Some Great Reward is the fourth studio album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 24 September 1984 by Mute Records. The album peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 51 in the United States, and was supported by the Some Great Reward Tour.[4] This also saw the band using samplers, much like they did in their previous studio album Construction Time Again (1983), which they would continue to use in their following studio albums Black Celebration (1986) and Music for the Masses (1987).
Additionally it also saw the band addressing more personal themes such as sexual politics ("Master and Servant"), adulterous relationships ("Lie to Me"), and arbitrary divine justice ("Blasphemous Rumours").[5]
"Blasphemous Rumours" was released as a double A-side with "Somebody".
This was the first album where they achieved chart success in the US with the single "People Are People" which reached No. 13 on the charts in mid-1985 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a Top 20 hit in Canada. It was also the first album that peaked at a higher position on a chart that was not from the band's home country as it peaked at No. 1 in Germany.[6]
Tour
Promotional poster for the concert held in Lund, Sweden
The tour was the band's longest to date.[7] A concert held at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle in Hamburg, West Germany, was recorded and issued as a video release titled The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985). The European release featured 16 songs, while the North American version featured 11 songs. The video has not yet seen a DVD release.
American synth-pop and electronic band Book of Love were the opening act for all 15 tour dates of the North American leg of the tour.[8]
Melody Maker's Barry McIlheney hailed Some Great Reward and noted a "truly remarkable development" in Dave Gahan's voice, concluding that while "[i]t used to be okay to slag this bunch off because of their lack of soul, their supposed synthetic appeal, their reluctance to really pack a punch", the album "just trashes such bad old talk into the ground and demands that you now sit up and take notice of what is happening here, right under your nose".[19]
Depeche Mode in 1984
NME critic David Quantick was critical of the sound of the record, and felt that it "suffers from too many missed grips on good ideas". He continues: "It ought to be an intelligent chart contender, a mix of commercial class and magpie manipulation of the unconventional; it isn't. When that bonk and clatter is used... it's just a nod to left-field, rather than use of the sound." Of the songs and singing he says: "Often the tunes are ordinary; Martin Gore, as ever, favours a bit of a drone. In small doses (singles) this is fine. Over 40 minutes, the interest begins to wane. Dave Gahan's voice has improved greatly – in that he's learned how to use its limited range – but like the melodies, it imparts mucho sameiness to the record." He concludes: "Depeche Mode can be one the few acts worthy of the name pop group. It's just that they should be so much better."[20]
In Number One, Sunie expressed similar reservations: "The sadly under-rated Depeches turn out consistently excellent singles. But 45s rather than LPs remain their forte [...] They've progressed a million musical miles from their boppy origins, but Martin Gore's lyrics haven't kept up. Over a whole LP, their gaucheness is a major distraction from the record's musical merits."[11]
Carole Linfield, in Sounds, felt the balance of powerful music and personal lyrics was just right: "The combination of the Depeche strength of vocal and now the Depeche delicacy is going to be hard to beat... This package is a carefully assorted, daintily arranged symphony ... one that carries emotion, devotion and yet never gives way to feebleness or predictability. OK... the lyrics look trite, often naïve and frequently clichéd when printed out [...] Yet Depeche have the right balance and necessary gauche to pull it off. Perhaps it's simply that power – never mawkish – that sustains it. Whichever way, the combination locks in. The Depeche Mode clicks."[17]
German DJ Paul van Dyk cited Some Great Reward as his all-time favourite album, stating it is "one of the albums that really has influenced both myself and probably everyone who is somehow involved in electronic music."[21]
Re-release
In 2006, Some Great Reward was re-released with a bonus DVD. The CD was remastered and was released on a CD/SACD hybrid. The bonus DVD includes the B-sides "In Your Memory" and "(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me" in addition to a remix of "Somebody" and several live versions of some of the songs from the album. The DVD also includes a documentary on the making of the album.
The remastered album was released on vinyl in March 2007.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted. All lead vocals by Dave Gahan, except where noted
"Depeche Mode: 1984 ("You Can Get Away with Anything If You Give It a Good Tune...")" (written and produced by Roland Brown; directed by Ross Hallard and Phil Michael Lane)
29:20
Audio
Some Great Reward (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo)
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length
1.
"Something to Do"
3:47
2.
"Lie to Me"
5:04
3.
"People Are People"
3:52
4.
"It Doesn't Matter"
4:45
5.
"Stories of Old"
3:14
6.
"Somebody"
4:28
7.
"Master and Servant"
4:12
8.
"If You Want"
Wilder
4:41
9.
"Blasphemous Rumours"
6:22
Live tracks (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo)
