Depeche Mode 'Ultra' 1997

SONG LYRICS by ALBUM

Depeche Mode

Ultra

Depeche Mode release their twelfth album, the aptly titled 'Ultra' on April 14 on Mute. Following 1993's platinum selling, No. 1 album, 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion', 'Ultra' was recorded and produced in New York, Los Angeles and London during the last year by Tim Simenon. The album stands as a personal and artistic triumph from a band who lived through their darkest days during its creation. Depeche Mode - singer Dave Gahan, songwriter Martin Gore and "backbone" Andy Fletcher - have survived personal and professional upheavals, including the departure of Alan Wilder and Gahan's much publicised drugs busts and rehabilitation, to make the most diverse, engaging and exhilarating album of their 17 years together.

Including the hit singles 'Barrel Of A Gun' and 'It's No Good', 'Ultra' unveils a sophisticated soundscape that draws influence from contemporary dance, gospel, blues and even country sources. In the words of Dave Gahan: "I think it's true to say there's elements of every kind of music in Depeche Mode, and that's what's unique about us is that we don't limit ourselves to one area. We listen to styles that compliment that song and take it to that place rather than sticking to a format."

Once more turning his pen to matters of the frailties in human relationships ('It's No Good', 'Useless'), predetermined fate ('Barrel Of A Gun'), alienation ('Sister Of Night') and redemption ('Home'), Martin Gore has created broad and evocative songs for Gahan to fully dramatise. With Tim Simenon at the controls, the brooding and sensual dance aesthetic that Gore's original demos first brought to mind has been fully realised. "He really helped us out, because the way the songs were written and demoed they lent themselves to a dance direction, but not dance in a disco sense," Martin explains.

Even so, fired by a restless imagination, the band also step out on a limb for the intriguing, Martin Denny-esque 'Jazz Thieves', the blues drenched 'Freestate' and the gospel noir of 'The Bottom Line'. "A lot of people are far too narrow minded in what they listen to," considers Gore. "There's been a lot of really interesting music that's happened over the last 100, as opposed to the last five to eight years."

Depeche Mode's broadness of musical vision is reflected in the choice of collaborators who appear on 'Ultra': Jaki Liebezeit, drummer with German experimental pioneers Can, former Living Colour/Tackhead bassist Doug Wimbish and pedal steel guitarist supreme B.J. Cole. As Tim Simenon enthuses: "Martin's an amazing songwriter and I want people to take their hat off to him."

Dave Gahan considers his vocal performances on 'Ultra' to be the best of his career: "They really take you to a place, wherever that place may be, and they take you on a journey, tell you a story and you listen, you know, it draws you in. 'Sister Of Night', for me personally, is one of the best vocals I've ever produced."

As he sings on the album's closing track 'Insight'; "I'm talking to you now/The fire still burns." Lesser bands may have crumbled by now, but Depeche Mode are firmly, defiantly back in business.

Full track listing for 'Ultra' is as follows:

Barrel Of A Gun / The Love Thieves / Home / It's No Good / Uselink / Useless / Sister Of Night /Jazz Thieves / Freestate / The Bottom Line / Insight

'Ultra' is released on CD/MC/LP.

The catalogue numbers are:

CD CDSTUMM148

CASSETTE CSTUMM148

LP STUMM148

'Ultra' was released on April 14 1997.

12" (STUMM 148) UK

● MATRIX: RUNOUT / BARCODE

Barcode:   5 016025 311484

Runout etching side A:   MPO THE EXCHANGE STUMM 148 A¹

Runout etching side B:   STUMM 148 B¹ MPO

Cover: Made in England. Track 12 is not mentioned on the artwork. B6 is a hidden track not listed on release. With printed inner sleeve. Matte cover.

Cassette (C STUMM 148) UK

● BARCODE

Label Code:   LC5834

Barcode:   5 016025 311481

Track 12 is not mentioned on the artwork. Released with printed inner sleeve.

CD (CD STUMM 148) UK

1.   "Barrel Of A Gun" 05:35

2.   "The Love Thieves" 06:34

3.   "Home" 05:42

4.   "It's No Good" 05:58

5.   "Uselink" 02:21

6.   "Useless" 05:12

7.   "Sister Of Night" 06:04

8.   "Jazz Thieves" 02:54

9.   "Freestate" 06:44

10.   "The Bottom Line" 04:26

11.   "Insight" 06:26

12.   "Junior Painkiller" 02:11

● MATRIX: RUNOUT / BARCODE

Label Code:   LC5834

Barcode:   5 016025 611485

Mould SID Code:   ifpi 2303

Mastering SID Code:   IFPI L122

Runout:   C4961 CDSTUMM 148 :: 1:4 MASTERED BY NIMBUS

Cover: Made in England. Track 12 is not mentioned on the artwork. "CD Stumm 148" on booklet / "cdstumm148" on sticker.

ULTRA

CD, VHS (MUTE BX STUMM 148) 1997 UK

CD

1.   "Barrel Of A Gun" 05:35

2.   "The Love Thieves" 06:34

3.   "Home" 05:42

4.   "It's No Good" 05:58

5.   "Uselink" 02:21

6.   "Useless" 05:12

7.   "Sister Of Night" 06:04

8.   "Jazz Thieves" 02:54

9.   "Freestate" 06:44

10.   "The Bottom Line" 04:26

11.   "Insight" 06:26

12.   "Junior Painkiller" 02:11

VHS

Ultra Electronic Press Kit

UK promo-only custom box set, contains promo t-shirt, regular CD & EPK video, in soap-powder style custom box with tear-off serrated strip.

'Ultra' 26.02.1997 (Short Film)

DEPECHE MODE COMMERCIAL TV

PRODUCTION DETAILS ALBUM

"Barrel Of A Gun" 05:35  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Percussion by Victor Indrizzo.

"The Love Thieves" 06:34  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Additional vocals engineered by Gareth Jones.

"Home" 05:42  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Additional vocals engineered by Gareth Jones. Strings arranged by Dave Clayton. Strings scored and conducted by Richard Niles. Strings coordinated by Graham Perkins.

"It's No Good" 05:58  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Percussion by Victor Indrizzo.

"Uselink" 02:21  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Gareth Jones. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. System 700 by Daniel Miller.

"Useless" 05:12  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Drums by Gota Yashiki and Keith Le Blanc. Percussion by Danny Cummings. Bass by Doug Wimbish.

"Sister Of Night" 06:04  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.

"Jazz Thieves" 02:54  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.

"Freestate" 06:44  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Additional vocals engineered by Gareth Jones. Percussion by Danny Cummings.

"The Bottom Line" 04:26  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange. Percussion by Jaki Liebezeit. Pedal Steel Guitar by BJ Cole.

"Insight" 06:26  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.

"Junior Painkiller" 02:11  •  Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.

discussion album

1997