Artist: DEPECHE MODE
Album: MUSIC FOR THE MASSES REISSUE (CD)

Release date: 1987/ 2006
EAN/UPS: 0888837513227
Media type: CD

Music for the Masses is the sixth proper studio album by Depeche Mode. Released by Mute Records on September 28, 1987, it provided the band with mainstream success in the United States for the first time since Some Great Reward, and the new styles of music that appeared on the album and its predecessor Black Celebration formed the foundation for their breakthrough effort, Violator. These three are widely considered to be the band's peak in both lyrical and musical sense, attributed to Gore's maturing songcraft and Wilder's synthesized orchestrations.

It was supported by the For the Masses tour, which made up for the first of Depeche Mode's live albums, 101.

The album became the band's highest-charting in the US upon its release, reaching #35 on the Billboard 200. It also contained more hit singles than any of their previous releases. While there was no extremely popular single from the album ("People Are People" from Some Great Reward reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100), the three singles that were released all made it onto the Hot 100, a feat that hadn't been achieved by any Depeche Mode single after those from Some Great Reward. Moreover, all three singles achieved modest success on the chart.

The first single from the album, "Strangelove", only reached #76 and spent 6 weeks on the chart upon its initial release. "Never Let Me Down Again" was then issued and hit #63, spending 10 weeks on the chart. Its success was duplicated by "Behind the Wheel" which had a similar chart run. This propelled a re-released "Strangelove" (as "Strangelove '88") to #50, making it the highest-charting single from the album.

The story was similar in the United Kingdom. While no single reached the chart heights of Depeche Mode's early career, "Strangelove" narrowly became the band's second-highest charting single since 1984 when it hit #16. The two follow-up singles charted in the upper 20s. The album was less successful, reaching only #10, though it was a major success throughout Europe. Generally, this album and its extracted singles continued the trend for Depeche Mode's releases to chart higher in Continental Europe than in their home country: "Strangelove" and "Never Let Me Down Again" both hit #2 on the singles chart in what was then West Germany, "Behind The Wheel" hit #6 there, and "Little 15" reached #16.

The For the Masses tour was one of Depeche Mode's biggest, notably because of the sell-out Pasadena Rose Bowl show where the band performed to around 100,000 fans, cementing their place in United States alternative culture. This made the band question if they had reached the peak of their careers, according to the 101 DVD, a documentary on the concert, but put that notion to rest with Violator, which was even more successful.

TRACKLIST:

"Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:47
"The Things You Said" – 4:02
"Strangelove" – 4:56
"Sacred" – 4:47
"Little 15" – 4:18
"Behind the Wheel" – 5:18
"I Want You Now" – 3:44
"To Have and to Hold" – 2:51
"Nothing" – 4:18
"Pimpf" – 5:25

LINE-UP:

David Gahan
Martin Gore
Andrew Fletcher
Alan Wilder