Album Review

Depeche Mode – Remixes 2: 81 – 11

• 15th Jun 2011

You’d think a band that has been remixed as often as Depeche Mode they’d just all out and offer a 2, 3, even 4 disc set full of the best remixes. Instead we get one disc with 13 tracks (Thankfully no overlapping sings here).

Whether you get one or multiple discs of remixes you are always going to have high hit and miss values. This release is no different. The rather Sombre Dream On remix may not waken up most, whereas the following Personal Jesus remix might just hit the right energetic level which recalls the song and adds a flavoursome attitude into the mix.

The trouble with the lesser well rendered remixes are that they come off as cheap club dance tracks. The word “Remix” seems to be taken by some artists to mean just putting a dance beat beat a track, which is a shame as there is probably a multitude of different avenues to take tracks down – but here very few tracks offer this alternative approach, the exception being the Peace remix.

Thankfully there are a few of the fast beat remixers here who do know how to layer and add to a song (John The Revelator just about gets away with it).

Ultimately though it is up to the audiences discretion whether they chose to go with this. If you are an avid fan of the song remix then this could well float your boat. If you are sceptical then it is probably worth having a listen before you hit the pay button.