As I write, I'm not at all certain whether DEPECHE MODE are still a going concern. Having discovered songwriting as well as being a God-like frontman, Dave Gahan made a credible fist of his "Paper Monsters" album last year and hinted that his solo work would now be his priority. As if licking his wounds, Martin Gore marked time by recording an album of cover versions and Andy Fletcher set up his Toast Hawaii label through parent company Mute.
So the future remains unwritten with the arrival of "Remixes '81- '04". If I was of a cynical bent (who? moi?) I could suggest it reeks of - admittedly classy - stop-gap and marking time while the paricipants decide for definite what they're doing in the long run, but whatever the motives behind this lavish 2CD (3CD if you're quick off the blocks) set really are, it's undeniable that the Basildon boys were amongst the very first to embrace this whole dance remix malarkey and have sub-let virtually their entire catalogue of masterworks out for canny renovation work over the past (gulp) 23 years.
Of course, DM had a headstart by signing to electro pioneer Daniel Miller's fledgling Mute label, and Miller himself adds a dose of hollow, trance-y minimalism to the band's early perky synth pop on his remixes of "Shout" and (inevitably) "Just Can't Get Enough." These early reworkings got the band noticed critically as well as commercially and during the 1980s, any hip dudes worth their salt started to get into the act, with the influential likes of The Beatmasters, Dave Bascombe, Alan Moulder and Francois Kevorkian all getting their paws grubby overhauling DM'S hits.
Some of these have aged better than others. Kevorkian's minimal retooling of "Personal Jesus" adds little of value and seems to go on for aeons, although his sleek, bassline-heavy buff up of "Policy Of Truth" shows how effective his schtick could be. Bascombe's "Never Let Me Down" starts with a huge fanfare, but then sticks too close to the original, while Alan Moulder's 'Absolut' mix of "Everything Counts" is nervy, fractured and effective. Perhaps the decade's most unlikely success, though, was the throbbing, sample-heavy electro kick up the arse The Beatmasters gave to DM'S versh of the old chestnut "Route 66."
Post-Pasadena Rose Bowl, Depeche stood at the dawn of the '90s as one of the world's most successful acts. They'd taken electronic music to the arenas and won, so - regardless of the drug hell Dave Gahan would shortly descend into - the studio boffins were still lining up to get a piece of the remix action.
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The selections from the 1990s are many and varied, and provide numerous highlights. Air add their trademark whooshiness to the Martin Gore-sung "Home", while Jack Dangers adds a sheen of junglist claustrophobia to the already dramatic "Rush" and Underworld's radical drum'n'bass drubbing forces "Barrel Of A Gun" to within an inch of its' life. All of these are state of the art and at the very least sonically impressive, while the likes of DJ Muggs, Dave Clarke and Timo Maas bring us into the 21st Century with their machine-tooled expertise. The eerie, disembodied feel of Maas's "Enjoy The Silence" is an especially good way for CD2 to sign off on a high.
The fleet of foot amongst you will also be treated to a third CD of remixes. Sure, you can have too much of a good thing, but it would be a shame to miss out on William Orbit's glitchy'n'percussive "Walking In My Shoes", the burpy grandiosity of Rex The Dog's take on early classic "Photographic" and the alien electro lurch of Colder's "Halo." As for Mike Shinoda, well I can do without some pillock from hopeless nu-metallers Linkin Park telling me why Depeche Mode are important, but I do at least admire his taste. Annoyingly, I have to also admit (through gritted teeth) that his remake of "Enjoy The Silence" does possess a well-paced chutzpah. Shit. And I was looking forward to booting him in the bollocks as well.
I can't really make a case for why anyone other than a seasoned fan would desperately need "Remixes '81 - 04" in their life, especially as we've already had two detailed greatest hits covering both DM'S synth pop 'Smash Hits' phase (1981-85) and the darker, critically satisfying as well as stadium-busting phase (1986 - 98). Still, as an alternative history it does a comprehensive job and for a seemingly randomly-sequenced compendium it's suprisingly cohesive.
But I'd still like to know if it really is the end of the story or not.
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