Depeche Mode will complete the set of re-released remastered albums on July 24 when 1997’s Ultra and 2001’s Exciter both drop in stores.

Both the re-mastered albums will include a bonus DVD featuring exclusive video footage, live tracks, b-sides and other bonus material. Meanwhile, frontman Dave Gahan hopes to have the follow-up to his 2003 debut solo album released around October this year.

The full track listing for the re-mastered albums follows.

Ultra:

1. Barrel Of A Gun
2. The Love Thieves
3. Home
4. It’s No Good
5. Uselink
6. Useless
7. Sister Of Night
8. Jazz Thieves
9. Freestate
10. The Bottom Line
11. Insight

Bonus DVD:

1. Barrel Of A Gun (Live 1997)
2. It’s No Good (Live 1997)
3. Useless (Live 1997)
4. Painkiller
5. Slowblow
6. Only When I Lose Myself
7. Surrender
8. Headstar

Exciter:

1. Dream On
2. Shine
3. The Sweetest Condition
4. When The Body Speaks
5. The Dead Of Night
6. Lovetheme
7. Freelove
8. Comatose
9. I Feel Loved
10. Breathe
11. Easy Tiger
12. I Am You
13. Goodnight Lovers

Bonus DVD:

1. The Dead Of Night (Live 2001)
2. The Sweetest Condition (Live 2001)
3. Dream On (Live 2001)
4. When The Body Speaks (Live 2001)
5. Breathe (Live 2001)
6. Freelove (Live 2001)
7. Easy Tiger (Full Version)
8. Dirt
9. Zenstation
10. When The Body Speaks (Acoustic Version)

Two more Depeche Mode deluxe reissue albums are to be released next month. Construction Time Again (1983) and Black Celebration (1986) will both be released as two-disc CD/DVD sets on March 20 by Rhino records.

Both sets will include the original albums, while bundled with a DVD of extras including 5.1 mixes, b-sides, remixes and an assortment of live tracks. Fans of the band are sure to enjoy the bonus exclusive interview featured in both sets, with members of the band discussing each of the albums.

Last year three deluxe albums were released by Rhino. They were Speak & Spell, Music For The Masses, and Violator.

Construction Time Again tracklist:

01 Love, In Itself
02 More Than a Party
03 Pipeline
04 Everything Counts
05 Two Minute Warning
06 Shame
07 The Landscape Is Changing
08 Told You So
09 And Then…
10 Get the Balance Right! [bonus track]
11 The Great Outdoors! [bonus track]
12 Work Hard [bonus track]
13 Fools [bonus track]
14 Get the Balance Right! (Combination Mix) [bonus track]
15 Everything Counts - In Larger Amounts [bonus track]
16 Love, In Itself 4 [bonus track]

Black Celebration tracklist:

01 Black Celebration
02 Fly on the Windscreen - Final
03 A Question of Lust
04 Sometimes
05 It Doesn’t Matter Two
06 A Question of Time
07 Stripped
08 Here Is the House
09 World Full of Nothing
10 Dressed in Black
11 New Dress
12 Black Celebration (Live 1986) [bonus track]
13 A Question of Time (Live 1986) [bonus track]
14 Stripped (Live 1986) [bonus track]
15 Shake the Disease [bonus track]
16 Flexible [bonus track]
17 It’s Called a Heart [bonus track]
18 Fly on the Windscreen [bonus track]
19 But Not Tonight [bonus track]
20 Breathing in Fumes [bonus track]
21 Black Day [bonus track]
22 Christmas Island [bonus track]

Out on February 19th will be the OneTwo single “Cloud Nine”. The title track “Cloud Nine” was co-written by Depeche Mode songwriter Martin Gore and also features his guitarwork.

For OneTwo, a collaboration between OMD’s Paul Humphreys and Claudia Brücken from the German cultact Propaganda, it is the second time the track is being released. Originally recorded for a Propaganda album it found its way onto OneTwo’s self released “Item” debut EP (June 2004) when Propaganda split up. The “Cloud Nine” single will also feature an exclusive remix by Blank & Jones of the track, another exclusive remix of the album track “Home” by Manhattan Clique (known from their work with Erasure’s Andy Bell) plus a [S.I.T.D.] remix of the only German sung track on OneTwo’s debut: “Kein Anschluss”. The single preceeds the “Instead” album out on February 26th on There, the band’s own label.

