Songs of Faith and Devotion

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Songs of Faith and Devotion
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released 22 March 1993
Recorded February 1992 - January 1993, Madrid, Hamburg, London[1]
Genre Alternative dance, synthpop
Length 47:26
Label Mute (UK), Sire/Reprise Records (U.S./Canada)
Producer Depeche Mode, Flood
Depeche Mode chronology
Violator
(1990)		 Songs of Faith and Devotion
(1993)		 Ultra
(1997)
Singles from Songs of Faith and Devotion
  1. "I Feel You"
    Released: 15 February 1993
  2. "Walking in My Shoes"
    Released: 26 April 1993
  3. "Condemnation"
    Released: September 13, 1993
  4. "In Your Room"
    Released: 10 January 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[2]
Robert Christgau (dud)[3]
Entertainment Weekly (B)[4]
New York Times (favorable) [5]
The Guardian (favorable)[6]
NME (8/10)[7]
Q 4/5 stars[8]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[9]
Sputnikmusic 4/5 stars[10]
Wiki letter w.svg This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Songs of Faith and Devotion is the eighth album by the British electronic music group Depeche Mode, released in 1993 on Mute Records in the UK and Sire/Reprise Records in the U.S. and Canada. The album incorporated more guitar textures than previous releases. Upon its release, Songs of Faith and Devotion reached number one in both the UK and US album charts. To support the album, Depeche Mode embarked on the fourteen-month Devotional Tour. As of 2006, Songs of Faith and Devotion has sold more than 920,000 units in the United States.[11]

Contents

[edit] Recording

Songs of Faith and Devotion was recorded over eight months in a rented villa in Madrid during 1992[12] as well as later sessions in Hamburg and London.[1] Recording the album was slowed by Gahan's growing drug and alcohol addiction.[1]

A studio was set up in the basement with two drum kits using different spaces to achieve different sounds. The drum kits could then be processed through synthesisers such as the large Roland System 700 the band installed in the studio.[12] The band wanted to record something quite different from previous albums. They wanted to change as many things about their approach to making music as they possibly could.[12] The band members had become aware of getting caught in easy routines leading to boredom.

One new approach to recording was performance. On previous recordings the band had relied more on sequencing than playing.[12] The performance would then later be sequenced and processed in the studio. The band members did not feel capable of going into a room and playing together, they felt that applying technology made their sound more spontaneous and human. They wanted the sound of Songs of Faith and Devotion looser and less programmed.[12]

Tracks like "I Feel You," which was not originally the lead-off track on the album until Alan Wilder fought for it to be that way,[1] included real performed drums which were then sampled and sequenced to form drum loops, using Cubase, in a different structure from how they were originally performed; keeping all the dynamics of a human performance.[12] Some of the embellishments like reversed cymbals were added later in the recording process by Alan Wilder who was nearly always the one to suggest such experimentation.[12]

Further reversing techniques were used throughout the recordings such as the backwards piano recorded as part of the outro to the track "Mercy In You". The introduction to the track "Judas" has uillean pipes recorded normally with reversed reverberation mixed into the sound.[12]

"Walking In My Shoes" included a processed piano part during the introduction. The piano was processed through a guitar processor to add distortion, making it sound more edgy. A harpsichord sample was then played and recorded over the top making a different layered sound.[12]

The recording of the track "Condemnation" used some interesting techniques including all four band members recording one thing each in the same space - Andrew Fletcher bashing a flight case with a pole, producer Flood and Dave Gahan clapping, Alan Wilder playing a drum and Martin Gore playing an organ. The sound produced was very embryonic but gave the band a direction as to how the track should sound.[12]

The album has a lot of recorded guitar with the intention of creating the power of a rock guitar, without the playing technique. Guitar parts were processed through devices such as Leslie tone cabinets, originally designed for use with an organ.[12]

[edit] 2006 re-release

In 2006, Songs of Faith and Devotion was re-released with a bonus DVD. It was released as a part of the second wave of re-issues. (Along with A Broken Frame and Some Great Reward) The first CD was remastered and was released on a CD/SACD hybrid except for in the US where the remastered first disc was pressed to standard CD. The bonus DVD includes a 5.1 surround mix of the original album, the B-Side "My Joy" and the Jazz Mix of "Death's Door" (similar to the original version) plus several other remixes.

Also included was a 36 minute documentary on Songs of Faith and Devotion called Depeche Mode 91-94 (We Were Going To Live Together, Record Together And It Was Going To Be Wonderful) named after a quote from Alan Wilder on the potential of living in their Madrid-area recording studio. It features interviews with Depeche Mode (including Wilder, who would leave the band in 1995) and other important DM figures like Daniel Miller, Anton Corbijn and Daryl Bamonte. There is also footage from the movie Devotional and the music videos. The documentary mainly focuses on the extreme difficulty of recording the album, and the even more frustrating 14-month tour that followed.

It was released on 2 October 2006 in the UK and 3 October 2006 in the US.

The remastered album was released on "deluxe" vinyl 2 March 2007 in Germany and 5 March 2007 internationally.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written and composed by Martin Gore. 

No. Title Length
1. "I Feel You"   4:35
2. "Walking in My Shoes"   5:35
3. "Condemnation"   3:20
4. "Mercy in You"   4:17
5. "Judas"   5:14
6. "In Your Room"   6:26
7. "Get Right with Me"   3:52
8. "Rush"   4:37
9. "One Caress"   3:32
10. "Higher Love"   5:56
2006 re-release bonus tracks
No. Title Length
11. "My Joy"   3:57
12. "Condemnation (Paris Mix)"   3:21
13. "Death's Door (Jazz Mix)"   6:38
14. "In Your Room (Zephyr Mix)"   4:50
15. "I Feel You (Life's Too Short Mix)"   8:35
16. "Walking In My Shoes (Grungy Gonads Mix)"   6:24
17. "My Joy (Slowslide Mix)"   5:11
18. "In Your Room (Apex Mix)"   6:43

[edit] Personnel

  • Dave Gahan - lead vocals, sampler
  • Martin Gore - keyboards, guitar, organ ("Condemnation"), sampler, backing vocals, lead vocals ("Judas", "One Caress"), songwriting
  • Alan Wilder - keyboards, drums, piano, bass guitar ("Walking In My Shoes"), sampler, programming, backing vocals
  • Andrew Fletcher - samples, backing vocals ("Condemnation")

[edit] Guest musicians

  • Bazil Meade, Hildia Campbell and Samantha Smith - backing vocals ("Get Right With Me")
  • Stefan Hanningan - uilleann pipes ("Judas")
  • Will Malone - strings conducting ("One Caress")

[edit] Charts and certifications

[edit] Charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[13] 14
Austrian Albums Chart[14] 1
French Albums Chart[15] 1
German Albums Chart[16] 1
Netherlands Albums Chart[17] 18
Norwegian Albums Chart[13] 16
Swedish Albums Chart[18] 2
Swiss Album Chart[19] 1
UK Albums Chart[20] 1
US Billboard 200[21] 1

[edit] Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[22] Gold 25,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[24] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[25] Gold 250,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[26] Gold 25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[28] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

[edit] References

  • Miller, Jonathan. Stripped: The True Story of Depeche Mode. Omnibus Press, 2004. ISBN 1-84449-415-2

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Shaw, William (April 1993). "In The Mode". Details magazine: 90–95, 168. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20081123003449/http://www.sacreddm.net/1990s/det010493/det010493main.htm. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
  2. ^ Raggett, Ned. Songs of Faith and Devotion at Allmusic. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1993). "Consumer Guide Reviews Depeche Mode". http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Depeche+Mode. Retrieved 3 July 2011. 
  4. ^ Wyman, Bill (26 March 1993). Songs of Faith and Devotion Review. Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,306000,00.html. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  5. ^ Pareles, Jon (1993-03-21). "RECORDINGS VIEW; Depeche Mode Escapes the Cathedral". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/21/arts/recordings-view-depeche-mode-escapes-the-cathedral.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm. Retrieved 2011-11-24. 
  6. ^ Sweeting, Adam (12 March 1993). "Songs of Faith and Devotion Review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090107010733/http://www.sacreddm.net/1990s/gua120393/gua120393main.htm. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  7. ^ Quantick, David (20 March 1993). "That'll Be the Deity". NME. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090107012113/http://www.sacreddm.net/1990s/nme200393/nme200393main.htm. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  8. ^ Gill, Andy (April 1993). "Purged". Q. Archived from the original on 24 October 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20091024062504/http://www.sacreddm.net/1990s/q010493/q010493main.htm. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  9. ^ Berger, Arion (15 April 1993). "Songs of Faith and Devotion by Depeche Mode Review". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/songs-of-faith-and-devotion-19930415. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  10. ^ "Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith and Devotion (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 14 Dec 2006. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=8821. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  11. ^ Billboard.com Chart Beat Chat, Billboard, http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat#/news/ask-billboard-1002312676.story, retrieved 2010-02-27 
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Doerschuk, Robert L. (July 1993). "Modus Operandi - SOS Magazine July 1993". Sound On Sound. Archived from the original on 2 January 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090102230555/http://www.sacreddm.net/1990s/sos010793/sos010793main.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
  13. ^ a b "Discography Depeche Mode". Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  14. ^ "Discographie Depeche Mode". AustrianCharts.at. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  15. ^ "Depeche Mode Songs of Faith and Devotion chart. Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  16. ^ "Suchergebnis". Charts-Surfer.de. Retrieved 16 April 2009. Note: User must define 'neuer suchbegriff' search parameter as "Depeche Mode".
  17. ^ "Discografie Depeche Mode". DutchCharts.nl. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  18. ^ "Discography Depeche Mode". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  19. ^ "Depeche Mode - Songs Of Faith And Devotion - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Depeche+Mode&titel=Songs+Of+Faith+And+Devotion&cat=a. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  20. ^ "Chart Stats: Depeche Mode". ChartStats.com. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  21. ^ "Depeche Mode > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  22. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion" (in German). IFPI Austria. http://www.ifpi.at/?section=goldplatin.  Enter Depeche Mode in the field Interpret. Enter Songs of Faith and Devotion in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  23. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Songs+of+Faith+and+Devotion&sa=Depeche+Mode&smt=0. 
  24. ^ "French album certifications – DepecheMode – Songs of Faith and Devotion" (in French). InfoDisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php.  Select DEPECHEMODE and click OK
  25. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Depeche Mode; 'Songs of Faith and Devotion')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Songs+of+Faith+and+Devotion&strInterpret=Depeche+Mode&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked. 
  26. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Depeche Mode; 'Songs of Faith and Devotion')". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Depeche+Mode+Songs+of+Faith+and+Devotion. 
  27. ^ "British album certifications – Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Songs of Faith and Devotion in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  28. ^ "American album certifications – Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Songs+of+Faith+and+Devotion%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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