1984 album in review: Depeche Mode--Some Great Reward

From San Pedro, California, we now travel across the continental United States, fly over the Atlantic Ocean, and make a stop in Basildon, England. The next album in my yearlong looks at '84 releases is from the pride of Basildon: Depeche Mode, and their 1984 LP, Some Great Reward.

Depeche Mode were among a crop of "synthesizer bands" that emerged, mainly from the UK, in the early '80s. This includes Human League, Tears For Fears, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Talk Talk, and Yazoo (to name a few). I'm sure scholarly works have been wriiten discussing this phenomenon, so I won't delve into that here, and in any case, I'm not educated enough in the subject to take a stab at it.

Of all the so-called "synth bands" of the '80s, Depeche Mode is the one that has evolved, thrived, and soldiered on to the present day. They have released consistently good-to-great material every other year or so since 1981, and not taken decade-long breaks. (I'm looking at you, Tears For Fears).

All that said, I come to this post as someone who is not an expert on Depeche Mode (not that I'm an expert on any of the other bands I've profiled so far) but a novice who has grown to appreciate what those guys have accomplished in their four-plus decades as a band. 

Released in September 1984, Some Great Reward was the first Depeche Mode album to make any kind of dent on the U.S., charts, though it only peaked at #51 on the Billboard 200. According to the "source of all human knowledge" Wikipedia, no previous Depeche Mode album had reached any higher than #177 (A Broken Frame, released in 1982).

I have to assume that Some Great Reward's modest success in the United States was a slow burn, and likely helped by "People are People" catching listeners' ears in the summer of 1985 and peaking at #13 (August 3, 1985) in the Billboard Hot 100. That was the first time I ever heard Depeche Mode, and as related previously in this blog, "People are People" had an impact on me.

Now, a word about the album cover. It features a young, attractive bride and groom standing in front of the Round Oak Steelworks, in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England (which, if you're wondering is, about 155 miles away from Depeche Mode's hometown of Basildon, Essex). I have a few theories about the album cover. both of which might be completely full of crap. One is that the steel mill and the couple represent the combination of grim industrialism and romanticism represented in the music. Another is that the cover image is an allusion to the lyrics of "Lie to Me": "So lie to me/Like they do in the factory/Make me think/That at the end of the day/Some great reward/Will be coming my way." Perhaps the beautiful, romantic image of the couple is the "great reward" promised in the factory? On the other hand, maybe it's just an image that the band thought looked cool, and there is no symbolism or significance to it.

Moving on to the album. Unlike previous installments, I'll go track-by-track. At only nine songs, this is a manageable approach. I'll offer up my two-bit interpretations and assessments of the songs, which could be either intelligent, ignorant, or somewhere in between.

However, before I leap into the album, Depeche Mode is among bands in which the principal songwriter is not the lead singer. (See The Who, Oasis, Tears For Fears, and RUSH among others). In Depeche Mode, Martin Gore is the main songwriter, but only occasionally sings lead (though he has an absolutely beautiful voice).

That said, let's go:

Something to Do

Musically, this song predicts the future of techno and electronic music, especially the intro. (That clanking, frenetic intro reminds me of the sounds that the contemporary duo Sleaford Mods samples in their music).

Martin Gore is bored in his "grey town" with its "black sky." Though musically quite different, the humdrum bleakness of the landscape is reminiscent of Morrissey's descriptions of Manchester in the Smiths' first album.

Martin's love interest--I assume she is his love interest--is wearing leather boots. Even she can't escape the grime of the city, as her dress is "oil stained from working too hard." 

The lyrics on this album are sparse and skeletal.

Lie to Me

Slinkiness replaces the frenetic pace of the previous song.

"Lie to me/But do it with sincerity"

It sounds like someone is wrestling with a broken relationship full of broken promises.

People are People

Love the way Gahan and Gore trade off vocals. The industrial clanking of the music lends to its appeal. Forty years later, the metallic thuds, clinks, and clatters still captivate me--and yet the song is also melodic and catchy.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. There are Ccunky lyrics at times ("you and I should get long so awfully"), but sadly still relevant.

It Doesn't Matter

Here is what Depeche Mode fans particularly love: a Martin Gore torch song.

Between this and Lie to Me, it sounds like Martin was going through some stuff. This is another song about a broken relationship. "When I kiss you/And you kiss me/Don't pretend you miss me" but then Martin is full of self-deprecation in the final verse, "The respect you have for me/I'm embarrassed/It overwhelms me/Because I don't deserve any."

Stories of Old

A return to slinkiness, another style DM does quite well.

Our protagonist is not sacrificing himself for love. However, He IS worried about "burn[ing] in hell" for saying he is "really in heaven" when he kisses the object of his affection. Is he only interested in being "friends with benefits"? 

Somebody

This one is yet another luscious Martin Gore torch song. He could absolutely accompany himself on the piano in some dark, smoky cabaret or lounge.

Martin seems to be writing songs from alternating perspectives. Unlike "Stories of Old", he wants to be in a relationship, an extremely intimate relationship. His perspective is enlightened. He doesn't want or need her (and the object of his affection is specified as a "she") to agree with everything he says, and he's perfectly fine with that. (He does have some limits to the relationship, however. He doesn't "want to be tied to anyone's strings."

Master and Servant

This is a dance floor jam and absolutely slams forty years later...and come on, is this really about anything else other than S&M? 

If You Want

Written by Alan Wilder. And we are on to some dark gothiness.

Not sure what to make of this one. Is this about going to a party, meeting someone, and wanting to have a one night stand? I honestly have no idea.

Blasphemous Rumours

A gloriously poppy song with dark subject matter. Martin Gore wrestling with God, religious belief, and the pain and suffering mortals endure on earth. A girl attempts suicide but survives. The mother blames herself. Another girl (or is it the same girl at age 18 and not 16) "found a new life/In Jesus Christ" yet is hit by a car and badly hurt "on a life support machine." Then she dies and her mother is understandably sad. I suppose Martin is asking where God is in all of this. 

Though Some Great Reward is now seen as Depeche Mode in pupa stage, the album has aged remarkably well, and displays a range and artistic restlessness that will reach full "butterfly" maturity when Music For the Masses is released in 1987.