Remixes 81-04 [2-CD Set]

Performer: Depeche Mode
Producer: DJ Shadow; Daniel Miller; Dave Bascombe; Depeche Mode; Jean-Benoît Dunckel; Gareth Jones; Mark Blakkat Bell; Jack Dangers; Jon Marsh; Martin Buttrich; Nicolas Godin; Timo Maas; David Miller; Tim Simenon; Roland Brown (Compilation)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Depeche Mode: Dave Gahan, Alan Wilder, Martin L. Gore, Vince Clarke, Andrew Fletcher. Additional personnel: Allison Goldfrapp (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Gareth Jones . Audio Remixers: Stephane "Alf" Briat; DJ Shadow; Daniel Miller; Dave Bascombe; David Mitchell; Depeche Mode; Dominique Brethes; Eric Radcliffe; George Holt; Alan Gregorie; Fran�ois Kevorkian; Joshua Tobias; Danny Briottet; Jack Dangers; Brandon Abeln; John Fryer; Adrian Sherwood; Jon Marsh; Alan Moulder; Martin Buttrich; Muggs; Peter Kruder; Portishead; Richard Dorfmeister; Rico Conning; Robin Hancock; The Beatmasters; Timo Maas; Troy Staton; David Earl Miller; Chamber. Liner Note Author: Paul Morley. How to celebrate over two decades of remixes that originally appeared on a wide array of multiple-format, multiple-version singles? Compile the best remixes, commission a series of new ones, and provide the result in multiple versions. Of course! This is the abridged, one-disc version of Remixes 81-04, which functions as an adequate sampling of all the alternate versions that have appeared on Depeche Mode's singles throughout the years. This is far from the best collection of remixes one could put together, but it does indicate how much range they've covered throughout the years, all the while showing what smarts the group has always had in selecting ahead-of-the-curve remixers. Followers who have the six bulky box sets that cover all of the singles through Exciter will prefer to get the three-disc version of the release, since several of the 2004 remixes don't appear on this disc. It should also be noted that no track is exclusive to this version. ~ Andy Kellman Since their emergence in the early 1980s, Depeche Mode has made the remix an integral part of their art. Their remix catalogue, in fact, outweighs their studio releases by a significant margin, and knowing where to begin sifting through the towering stack of extended singles can prove tricky. Fortunately, REMIXES 81-04 offers a Reader's Digest version of the band's remixes, boiling down the best from Mute's three-disc set of the same name, and providing casual fans with a manageable starting point. REMIXES 81-04 acts, on one hand, as a sampler of the band's remix history, but also includes new mixes by contemporary studio wizards. While not comprehensive, REMIXES 81-04 is outstanding nonetheless, highlighting the group's club-friendly, industrial-tinged dance beats while leaving room for their brooding melodic pop. The oldest mix, Daniel Miller's "Just Can't Get Enough" (1981), with its Kraftwerk-inspired electro-boogie, bears its age but is still compelling. Highlights include Kruder & Dorfmeister's acid-lounge treatment of "Useless," Air's lush re-invention of "Home," and Dave Bascombe's work on "Personal Jesus," which deepens the song's throbbing, hard-driving groove. In all, the album offers a fine cross-section of Depeche Mode's remarkable talent for invention and reinvention. How to celebrate over two decades of remixes that originally appeared on a wide array of multiple-format, multiple-version singles? Compile the best remixes, commission a series of new ones, and provide the result in multiple versions. Of course! This is the abridged, one-disc version of Remixes 81-04, which functions as an adequate sampling of all the alternate versions that have appeared on Depeche Mode's singles throughout the years. This is far from the best collection of remixes one could put together, but it does indicate how much range they've covered throughout the years, all the while showing what smarts the group has always had in selecting ahead-of-the-curve remixers. Followers who have the six bulky box sets that cover all of the singles through Exciter will prefer to get the three-disc version of the release, since several of the 2004 remixes don't appear on this disc. It should also be noted that no track is exclusive to this version. [This comes as a two-CD set.] ~ Andy Kellman

Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]hey invest the track with new meaning or power....Sometimes they simply remind you how great the song itself was in the first place."

Depeche Mode (French for "hurried fashion") was one of the first and best of the British synth-pop bands, combining breathless, melodic pop with perky electronics. With main songwriter Vince Clarke's departure for Yaz, Martin Gore took the reigns, and the band's sound became darker and harder, though still true to their trademark synth-driven accessibility. The post-Clarke band's moody dance-pop brought Depeche Mode worldwide superstardom in the second half of the '80s. The band survived overexposure, drug problems, and all the other traditional rock-star travails, and came out older and wiser, entering the 2000s as a fully functioning, mature unit.

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