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"ULTRA" by Depeche Mode (Full Album Listen)



"Ultra" is the 9th studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 14 April 1997 by Mute Records.

By then I was designing television stages for a local broadcasting station (the only one in Singapore then, in fact :p), clocking in a few years already, full of passion and not-as-yet-full-of-myself but no doubt on the brink of, having been promoted after a year with the company (always remembered a older designer colleague congratulating me on being promoted after a year, when instead it took him 8 years), and head fuelled by cinematic dreams, having delved intensely into films, film festivals and moving visuals in general, and marvelled at the visuals Western music video featured, and in this specific case of Depeche Mode, the somewhat narrative elements in "Home",and the visual stylings of Anton Corbijn tugged at my desire so, so much.

TRACKLIST:
1. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:35)
2. "The Love Thieves" (6:34)
3. "Home" (Gore / 5:42)
4. "It's No Good" (5:58)
5. "Uselink" (instrumental / 2:21)
6. "Useless" (5:12)
7. "Sister of Night" (6:04)
8. "Jazz Thieves" (instrumental / 2:54)
9. "Freestate" (6:44)
10. "The Bottom Line" (Gore / 4:26)
11. "Insight" (includes the hidden track "Junior Painkiller", starting at 6:27) Gahan and Gore 8:37)

US CD and digital releases:
11. "Insight" (Gahan and Gore / 6:26)
12. "Junior Painkiller" (instrumental / 2:10)

The soundscape for ULTRA somewhat altered, yet familiar but for th voices of Gahan and Gore, recognisable synths replaced by epic swells and guitar twangs, and a grit underneath it all, visceral to a fault, in tracks like "Barrel of A Gun", and the dire gratefulness that is "Home" ... the tracks like "Sister of Night" bring me back to the stratosphere of the DM I remembered, and I shed a silent inner-tear, and could continue on the album hoping for the reprieve I never received. Faced with the unknown, I continued to relish in the memories and voices of Depeche Mode, realising I too need to evolve with the group and their sound.... Only When I Lose Myself could I be able to move forward, I surmised.

It was too long later - within the year actually - when I landed my first feature film project, as a "Art Director", and right after that as a "Production Designer". By 1998, I had two movies premiered within the same year, the year when four films were on folks' lips. Yes, the milestones in my life is memorable at least for myself, and "Ultra" was one of the few Soundtracks to Life that journey'd along with me. Alas with so much going on within my own life and work, I did not know of what actually went on behind-the-scenes in the life of Depeche Mode...

"It was the band's first album following the departure of Alan Wilder, who had become disillusioned with life in the band. Wilder's departure and lead singer Dave Gahan's drug problems, which culminated in a near-fatal overdose, had caused speculation that Depeche Mode was finished. Ultra was the first album the band recorded as a trio since A Broken Frame (1982); it was also their first where the band members were not involved with production, with these duties being handled by Tim Simenon of Bomb the Bass fame.". (Wiki)



FULL ALBUM LISTEN:

























DELUXE Editions henceforth:











BUY ON U.S.AMAZON:
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