Depeche Mode – The Best of Volume 1 (CD/DVD) Review
Posted by James Munson on 11.29.2006
Does the world really need another Depeche Mode best-of collection? Well, in case you don’t already own The Singles 86-98, The Singles 81-85 or Catching Up With Depeche Mode, this may be worth your while.
Every November, record companies shamelessly unload greatest hits compilations on retail stores as a means to cash-in on holiday shoppers. Bands given the greatest-hits treatment this year include, but are not limited to, P.O.D., Staind, U2, Oasis, and, now, Depeche Mode. Unfortunately for the average record-buying consumer, some groups barely have enough songs in their catalogue to constitute a best-of collection (Silverchair’s Best of Silverchair – Volume 1 included a few singles from their first three (!) albums along with some remixes and unreleased material as filler). Others have just the right amount of material (The Cure’s 1986 mid-career Staring At the Sea and 1997’s subsequent Galore).
Following 2005’s exceptional Playing the Angel, Depeche Mode return with a rather almost-pointless, yet mostly-appealing The Best of – Volume 1. The trouble with countless greatest hits compilations is that any hardcore fan already owns most of the band’s material. That problem occurs here, save for the obligatory new track called “Martyr”, which is not half-bad. The song could just as easily have been included on Playing the Angel, except the driving keyboard / guitar parts are vaguely reminiscent of “Suffer Well” from Angel.
One question this collection raises is what exactly constitutes a “best-of” track. While there will inevitably be a Volume 2 in the near future, what exactly makes “Precious” more deserving of being included on the first set than “Blasphemous Rumors” or “Dreaming of Me”? Despite the fact that most of their key material is here (who can deny the relevance of “Enjoy the Silence” or “Never Let Me Down Again”?), if and when the second volume is released, it will be undoubtedly be sub-par. Certainly, it will also feature a new song in order to snag completists into buying it.
What I admire about this anthology (and some fans might argue with me) is that the songs aren’t in sequential order. I found this delightful as this allows the listener to hear the range of one of the best synth-pop bands from the 80’s branches from catchy pop numbers (“Just Can’t Get Enough”) to darker material (“Suffer Well”). It does a fairly respectable job of including singles from every album, with two tracks from Playing the Angel and it rescues the superb “Dream On” from the otherwise bland Exciter. This collection also lacks a lot of filler. Unlike their previous The Singles releases, disc space is not wasted on skip-worthy tunes like “Little 15” or some awful remix of “Just Can’t Get Enough”. Although it won’t mean much to Mode-philes who own all of their videos, fans who shell out the extra ten bucks or so can get the compilation packaged with a DVD containing 23 music videos throughout the span of their career. If Volume 2 will have many of the songs omitted from Volume 1 (i.e. the songs included on The Singles anthologies), then these two compilations are an ideal introduction for someone new to Depeche Mode. However, if you already own these songs, download “Martyr”. You won’t be missing out on much.
The 411: In general, this is a solid compilation. Uber-fans won’t get much out of it besides the new single, but for casual fans and young music fans who aren’t aware of why they like the Killers and the Faint, this collection is extremely worthwhile. We might have to wait for next Christmas, but it will be interesting to see what makes the final cut for Volume 2.
