101 Depeche Mode Artist

As an event, {|Depeche Mode|}'s huge (attendance around 60,000) Los Angeles Rose Bowl concert in 1988 remains legendary; no single artist show had totally sold out the venue since eight years beforehand, while the film documentary done by {|Dylan|}-f... Read more

As an event, {|Depeche Mode|}'s huge (attendance around 60,000) Los Angeles Rose Bowl concert in 1988 remains legendary; no single artist show had totally sold out the venue since eight years beforehand, while the film documentary done by {|Dylan|}-filmer {|D.A. Pennebaker|} based around the show clearly demonstrated fans' intense commitment to a near-decade-old band most mainstream critics continued to stupidly portray as a flash-in-the-pan synth pop effort. This start-to-final-encore record of the concert showcases a band perfectly able to carry its music from studio to stage as well as any other combo worth its salt should be able to do. Understandably focused on {|Music for the Masses|} material, the album shows {|Depeche|} experimenting with alternate arrangements at various points for live performance; big numbers like {|Never Let Me Down Again,|} {|Stripped,|} and {|Blasphemous Rumors|} pack even more of a wallop here. Slower numbers and more than a couple of ballads help to vary the hit-packed set, including a fine {|Somebody|} and {|The Things You Said|} combination sung by {|Martin Gore|}. {|Pleasure Little Treasure,|} on record an okay B-side, becomes a monster rocker live, the type of unexpected surprise one could expect from a solid band no matter what the music. With a triumphant set of closing numbers, including magnificent takes on {|Never Let Me Down Again,|} {|Master and Servant,|} and the set-ending {|Everything Counts,|} with what sounds like the entire audience singing the chorus well after the song has finally ended, {|101|} does far better at its task than most might have guessed. ~ Ned Raggett Less