Source: http://www.side-line.com

By: Dante A. Ciampaglia

Depeche Mode’s fourth album, Some Great Reward, was a bit of a departure for the band. After releasing three album’s of synth-heavy Britpop — Speak & Spell, A Broken Flame, and Construction Time Again — the UK-based group moved into more socially relevant, and darker territory.

From the packaging (a couple getting married in a cold, desolate factory) to the album’s singles (”People are People,” “Blasphemous Rumours,” “Master and Servant”), Some Great Reward dealt with larger issues than not getting enough of whatever they couldn’t get enough of on “Just Can’t Get Enough.” “People are People” dealt explicitly with racism and exclusion, growing concerns in 1984, the year of the album’s release. “Master and Servant” dealt explicitly with the carnal order of who’s on top (”It’s a lot like life/played between the sheets/with you on top/and me underneath/forget all about equality/let’s play/master and servant”), framed in the context of socially manipulation (”Domination is the name of the game/In bed or in life/they’re both just the same”).

But beyond the singles, Depeche Mode crafts a dark, intense, and spooky industrial sound that heightens the impact of the more mature lyrics. “Something to Do,” the album’s opener, begins with a quick, horror-movie-style rhythm, complete with a tinkling piano in the background like you could hear while watching Halloween. “Somebody,” on the other hand, is a less throbbing track, opening with the sounds of an ethereal wind and a distant, ghostly train whistle.

Some Great Reward laid the groundwork for the sound that would become Depeche Mode’s trademark on their next three albums, Black Celebration, Music for the Masses, and Violator, propelling the group to pop’s upper echelons. And on Rhino’s remastered Some Great Reward, released as a two-disc set that includes a DVD in October, the proto-industrial soundscapes and lyrics Depeche Mode experimented with sound better than ever.

Disc one of the set is the nine-track album, remastered superbly by the sure hands at Rhino. Like with their Talking Heads reissues, Rhino’s restoration of Some Great Reward sounds beautiful, with every beat, hum, and throb crystal clear. Disc two, the DVD, includes the album in three mixes: 5.1, 5.1 surround, and PCM, as well as two b-sides (”In Your Memory” and “(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me”), a remix of “Somebody,” live versions of the album’s tracks, and a short film documenting the making of the album. The three audiophile mixes are full and rich, giving a workout to your home theater system or computer speakers.

The extra tracks are decent enough, and Rhino should be credited for keeping them off of disc one - the album should stand on its own, which it does, and whatever discarded tracks are included should be put somewhere else, which they are. The short film is an interesting watch for Depeche Mode fans; everyone involved with the making of the album go through the circumstances of recording it in West Germany, and go track by track discussing how each song came to be on the album.

Unlike most reissues clogging online download stores and brick-and-mortar shelves, this re-release of Some Great Reward is well worth downloading or picking up (as are all of Rhino’s recent Depeche Mode reissues). The album sounds better than ever, and the extra content isn’t some cheap ploy to cash-in on an already-popular album; it’s tailored for the Depeche Mode fan, heightening the experience of the album. Rhino’s treatment of Some Great Reward is certainly befitting one of Depeche Mode’s finest albums.

Dante A. Ciampaglia is a freelance writer currently studying arts journalism at Syracuse University. Dante likes the moving picture shows.

One of the more hubristic releases of late, the definitive box set from UK goth-pop legends Depeche Mode is now out digitally exclusively on iTunes. Clocking in at just over 58 hours(!) The Complete Depeche Mode features an astounding 644 tracks culled from the band’s 25-year career including all 11 studio albums, all singles and B-sides, two live albums, a remix album, additional rare and deleted bric-a-brac and 10 previously unreleased acoustic rehearsals. The set, with a hefty price tag of $169.99, also includes a 62-page downloadable booklet featuring images by longtime DM collaborator Anton Corbijn. Mercifully, all of the box set’s releases can also be purchased individually.

