Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

A few years back, I wrote these words about a Depeche Mode compilation: "I should have just purchased a CD copy of 1990's Violator and been done with it." Well, I recently came across a used copy and here we are.

I think it's the group's best album without Vince Clarke, but let's see what the rabid fans astute reviewers over at Amazon have to say about it:

• "It is dark and bleak and examines personal demons and feelings of loneliness, despair and neediness. Heavy stuff that is usally [sic] only found in the everyday rotation of the clinically insane and depressed unless you are really in the mood." (ed. note: yikes!)
• "their last GOOD album"
• "Depeche Mode remains the pinnacle of gothic techno-beat producing mongols [sic] that they are surrounded by."
• "The music is very dated"
• "it's still very current sounding!"

In the latest list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list, Violator ranked at #167. It was also included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005): "Violator represents a group at the top of their game and still sounds effortlessly excellent today."

I listened to this album quite a bit when it was released but I haven't listened to the whole thing in over 30 years, so let's see what I remember.

Press of the time:

• Entertainment Weekly (B-): "drifts on a sea of unease. There’s a worm eating at Depeche Mode’s gut."
• Robert Christgau: C-
• Billboard: "much more accessible"
• Rolling Stone (★★½): "single-mindedly suffocating in Doorsy depression"
• Eight other contemporary reviews from Melody Maker, NME, Record Mirror, etc.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #7

Tracks: I will admit this album flows better as a continuous CD rather than split in half on a cassette. A fun trip down memory lane to a time when I was newly married but didn't yet have children. Of course, I remember the singles:

	Hot 100	Modern Rock	Dance
Personal Jesus	28	3	12
Enjoy The Silence	8	1	6
Policy Of Truth	15	1	2
Halo		21
World In My Eyes	52	17	6

Definitely some legitimate chart success there. My top pick back in '90 was Policy Of Truth, but today it's Personal Jesus. The other singles aren't far behind. I've only vague memories of the remaining four tracks. Sweetest Perfection isn't on the top shelf like the other tracks but that's not a bad batting average for an album.

On a related note, Johnny Cash recorded a beautiful, stripped-down version of Personal Jesus in 2002 that rivals the DM original.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In 1990, I started a middle school band director teaching job and one of the first things I did in my new position was authorize the purchase of a quality Denon rack stereo system for the band hall. I think I also refurbished some 4 ft high Klipsch speakers that were already there. It was probably a lot more equipment than was required - it had a pre-amp ferchrissakes - but it sounded fantastic. In an attempt to be the cool, young teacher on campus (I was 24), I played my Violator tape quite frequently before and after school as students would wander in and out of the band hall: "Hey, guys! I listen to the same music you do!" A pathetic attempt to be sure, but I think most young teachers probably go through similar experiences.

I left that middle school in 2000, it closed in 2011, and the building was finally demolished in 2020. In 2021, a new elementary school opened on the site. I wonder what happened to all that high-end audio equipment. Best case scenario: it was all moved to another campus. Worst case scenario: it's in a landfill. Most likely scenario: somebody "borrowed" it and now has a helluva vintage home system.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Singles 86>98 (1998)
Speak & Spell (1981)