Depeche Mode: One Night In Paris

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B     Extras: B     Concert: A-

 

Depeche Mode is either a band that you absolutely love or you absolutely hate.  Whether you admire their talent and success or are annoyed by the fact that such a band could climb as high as they did.  Oddly enough, Depeche Mode never really made the name for themselves in the U.S. as they should have arriving late in the game on the radio waves.  As with anything in the U.S. we always get music a little behind Europe and for that reason we are subject to inferior versions of such. 

 

Depeche Mode began as a primitive techno-esque synth band in the early 80’s long before anything like that was really cool or really thought of.  Their sound was unique starting out as a poppy almost cartoonish type of band with happy little songs and then emerged into a more serious band with the arrival of their album Violator in 1986.  That album itself truly captures the 80’s like no other.  Now that the band has been around for 20 years and counting a DVD is finally available including selections from a lot of their past as well as their most recent album Exciter, which the title seems like a companion piece to Violator and in some ways it is exactly that. 

 

One Night In Paris is an energetic look at a band that was always known for being stuck behind keyboards and hiding their sound within synthesizers, etc.  Now for those who doubt their talent, they have reshaped their sound a little and perform with guitars in hand plus a drummer.  If you are not a fan already, this may be the best way to see this band in order to be exposed to their selection of works as well as see them and know that the sound is legit.  Anton Corbijn, who is also responsible for some of DM’s videos and other film projects in the past, directed this film.  His direction with this concert is exceptional, allowing the viewer to get different angles on the action that is occurring.  Since DM is a rather calm group when it comes to performing, with exception of some of Gahan’s jumping around and such, the concert moves around capturing all the right vocals, instruments, etc at the right time and place.  Corbijn is more notable as a stills photographer, but has also brought about videos for bands like Nirvana and Metallica.  He has also had a history doing work with U2 as well. 

 

Track List

 

1.       Dream On (guitar intro)

2.       The Dead of Night

3.       The Sweetest Condition

4.       Halo

5.       Walking in My Shoes

6.       Dream On

7.       When the Body Speaks

8.       Waiting For the Night

9.       It Doesn’t Matter Two

10.     Breathe

11.     Freelove

12.     Enjoy the Silence

13.     I Feel You

14.     In Your Room

15.     It’s No Good

16.     Personal Jesus

17.     Home

18.     Condemnation

19.     Black Celebration

20.     Never Let Me Down Again

 

Disc Two contains extras that are geared specifically for putting together this film.  The sections are as follows.

 

1.       The Preparing (8 minutes)

2.       The Photographing 

3.       The Waiting (7 minutes)

4.       The Talking (10 minutes)

5.       The Screening (23 minutes)

6.       Sister of Night Bonus Track  (5 minutes)

7.       The Choosing (7 minutes)

8.       The Subtitling

 

Disc One, which contains the entire concert with exception of the bonus track of Sister of Night, is in 16X9 and is anamorphically enhanced.  The film was shot in the PAL format at 1.78:1 ratio.  The image is somewhat grainy in quality, which to some extent might have been intention.  Graininess is not a typical quality of the PAL format, so it’s hard to say what may have caused this.  Detail is not super sharp like it could be, but for a concert it is not exactly necessary.  The concert runs 57 minutes in length, which is somewhat short and certainly could be longer.  What does not make sense is why the bonus track is on Disc Two.  Most of the extras on Disc Two are in 4X3 ratio, with some exceptions.  The extras are either in Dolby Stereo or Dolby 5.1.  The concert is Dolby Digital 5.1 and that is the only listening option for the concert, which is unfortunate given the limitations that could have been avoiding if issued with an alternate DTS audio option allowing for more richness, fidelity, and bass management that would be quite fitting for a band that utilizes lower end frequencies. 

 

The extras on Disc Two are worthy of going through at least once, especially the gallery of stills from Corbijn.  This entire package is overall very pleasing even to the moderate fan.  As a major fan of the band myself I can never get tired of their material and hopefully this set will expose others to a band that has always been on the fringe in the Unites States listening space.  With only big hits arriving from songs like Personal Jesus or Enjoy the Silence its sad that more of their material was not unleashed since those two songs only give a sample of the potential of this superb band.  If nothing else, DM revolutionizes a sound that would eventually seep its way into the popular culture of today as well as spark a few DJ’s in the later 80’s and early 90’s into popular techno artists such as Fatboy Slim, Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, or Moby.  DM has also been a huge influence on other artists that are not so similar such as Rammstein, The Deftones, The Cure, The Smashing Pumpkins, and many others.  What it all boils down to is that when the 80’s ended you either leaned more towards R.E.M. or Depeche Mode.  While those following R.E.M.’s sound found more favorability on the radio, the purer talent was lost in the shadows and since then has not been regained.  However, this concert showcases the band even years after their heyday and its evident they still love everything they are doing.

 

 

-   Nate Goss