Depeche Mode - Remixes 81··04

Depeche Mode has always been open to remixes, from their early singles, when a "remix" was little more than extension to keep people on the dancefloor for a few more minutes. On their retrospective, _Remixes 81-04_, they encompass the whole spectrum of mixes from throughout their entire career.

Certainly, this collection has good represention from almost all of their albums, rather than simply their more popular ones. Although one could quibble with the selections (why a 2nd Francois Kevorkian remix with "Policy of Truth" rather than the KLF mix? why not one of the Orb remixes of "World in My Eyes"), there's a breadth of these mixes that can be surprising. The harsh dub-industrial of Adrian Sherwood's "Are People People?," for example, or the quasi-Western of Johnny Dollar and Portishead's take on "In Your Room" contrast to the mellow stoner vibe of Kruder & Dorfmeister's "Useless" or the dreaminess of Air's "Home."

House mixes seem to be most prominent -- which makes sense, considering that Depeche Mode has always had one eye on the dancefloor. These tracks range from the straightforward club tracks like Danny Tenaglia's "I "Feel Loved" and Club 69's version of "It's No Good" to the straight up beats of Chamber's take on "I Feel Loved."

What makes this triple album most interesting, however, are the new mixes. Timo Maas creates a surprisingly relaxed version of the worldwide hit "Enjoy the Silence," while Colder takes "Clean" into a dark 80s wonderland. LFO make "Lie To Me" eerie and robotic. Fans of rock music who might otherwise eschew Depeche Mode altogether might be intrigued by Headcleanr's grungy take on "Nothing" or Mike Shinoda's raucous version of "Enjoy the Silence."

But my money's on two particular tracks. First, Ulrich Schnauss takes the bildungsroman "Little 15" and imparts it with his usual flair which moves from baroque iciness into dreamy ambience with grace to spare. Goldfrapp, moving away from the uptempo disco of their own work, modify "Halo" into a music box fantasia (punctuated by Alison's breathy vocals) that could have come off _Felt Mountain_ -- high praise indeed. Those tracks are perfect examples of how remixes can utterly transform the familiar. Depeche Mode knew this, of course, and now you can hear it for yourself.