Playing the Angel


Playing the Angel is the eleventh studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was first released on 13 October 2005 through Mute Records internationally, and through Sire Records and Reprise Records in the United States. It was supported by the Touring the Angel tour and the four singles "Precious", "A Pain That I'm Used To", "Suffer Well", and "John the Revelator" / "Lilian". The album reached number one in over 10 countries and entered the top 10 in the United Kingdom and United States. It has also received gold and platinum certifications in 15 countries.

Composition

Playing the Angel is the first Depeche Mode album to feature lead singer Dave Gahan as co-writer. 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 vocals on a song sung by Gore. The title Playing the Angel is taken from a lyric in the closing song "The Darkest Star". It is the third Depeche Mode album to take its name from a lyric in one of its songs, the other two being Construction Time Again and Some Great Reward.
Gillian Telling of Rolling Stone described the album's sound as featuring "the band's classic blend of synth-pop beats, heavy guitar riffs and dark lyrics". 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.
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.

Release

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.
The album was released as a Copy Controlled CD and a deluxe SACD/DVD version which includes the album on hybrid multi-channel SACD as the main disc and a bonus DVD featuring an exclusive studio performance of "Clean", 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 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.

Reception

Critical

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, relying on heavy compression to intentionally and artificially boost the output, especially when compared with the vinyl version that was mastered differently.

Commercial

Playing the Angel debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 32,505 copies in its first week. In the United States, the album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 98,000 copies. 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. Playing the Angel had sold 418,000 copies in the US as of November 2007. By January 2007, the album had sold 1.6 million copies worldwide, according to EMI.

Track listing

Credits for adapted from the liner notes of Playing the Angel.

Depeche Mode

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Belgian Albums 95
European Albums 54
French Albums 115
German Albums 44
Hungarian Albums 100
Mexican Albums 95
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums 5

Certifications