Depeche Mode's post-Ultra singles, ranked

I expect this thread to get 10 responses, tops.

Precious
Wrong
Hole to Feed
Freelove
Going Backwards
John the Revelator
Dream On
A Pain That I'm Used To
Should Be Higher
Soothe My Soul
Goodnight Lovers
I Feel Loved
Fragile Tension
Lilian
Peace
Where's the Revolution
Only When I Lose Myself
Suffer Well
Martyr
Heaven

I actually like "Heaven" more than "Martyr" but it was a terrible, TERRIBLE idea to release it as a single.

I'd drop "Going Backwards" a few slots and "Suffer Well" up a few but otherwise that looks about right

Precious
John the Revelator
Wrong
Goodnight Lovers
A Pain That I'm Used To
Only When I Lose Myself
Suffer Well
>
Martyr
I Feel Loved
Freelove
Going Backwards
Where's the Revolution
>
Fragile Tension
Dream On
Lilian
Hole to Feed
>
Heaven
Should be Higher
Soothe My Soul
Peace

'Peace' is fucking shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!

My issue with "Peace" is that it's mostly boring. It kind of burbles along in the background even when you are actively listening to it.

That said, the video is outstanding and improved the song a little for me.

The production doesn't help... I'd go as far as saying that that album is the worst produced Depeche album of 'em all, possibly tied with Exciter.

I really like SOTU, but I think part of that is how summery it can feel, at least at points.

"Hole To Feed" is an amazing, amazing song; distinctive in its arrangement, great vocal performance from both Dave and Martin, outstanding video, great bridge...

Suffer Well is amazing, I Feel Love is a keeper. can take or leave the rest.

I don't get what others hear in "Suffer Well". To me, the verse and chorus sound like they come from completely different songs and don't work well together at all.

fact that it's *Dave's* song only adds to it for me. i mean.. circa 1993 i was just hoping he'd stick around at all and remain in 1 piece let alone write the best DM song for 20 years or whatever.

I like "I Want It All" and "Nothing's Impossible" a lot more; I like the claustrophobic, oppressive arrangements more, I get more out of Dave's singing on both, and both are better constructed in terms of song flow and transitions.

I'm not a fan of 'I Want It All', I find it a bit of a slog and don't really think it comes alive until the outro - I find the chorus a bit of a damp squib too.

Dream On
Precious
Wrong
John the Revelator
Suffer Well
A Pain That I'm Used To
Going Backwards
Lilian
Hole to Feed
Should Be Higher
Only When I Lose Myself
Where's the Revolution
Martyr
Fragile Tension
Heaven
Freelove
Soothe My Soul
Goodnight Lovers
I Feel Loved
Peace

Thread inspired me to go back and give SOTU another shot and while it doesn't quite hit the same highs for me as PTA and DM, I'm having difficulty turning it off.

If Perfect was technically a promo single in the US, where does it sit with y'all?

very close to bottom

I'd put it after "Fragile Tension"

Above 'Fragile Tension' on mine.

John The Revelator
Martyr
Suffer Well

...then everything else.

Precious is the only thing after Violator I would ever potentially consider playing on purpose.

WRONG!

Yeah, I see my opinion is completely contrary to the consensus, and likely wrong (hell, I know I like a couple songs on SOFaD), but I guess I don't like listening to much DM right now.

Precious is the only thing after Violator I would ever potentially consider playing on purpose.

― brotherlovesdub

I'd throw in Freelove as well. I can't really remember any of the other singles that well at this stage.

'Precious' is probably the post-Ultra track that panders to Violator fans the most, so it's hardly a surprise.

While it does have an obvious sonic callback to "Enjoy the Silence" and all, 'panders' is a poor way to describe Martin's most mature lyric to that point.

The "obvious sonic callback to 'Enjoy the Silence'" was precisely what I was referring to. Lyrically, it's one of Gore's finest, but it can't be denied that it wouldn't have sounded out of place on Violator sonically. It's not hard to hear why it was chosen as a single, particularly after the lacklustre Exciter period.