Search - Depeche Mode :: Songs of Faith & Devotion

My Second Favorite Depeche Mode CD!!

MUZIK4THAPEOPLE!! | Seattle & San Diego | 09/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After "Violator" (My #1 Favorite DM CD) hit in late '89/early '90, I was rife and

ready to hear what they were going to come up with next!---Then in summer 1993

came "Songs Of Faith & Devotion", which had a much more darker and ominous vibe

to it than "Violator"(s) more upbeat futuristic vibe had.

I later found out that Dave Gahan, the lead singer was dealing with serious addictions

during this period that were jeopardizing everything that they had built from

1984's "Black Celebration" to "Violator"...hence the darker vibe I felt.

At first I didn't like it...I listened to it about 5 or 6 times, then relegated it

to my "hardly played" CD pile, where it stayed for about 8 yrs until 2001.

Then one day I was preparing to take a bunch of my old CD's to a swap-n-sell place

when I decided to give "S.O.F.& D." another spin with more mature ears.

Wouldn't you know it?---I had grown into it by then, and it has since become my

second favorite DP CD of their 25+ year catalogue!

I guess kind of like Billie Holiday and other great artists who've battled

addiction, Dave's voice was raw, weathered, and telling of the inner turmoil

he was experiencing at that time. (Thank goodness he got through it!)

But his voice has an otherworldly quality to it on this album, which I

like to say is like "If Edgar Allen Poe could've been a 90's rock star,

this is how his melancholy would've sounded!"

"Exciter", their 2001 return to great form, is my 3rd Favorite BTW!! (-:

I still love the vibe of "I Feel You", "Walkin In My Shoes", "Condemnation", "Judas"

and the others which escape me right now, but long story short...this is a damn good CD!"