Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses (Deluxe Edition CD+DVD)
List Price:
Our Price: $17.50
You Save: $7.48 (30%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Depeche ModeEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-06-06
Music Label: Rhino / Wea
Soundtracks:
- Never Let Me Down Again
- The Things You Said
- Strangelove
- Sacred
- Little 15
- Behind The Wheel
- I Want You Now
- To Have And To Hold
- Nothing
- Pimpf
Music reviews of Music for the Masses (Deluxe Edition CD+DVD)
Music Review: LACKLUSTER REMASTER + MIXED FORMATS = A BAD IDEA
Rating: 2 Stars
This is one of the rare times that Rhino began with the best of intentions, then just executed terribly. Here's how Rhino blew it on the entire Depeche Mode multi-title CD/DVD remaster series:
1.) The remastering is heartbreakingly sub-par. I'll get to that.
2.) They relegated the great bonus audio tracks & remixes to the DVD.
3.) The 5.1 mixes and the video clips should have been released on dedicated DVD editions.
Let's start with the remastering.
You (real) DM fans who have all the Singles Boxes; go to Box #4, pull out the "Behind The Wheel" disc, and cue up the "album version". Now, compare it to the "remastered" Masses track... BIG DIFFERENCE, huh? The Masses version has greatly diminished clarity, like a heavy towel had been draped over the speakers. Forward the playback to 2:10 on each track, when all the instrumentation and vocals have finally kicked in, and listen. You'll understand the audio dichotomy I'm describing is not trivial.
Yes, the remastered audio on the CD in the new Masses set is better than the original 1987 single-disc CD release. But, after you perform the A/B test described above, you know the audio is not what it COULD have been, and probably now, never will be. That's a bitter pill to have to swallow for the Depeche fan, especially after laying out $20+ for this set.
I've also A/B'd tracks from all five of the Rhino 2006 sets against their respective Singles-Box counterpart. I found the same sub-standard remastering. What a terrible disappointment.
Let's move on to the DVD included in each set, and the decision to locate the remix and additional audio tracks there rather than the CD.
Simply: CD audio BELONGS in dedicated CD format. Multi-Channel audio/video BELONG in dedicated multi-channel formats. No matter what the marketing morons say, mixing the two plays to such a small portion of the market, it's just idiotic. In the case of the DVD's in the DM/Rhino sets, here are two perfect examples why:
How many DM fans don't have home surround sound systems, or DVD-capable units in their cars, and are ridiculously limited to listening to the bonus audio material on their home DVD player thru their television? How many DM fans don't appreciate not being able to Fair Use the DVD audio tracks on their portable audio devices?
Also, the DVD in each set consists of three components: A 30-minute video documentary, the 5.1 mix of the album, and the bonus tracks/remixes. Say you don't have a surround system and can't utilize the 5.1 album. So, ask yourself: How many times will you want to repeat the video? How many times would you like to listen to those great bonus tracks? I doubt many people would answer to a 1:1 ratio between the two! Me? Probably 1:100+!
Rhino should have followed their own Elvis Costello remaster-series model, and produced each of these albums as a two disc, standard CD-audio set. Then, Rhino could have released the multi-channel and video content as separate DVD retail versions, for those who desire to purchase, and are equipped to play them.
At the very least, however, Rhino seems to have learned its lesson from the Talking Heads Dual-Disc remaster-series fiasco and eschewed the horrid DD format for the Depeche releases (go to any TH DD-title on Amazon and scan thru the reviews if you want to read some REALLY p'd-off consumers, including myself!).
As an aside: I also checked the recent UK single-disc remasters against the Rhino CD's. As another reviewer noted below, the audio is identical to both versions.
Description of Music for the Masses (Deluxe Edition CD+DVD)
Rooted in the U.K.?s late ?70s New Romantic movement, Depeche Mode formed in 1980, and the pioneering, synthesizer-based sound created by the founding partnership of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Vince Clarke, and Andrew Fletcher went on to establish them as one of the most successful alt-rock groups ever. These electro-pop superstars loomed as large as cult heroes as they did as commercial heavies, and their wealth of singles and signature tracks ranged from energetic dance grooves to dramatic, moody, and industrial-tinged masterpieces. Depeche?s originality of vision weathered personnel shifts and personal turmoil, influencing modern rock and synth-pop on a global level. As the band continues to tour, record and build on its legacy a quarter-century down the road, Rhino begins its restoration of their classic catalogue with the CD + DVD reissue of this landmark album.This album is a culmination of Depeche Mode's middle-period experimentation. More informed by Goth than techno, it is still anchored by plenty of the larger-than-life-baritone melodrama so distinctive of David Gahan's vocals. The most experimental track is "Pimpf"--a song that heave-hoes along with the synthesized emulation of a Russian men's choir. Although nowhere near fast enough to be danceable, the commanding "Never Let Me Down" ranks as the best single on the track, with the most hummable "Strangelove" coming in at a close second. Each song is a praiseworthy accomplishment, but the singles here set off the experimental tracks, making the album seem thematically schizophrenic. --Beth Bessmer
Alternative Rock CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Alternative Rock CDs
Bouncing Souls - Maniacal LaughterRelease date: 1996-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $30.00
Blondie - Parallel LinesRelease date: 1994-07-29; Music CD
Best price: $149.98
Doors - L.A. WomanRelease date: 1993-04-09; Music CD
Best price: $99.99
Amon Duul - Phallus DeiRelease date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Tangerine Dream - MelroseRelease date: 1990-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $74.98
Tangerine Dream - Private Music of Tangerine DreamRelease date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
![Ska Explosion [VHS] Image](/images/Ska-Explosion-VHS-6303381014-X.jpg){kind=small}
Ska Explosion [VHS]Cleopatra; Release date: 1995-02-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
![Little Earthquakes [VHS] Image](/images/Little-Earthquakes-VHS-6302488664-X.jpg){kind=small}
Little Earthquakes [VHS]Atlantic / Wea; Release date: 1992-11-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops:
Exileby Geoffrey Oryema
Music CD
Best price: $4.95
![Louder Than Live [VHS] Image](/images/Louder-Than-Live-VHS-6301627865-X.jpg){kind=small}
Soundgarden - Louder Than Live [VHS]A&M Video; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $192.68
Similar CDs
Depeche Mode - A Broken FrameRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $5.90
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - UltraDEPECHE MODE; Release date: 1997-04-15; Published: 1997; Music CD
Best price: $7.16
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel (U.S. Release)DEPECHE MODE; Release date: 2012-03-27; Music CD
Best price: $6.20
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The UniverseRelease date: 2009-04-21; Music CD
Best price: $6.69
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - Speak & SpellRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $6.89
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - ExciterDEPECHE MODE; Release date: 2001-05-15; Music CD
Best price: $8.26
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - Songs Of Faith And DevotionDEPECHE MODE; Release date: 2011-11-23; Published: 1993; Music CD
Best price: $5.26
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - Some Great RewardDEPECHE MODE; Release date: 1990-10-25; Published: 1984; Music CD
Best price: $5.02
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - Black CelebrationRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $5.82
Price in other shops:
Depeche Mode - Violator by Depeche Mode (1990)DEPECHE MODE; Release date: 1990-02-22; Published: 1990; Music CD
Best price: $6.61
Price in other shops: