Happy 40th Anniversary to Depeche Mode’s fourth studio album Some Great Reward, originally released September 24, 1984.
There's something to be said about discovering a band on their debut release and following them through the trajectory of their career. The build-up and anticipation of each subsequent release, that undeniable connection of growing up with them. There is, however, something enviable about finding your way to a band mid-journey and then having the instant gratification of going back to unearth earlier releases that led them to this point.
The latter was the case for me in discovering Depeche Mode. Drawn to the band through their Music for the Masses (1987) release, I had the joy of being able to go back and track their journey through their earlier releases. Some really hit home for me, like the dark and brooding Black Celebration (1986), others, like Speak & Spell (1981) didn’t hold much in common with the Depeche Mode I had been introduced to.
Along my journey of Depeche, I landed on their fourth studio album Some Great Reward. Building on the strong songcraft of Construction Time Again (1983) a year earlier, the sonic landscape of Some Great Reward is broader as the foursome rely on newly acquired samplers to shape and distort sounds to their will.
From the urgent propulsion of the opening track “Something to Do,” it’s evident that the band has something to prove. No longer content with just creating catchy electronic angst anthems, they are driven towards colliding industrial rhythms with mechanized sounds without losing sight of their underlying musical sensibilities. It’s this clash of the hard and the soft, the raw and refined, that permeates its way through the album as Martin Gore explores a sense of social alienation in a highly accessible and relatable way.
Gore’s songwriting throughout explores the dichotomy of modern life, delving into themes of love, lust, desire, power, manipulation, isolation, intimacy and a search for belonging, and walking the tightrope between societal and sexual submission and dominance. And for the most part, it’s handled with a deft touch, filling tracks with nuanced and introspective moments.
Listen to the Album:
Tracks like the slithering “Lie to Me” and reluctant love affair of “Stories of Old” layer metallic clangs, distorted synths, and Gahan’s increasingly confident vocals to create a sound that is as dark as it is danceable. The bold and confronting “Master and Servant” explores power dynamics in and out of the bedroom bound in a taut industrial beat. It’s a prime example of Depeche Mode’s ability to mix the provocative with the palatable, of being challenging while still delivering infectious hooks. The track also highlights the strengthening of Dave Gahan’s vocals, which vacillate between commanding and vulnerable, perfectly mirroring the song’s exploration of control.
Tracks like “People Are People” and “If You Want” demonstrate the increasing incorporation of found sounds sampled and tweaked into the layering of this new soundscape. With its heavily industrial feel, “People Are People” clanks and clangs beneath a pointed plea for acceptance and unity. Brimming with emotional resonance, the song tackles the senselessness of prejudice against a pulsating groove and a longingly hopeful coda. “If You Want” is a bag of sampling and sequencing tricks where it feels like every idea and the clonking of a kitchen sink has been thrown at the song.
Amidst all the energy and electronic experimentation, it’s in the album’s quieter moments that Some Great Reward finds its human heart. “Somebody” strips back the electronics for a simple piano accompaniment, laying bare Gore’s yearning for connection. Vulnerability is on full display as Gore exposes raw, personal emotion without trying to bury it beneath layers of electronica and multi-stacked samples. Likewise, “It Doesn’t Matter” (another Gore-led vocal) is openhearted in its lyrical narrative set against spritely electronic pings that intrigue rather than overpower.
Everything Depeche Mode is aiming to achieve on Some Great Reward comes into sharp focus in the dark and brooding “Blasphemous Rumours,” as it addresses the fragility of life with dark humor, exploring issues of faith with biting sarcasm. The song’s mechanical, almost playful beat with lyrics that ponder death and divine cruelty makes for one of the most compelling and powerful moments on an album that holds many.
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Some Great Reward is a testament to Depeche Mode’s fearless evolution. It’s an album where the band found their voice—one unafraid to grapple with uncomfortable truths while wrapping those truths in sounds that compel listeners to lean in. Packed with themes that still resonate, it’s an album that provides comfort and solace to the listener, making them feel not so alone in the world we live in and life in general.
Listen: