Playing the Angel

Playing the Angel
Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel.png
Studio album by
Released13 October 2005 (2005-10-13)
RecordedJanuary–July 2005
Studio
Length52:16
LabelMute
ProducerBen Hillier
Depeche Mode chronology
Exciter
(2001)
Playing the Angel
(2005)
Sounds of the Universe
(2009)
Singles from Playing the Angel
  1. "Precious"
    Released: 3 October 2005
  2. "A Pain That I'm Used To"
    Released: 9 December 2005
  3. "Suffer Well"
    Released: 20 March 2006
  4. "John the Revelator"/"Lilian"
    Released: 4 June 2006

Playing the Angel is the eleventh studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 13 October 2005 in Japan, on 17 October in the United Kingdom by Mute Records, and on 18 October in the United States, Mexico and Canada by Sire Records and Reprise Records. It was supported by the Touring the Angel tour.

Overview

Playing the Angel is the first Depeche Mode album to feature lead singer Dave Gahan as co-writer.[1] He wrote the lyrics to "Suffer Well", "I Want It All" and "Nothing's Impossible", while Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott wrote the music. Gahan is the lead singer on all songs except for the instrumental "Introspectre", and Martin Gore-sung tracks "Macro" and "Damaged People". Gahan also sings backing vocals on "Macro", which was the first time he had sung backing on one of Gore's songs since Violator's "Sweetest Perfection".

The title Playing the Angel is taken from a lyric in the closing song "The Darkest Star". It is the fourth Depeche Mode album to get its name from a lyric in one of its songs, the other three being Construction Time Again, Some Great Reward and Black Celebration.

The album has been called a more organic record for using more analogue synths than digital ones. In addition, most of the soundscapes presented are harsher and groovier than the more mellow Exciter.

In mid-July 2005, the unfinished video for "Precious" was leaked online. It is believed to have been leaked through the website of the production team that helped make the video.

Tracks recorded during the Playing the Angel sessions that did not make the album include "Martyr", which was originally planned to be the lead single but was eventually deemed too poppy for the album and saved for The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1. Other songs include "Free", which ended up on the "Precious" single and the Japanese version of Playing the Angel.

The album was released as a Copy Controlled CD and a deluxe SACD/DVD version (CD/DVD version in the United States) which includes the album on hybrid multi-channel SACD as the main disc and a bonus DVD featuring an exclusive studio performance of "Clean" (from Violator), the video for "Precious", a photo gallery and a 5.1 mix of the album. There is also a documentary on the making of the album. All ten of the earlier Depeche Mode albums were re-released in similar format to Playing the Angel, a CD/SACD hybrid (in the US simply a remastered CD) with a DVD featuring a 5.1 mix of each album and a documentary, though Playing the Angel's documentary is far less extensive and also shorter than the classic ones. The album was also released on vinyl as double LP housed in gatefold sleeve.

The iTunes deluxe edition of the album has several bonuses, including another "bare" version of a Violator track, "Waiting for the Night", and the music video for "Precious". People who placed the album on pre-order were eligible to participate in a ticket pre-sale for most Touring the Angel concerts, the first time such an offer was made by iTunes and Ticketmaster.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]
The Guardian3/5 stars[5]
The Independent4/5 stars[6]
Mojo4/5 stars[7]
NME5/10[8]
Pitchfork7.0/10[9]
Q4/5 stars[10]
Rolling Stone2.5/5 stars[11]
The Times4/5 stars[12]

Playing the Angel received positive reviews. E! Online and Entertainment Weekly gave the album high scores. Pitchfork gave the album a positive review, but criticized its lack of innovation. However, there are some negative reviews; Rolling Stone magazine rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of five, lower than the score received by Exciter.

The album was ranked number 20 on E! Online's Top 20 Albums of 2005 list and number 68 on WOXY's Top 97 Albums of 2005.

The Red Book version of the album is considered by numerous fans to be poorly mastered,[13][14] relying on heavy compression to intentionally and artificially boost the output, especially when compared with the vinyl version that was mastered differently.[citation needed]

Commercial performance

Playing the Angel debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 32,505 copies in its first week.[15] In the United States, the album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 98,000 copies.[16] Both peak chart positions are improvements on the band's previous album, Exciter, which charted at number nine and eight, respectively, although Exciter attained larger US first-week sales of 115,000 units.[16] Playing the Angel had sold 418,000 copies in the US as of November 2007.[17] By January 2007, the album had sold 1.6 million copies worldwide (excluding the US and Canada), according to EMI.[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."A Pain That I'm Used To"4:11
2."John the Revelator"3:42
3."Suffer Well" (writers: Dave Gahan, Christian Eigner, Andrew Phillpott)3:49
4."The Sinner in Me"4:56
5."Precious"4:10
6."Macro"4:03
7."I Want It All" (writers: Gahan, Eigner, Phillpott)6:09
8."Nothing's Impossible" (writers: Gahan, Eigner, Phillpott)4:21
9."Introspectre"1:42
10."Damaged People"3:29
11."Lilian"4:49
12."The Darkest Star"6:55

Bonus tracks

  • "Free" – 5:11 (on the Japanese version of the album)
  • "Clean" (Bare) – 3:44 (on the DVD version of the album)
  • "Waiting for the Night" (Bare) – 4:19 (iTunes pre-order bonus track)

Limited edition bonus DVD

  1. Playing the Angel in 5.1 and Stereo -DTS 5.1 (24bit) -Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (24bit)-PCM Stereo (24bit)
  2. Making the Angel – PCM Stereo
  3. "Precious" (Video) – PCM Stereo
  4. "Clean" (Bare) – PCM Stereo
  5. Photo gallery – candid studio photos taken by Ben Hillier at the Santa Barbara/New York/London recording sessions

UMD bonus content

  1. Making the Angel – A Short Film
  2. "Precious" (Video)
  3. "Clean" (Bare)
  4. Photo gallery

Personnel

Credits for adapted from the liner notes of Playing the Angel.[19]

Depeche Mode

Additional musicians

  • Dave McCracken – programming (all tracks); piano (track 12; miscredited to track 7 in the booklet)
  • Richard Morris – programming
  • Christian Eigner – original programming (tracks 3, 7, 8)
  • Andrew Phillpott – original programming (tracks 3, 7, 8)

Technical

  • Ben Hillier – production, mixing, engineering
  • Steve Fitzmaurice – mixing
  • Richard Morris – engineering
  • Nick Sevilla – recording assistance
  • Arjun Agerwala – recording assistance
  • Rudyard Lee Cullers – recording assistance
  • Devin Workman – recording assistance, mixing assistance
  • Kt Rangnick – recording assistance, mixing assistance
  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Sarah Register – mastering assistance

Artwork

  • Anton Corbijn – art direction, photography, cover design
  • Four5one.com – design

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[64] Gold 20,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[65] Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[66] Gold 50,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[67] Gold 20,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[68] Gold 16,777[68]
France (SNEP)[69] Platinum 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[70] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Hungary (MAHASZ)[71] Platinum  
Mexico (AMPROFON)[36] Gold 50,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[72] Platinum 20,000*
Portugal (AFP)[73] Gold 10,000^
Russia (NFPF)[74] 3× Platinum 60,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[75] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[76] Gold 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[77] Gold 100,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[78] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

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