7digital.com, provider of digital downloads for a number of leading websites, has totted up the figures and created its own download chart for 2006, with Muse, Leona and Depeche Mode all sitting smugly at the top.

2006 saw a 400% increase in 7digital’s sales via websites including AOL, MSN, Lycos, Last.fm, Yahoo!, NME and XFM. Muse had the biggest-selling album with Black Holes And Revelations and despite only being released a couple of weeks before the turn of the year, X Factor winner Leona topped the singles listing with A Moment Like This. But the overall winner was Depeche Mode, which was most-downloaded artist of the year.

With changes to the chart rules for 2007, we could see increasing numbers of unsigned bands and independent labels securing Top 40 positions and says 7digital, a few more ‘oldies’ if they get media coverage. According to Ben Drury, MD of 7digital.com: “Ultimately, we are going to see the charts becoming more relevant and exciting - they will be a true reflection of the music that we are buying and listening to.”

Top Singles of 2006

1 Leona A Moment Like This
2 Gnarls Barkley Crazy
3 David Hasselhoff Jump In My Car
4 Scissor Sisters I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
5 José González Heartbeats
6 Muse Assassin
7 Thunder The Devil Made Me Do It
8 Snow Patrol Chasing Cars
9 Orson No Tomorrow
10 The Automatic Monster

Top Albums of 2006

1 Muse Black Holes And Revelations
2 Gnarls Barkley St. Elsewhere
3 Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
4 Snow Patrol Eyes Open
5 James Morrison Undiscovered
6 Lily Allen Alright, Still
7 Adam Ant Extra Wonderful
8 José González Veneer
9 Keane Under The Iron Sea
10 Pet Shop Boys Fundamental

Top Artists of 2006

1 Depeche Mode
2 Gnarls Barkley
3 Pet Shop Boys
4 Muse
5 Sugababes
6 Snow Patrol
7 Arctic Monkeys
8 Madonna
9 Girls Aloud
10 Keane
11 José González
12 David Hasselhoff
13 Scissor Sisters
14 Coldplay
15 The Feeling
16 Thom Yorke
17 U2
18 Orson
19 Razorlight
20 Embrace

Earlier this week we announced exclusively that Apple’s iTunes was to release a special Depeche Mode pack holding 640 tracks of which 59 were considered to be ‘rare’ songs. We also mentionned in updates that the first packs were either defect, incomplete or simply not purchasable. This has now been confirmed by iTunes who pulled all of the packs from all of their online stores. According to the store there are some technical issues on the various iTunes stores with song titles not matching the actual songs. Actually there was more going wrong than just this. On the Belgian store for instance it was impossible to get the complete packet, period. One only got partial tracks and there were also constant error messages saying the songs could not be purchased at the Belgian store. As a result of all of these issues, iTunes pulled everything offline including the special publicity they had reserved on the homepages of the stores. It looks like that iTunes will have the set back up as soon as they have solved the remaining problems. Also, and this is new, the pack will not hold remastered tracks only but also early not so clear masters which is a rather weird choice. More info as we get the details coming up. The pack is now back up and can be downloaded without any problem.

Rumoured for some days now, Side-Line received the official word that iTunes indeed will release an exclusive Depeche Mode download pack. It will be the 4th time in the history of the downloadstore that such pack is made available. We also got some more details about this special pack that will be only available via iTunes.

The pack will be consisting of no less than 640 tracks of which 59 will be exclusive and previously unreleased so EMI informed us. In the meantime we have gotten hold of the list and it are mostly (not so rare) remixes and live recordings plus a few rehearsals (click here for the ‘rare’ tracks). As far as the pricing, EMI says iTunes would more or less be putting an own price on the whole pack which makes a price of roughly 150 US dollar / euros more to be expected. Sure is however that the pack will reach the iTunes store by Tuesday December 19th. All of the tracks - including the rare ones - would also be available seperately although it is to be believed that the biggest gems will be ‘album only’.

Unlike what is being suggested here and there, this pack will be available outside the USA as well. More news as we get it.

