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Depeche Mode ULTRA

A Father’s Day Gift! (And a brief history of Depeche Mode)

This is just one of the lovely Father’s Day gifts that I received from Shalee and the girls yesterday. I noted previously that I have every Depeche Mode album from Speak & Spell through Music for the Masses from my uncle who passed. A couple of months ago I purchased Violator as it felt right to extend his/my collection from where he left off. I made an informal plan to eventually complete my Depeche Mode vinyl library.

I’m a collector.

Or obsessive.

Whichever is socially acceptable.

As such, I was, and am, elated to receive this album to add to my ever-growing collection. Oddly enough, the last time I wrote about listening to Depeche Mode the band was also a threesome. For 13 years Alan Wilder was with the band, but from 1997 until Fletch’s untimely death in 2022 they were again just three, and now, just two: Martin Gore and David Gahan.

This album is significant because it was a change, a major one, the beginning of a new era. There are many ways one can think of Depeche Mode, but I tend to think of them like this:

The Beginning: the band is Dave, Martin, Andy, and Vince Clarke. This produced Speak & Spell.
The Shift: This is where Vince left and Martin became the primary songwriter. This produced A Broken Frame.
The Reformation: Though Alan toured with the group in support of A Broken Frame, he officially became a part of the band for the recording of Construction Time Again. He was the only trained musician in the group and Martin was starting to find his legs as a songwriter.
The Golden Age: This is where the classic foursome put out five glorious albums during one of the strongest stretches in their, or any band’s career, starting with Some Great Reward and ending with their final album in this configuration, Songs of Faith and Devotion. There can be arguments made as to which albums are the best, either from this era or earlier/later albums, but for the more casual DM fans these five studio albums are usually the core. All in all, Alan was with the band for about 13 years.
The Triumvirate: After SoFaD Alan left, David died (he got better!), Martin dealt with his alcoholism, and Andy formed a record label (Toast Hawaii!). The remaining three got back together and decided to keep going as a band. Though this era consists of a longer time span (20+ year) and six albums, starting with Ultra and ending with Spirit, it can be argued that there were diminishing returns. Personally Exciter was the last DM album where I didn’t skip a track (or seldom did). There are still some great songs produced by the band, and I admit that when I sit down and listen to each album from start to finish there’s little I don’t enjoy (except for Spirit, oy), but in my opinion this is when DM went from “great” to “good” (but always fantastic live!). But Ultra is a turning point no matter how one looks at it: the band changed, their style evolved, and they tried some new things (“Barrel of a Gun,” anyone?), and yet, it’s still a very strong and impressive effort.
The Unknown: With the passing of Fletch in 2022 most fans were surprised to hear that DM would continue on as a duo. Memento Mori is return to form, and again, my opinion, the best album that the group has put out in 20 years. The corresponding tour was fantastic as well, but it begs the question: are Dave and Martin going to go out on top? Is this the end for Depeche Mode or will they continue on? That’s the unknown.

So again, for a Depeche Mode devotee like me, Ultra is an important release worth listening to and evaluating, which is exactly what I have been doing the last 24 or so hours.

As I said previously, I do appreciate how vinyl forces me to listen to each track and take the album in as a whole.

All in all, how could a Father’s Day be anything but spectacular when Depeche Mode is involved?