Album Review

Depeche mode – Tour Of the Universe DVD

• 1st Nov 2010

It was a truly astonishing tour, and having seen it twice in person myself – it was truly worth it, and each show was no fluke performance. It is further evidenced here by this disc release of the same tour.

Filmed from the Spanish leg of the tour, Depeche Mode give it their all with familiar material to fans over the past three decades, as well as some of the material from their impressive last album “Sounds of the universe.”

The sound mix really makes the most of your TV and for the first time I had to turn it down from its normal setting as it was so loud. It is then a bit odd that the vocal work seems a bit toned down to begin with. But then I remember thinking that at the start of the live shows I went to that they needed to turn up Gahan’s mic (It certainly wasn’t him not projecting). That quibble aside there really isn’t much to say on the negative side. 21 songs. All of them – whether you are a great fan of each one or not – is given a great effort by the band.

Blu-Ray fans will probably get the biggest kick out of this as the camera and visual displays are very impressive. But then it won’t just appeal to tech fans. The hardcore fanbase won’t want to miss this as it is the closest best thing they will get to the 101 tour performance. Those that failed to catch this tour will get a lot from it, and even those who did go will still find a worthy place for it on their shelves. And it isn’t hard to wonder why. They are widely known for their live performances, and they haven’t been wasting their time in the last 30 years. It is 30 years of hits and memorable songs that there seems to be no end of.

What is sometimes funny and recalls almost every show I have been to in the last few years are the camera angle shots from behind crowd members and all you can see is people holding up their camera phones and blackberries so that they can record what they are seeing. The camera crew have tried to turn it into an art by showing shots of a vastly illuminated crowd holding up hand devices, or recording the onstage action by filming a crowd member filming the stage??? Personally I when I go to a live show I want to watch it with my own eyes, not waste my time recording it on an inferior piece of technology. But judging by the amount of hands I’ve seen in the air at concerts I have been to and also by the amount shown on this DVD I am in the minority. But I do hope some of those people to see themselves film from behind at ground level holding up their cameras so they get that feeling of having wasted their time doing it in the first place as the DVD provides the very angel for them. Hehe.

The second disc Has supplementary material including documentary. Some of the distracting screen images on stage were created by Anton Corbijn which are also available on the second disc. Corbijn is recently been in the news with his latest film The American screening at the London Film festival and starring George Clooney. There are also bonus videos, album videos and rehearsal footage on this disc as well.

here is the tracklist for tha main show:
1. In Chains
2. Wrong
3. Hole To Feed
4. Walking In My Shoes
5. It’s No Good
6. A Question Of Time
7. Precious
8. Fly On The Windscreen
9. Jezebel
10. Home
11. Come Back
12. Policy Of Truth
13. In Your Room
14. I Feel You
15. Enjoy The Silence
16. Never Let Me Down Again
17. Dressed In Black
18. Stripped
19. Behind The Wheel
20. Personal Jesus
21. Waiting For The Night