One of Depeche Mode’s biggest hits is “Enjoy the Silence.” Lately, the veteran British synth-pop band has been anything but quiet with five exceptional new CD+DVD releases.

“Touring the Angel: Live in Milan” (Sire/Reprise) finds the trio - augmented by a drummer and keyboardist - in fine form during a gig earlier this year in Italy.

Moody visuals by longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn, paired with unorthodox camera shots in B&W and color, equal a captivating DVD experience.

The second DVD includes an informative behind-the-scenes documentary, electronic press kit and tour announcement footage from Germany. A live CD features all new songs from “Playing the Angel.”

There have been quite a few Depeche Mode compilations in the past, but for newcomers, “The Best Of: Volume 1″ CD (Sire/Reprise) does a thorough job at distilling the band’s long career down to 18 essentials.

In addition to new track “Martyr,” a deluxe DVD version boasts 23 videos and a documentary.

Rhino Records’ top-notch DM reissue campaign also continues with three expanded/remastered discs in 5.1 Audio and Enhanced Stereo. Each contains a DVD of B-sides, remixes and live tracks from the era.

1982’s textured “A Broken Frame,” the group’s first without founding member Vince Clarke, included the minor U.K. hits “See You” and “Meaning of Love.” Songwriter Martin Gore calls it “our worst album” in the accompanying doc. He might be right.

On 1984’s more experimental “Some Great Reward,” new recruit Alan Wilder became more involved and the band developed a distinctive sound.

America started to come around with the top 20 single “People Are People,” as well as “Master and Servant” and “Blasphemous Rumours.”

Sonically speaking, the best of the lot is 1993’s edgier “Songs of Faith and Devotion.” It now jumps out of the speakers in full splendor.

A fruitful (DM’s first No. 1 U.S. debut), yet troubled period, where drugs and nervous breakdowns plagued members on tour, the CD features supple vocals from singer Dave Gahan on modern rock radio staples “I Feel You,” “Walking In My Shoes” and “In Your Room.”

The Cars never attained a reputation as a riveting live act, but “Unlocked: The Live Performances” (Metro Tube/Docudrama), the Boston new wavers’ first concert DVD, reveals a sense of humor beneath the cool exterior.

Impressively packaged in a mini-hardbound book with rare photos and lyrics, the DVD encompasses 20-plus unseen club and arena performances from 1978-1987, backstage antics and brief interviews.

Former frontman Ric Ocasek produced and assembled the archival footage (of varied quality), while his son Eron directed and edited the material. The band’s first-ever live CD, taken from soundboard sources, is a solid, welcome bonus.

In a related note, The New Cars are on the road with two original members and Todd Rundgren taking Ocasek’s place.

Concert disc “It’s Alive” (Eleven Seven Music) is better than expected. The New Cars hit House of Blues Anaheim on Sunday.

A great new music interview program called “Off The Record” debuted recently on HBO.

Hosted by producer/Eurythmics member Dave Stewart, the vibe is relaxed, filmed before an audience and held in a bar setting.

It was refreshing to see U2’s Bono and The Edge in an hour-long, sit-down chat uninterrupted by commercials.

Although U2 fans have heard them cover much of this terrain before, the musicians offer some fresh perspectives: The Edge talks about his famous chiming electric guitar sound; Stewart gets their take on influences by holding up classic ’60s and ’70s album covers.

Bono tells a moving story about hanging with Frank Sinatra and admits he should’ve finished the 1984 fan favorite “Bad” properly.

Hopefully future episodes will be equally illuminating. Check local digital cable listings for airtimes on Monday (HBO East) and Tuesday (HBO West).

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the indie punk supergroup containing members of NOFX and Foo Fighters, have taken on R&B, Broadway show tunes and oldies on previous albums.

Now the jokesters are back with “Love Their Country” (Fat Wreck Chords). They blast through old country classics by Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Garth Brooks.

The whole thing flies by in less than half an hour and is quite a hoot. The Gimmes play Music Box at the Fonda Theatre in L.A. on Sunday.

Make your own conclusions :)…difficult to beat the original hu?