clearer conscience
Peace of mind after what I've been through
And before we talk of any repentance
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
Now I'm not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
03 Condemnation (03:20)
Condemnation
Tried
Here on the stand
With the book in my hand
Truth on my side
Accusations
Lies
Hand me my sentence
I'll show no repentance
I'll suffer with pride
If for honesty
You want apologies
I don't sympathize
If for kindness
You substitute blindness
Please open your eyes
Condemnation
Why
Because my duty
Was always to beauty
And that was my crime
Feel elation
High
To know I can trust this
Fix of injustice
Time after time
If you see purity
As immaturity
Well it's no surprise
If for kindness
You substitute blindness
Please open your eyes
04 Mercy in You (04:17)
You know what I need
When my heart bleeds
I suffer from greed
A longing to feed
On the mercy in you
I can't conceal
The way I'm healed
The pleasure I feel
When I have to deal
With the mercy in you
I would do it all again
Lose my way and fall again
Just so I could call again
On the mercy in you
When here in my mind
I feel inclined
To wrongly treat you unkind
I have faith I will find
The mercy in you
I would lose my way again
Be led hopelessly astray again
Just so I could pray again
For the mercy in you
When here in my mind
I have been blind
Emotionally behind
I have faith I will find
The mercy in you
05 Judas (05:14)
Is simplicity best
Or simply the easiest
The narrowest path
Is always the holiest
So walk on barefoot for me
Suffer som misery
If you want my love
If you want my love
Man will survive
The harshest conditions
And stay alive
Through difficult decisions
So make up you mind for me
Walk the line for me
If you want my love
If you want my love
Idle talk
And hollow promises
Cheating Judases
Doubting Thomases
Don't just stand there and
shout it
Do something about it
You can fulfil
Your wildest ambitions
And I'm sure you will
Lose your inhibitions
So open yourself for me
Risk your health for me
If you want my love
If you want my love
If you want my love
If you want my love
06 In Your Room (06:26)
In your room
Where time stands still
Or moves at your will
Will you let the morning come soon
Or will you leave me lying here
In your favourite darkness
Your favourite half-light
Your favourite consciousness
Your favourite slave
In your room
Where souls disappear
Only you exist here
Will you lead me to your armchair
Or leave me lying here
Your favourite innocence
Your favourite prize
Your favourite smile
Your favourite slave
I'm hanging on your words
Living on your breath
Feeling with your skin
Will I always be here
In your room
Your burning eyes
Cause flames to arise
Will you let the fire die down soon
Or will I always be here
Your favourite passion
Your favourite game
Your favourite mirror
Your favourite slave
I'm hanging on your words
Living on your breath
Feeling with your skin
Will I always be here
Will I always be here
08 Rush (04:37)
Walk with me
Open your sensitive mouth
And talk to me
Hold out your delicate hands
And feel me
Couldn't make any plans
To conceal me
Open your sensitive mouth
Hold out your delicate hands
With such a sensitive mouth
I'm easy to see through
When I come up
When I rush
I rush for you
Cry for you
Seen the tears
Roll down from my eyes for you
Heard my truth
Distorted to lies for you
Watched my love
Becoming a prize for you
Seen the tears in my eyes
Heard my truth turn to lies
Seen the tears in my eyes
I'm not proud of what I do
When I come up
When I rush
I rush for you
I come up to meet you
Up there somewhere
When I rush to greet you
My soul is bared
Gave more for you
Dropped my crutches
And crawled on the floor for you
Went looking behind every door for you
And because of the things
That I saw for you
I spiritually grew
When I come up
When I rush
I rush for you
09 One Caress (03:32)
Well I'm down on my knees again
And I pray to the only one
Who has the strength to bear the pain
To forgive all the things that I've done
Oh girl lead me into your darkness
When this world is trying it's hardest
To leave me unimpressed
Just one caress
From you and I'm blessed
When you think you've tried every road,
every avenue
Take one more look at what you found old
And in it you'll find something new
Oh girl lead me into your darkness
When this world is trying it's hardest
To leave me unimpressed
Just one caress
From you and I'm blessed
I'm shying from the light
I always loved the night
And now you offer me eternal
darkness
I have to belive that sin
Can make a better man
Well it's the mood that I am in
That's left us back where we began
Oh girl lead me into your darkness
When this world is trying it's hardest
To leave me unimpressed
Just one caress
From you and I'm blessed
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Other reviews
By egebamyasi
The album sounds dark, menacing, oppressive, but above all much more 'rock' and less electronic than the previous ones.
'In Your Room' is a jewel of rare beauty, and perhaps the best track in Depeche Mode’s history.
By Umberto
"Songs Of Faith And Devotion surprises by being extremely varied in its contents but at the same time incredibly homogeneous."
"Gahan surpasses himself, delivering one of the finest performances of his career."
By Ago
"The electronic epicness is, in my opinion, the absolute protagonist."
"Walking In My Shoes represents the pinnacle of electronic symphony, and a music video that interprets its spirit to perfection."
By Alevox
"It was indeed a painful birth, that of 'Songs of Faith and Devotion,' but also labor from which a beautiful creature would be born."
"Much of the album can indeed almost be interpreted as a kind of prayer. For God, for a woman, or for oneself."
By Darius
"Songs Of Faith And Devotion... represents the peak of the 'dark' period of Gahan & Co.,"
"A vocal tone... full of anger, pain, suffering, almost shouting to the world, the fans, the public his truth."
