History Music / MusicForTheMasses

* CoversAlwaysLie: An odd variant: the back of the Creator/SireRecords CD release includes the disclaimer "the music on this Compact Digital Disc was originally recorded on analog equipment. We have attempted to preserve, as closely as possible, the sound of the original recording. Because of its high resolution, however, the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc can reveal limitations of the source tape," despite the fact that the album was recorded ''digitally'' and even features a "DDD" SPARS code on the exact same back cover. The disclaimer was standard for CD releases in the 1980s as a means of trying to reassure consumers that a bad-sounding CD wasn't the fault of the format, but rather the result of the sourced audio being poor to begin with (in part because a large number of early CD releases were sourced from multi-generation safety tapes instead of the original masters, leading to an anti-CD stigma among certain audiophiles); its inclusion here was most likely accidental given just how commonplace it still was in 1987.

''Music for the Masses'', released in 1987, is the sixth studio album by English AlternativeDance band Music/DepecheMode.

''Music for the Masses'', released in 1987, is the sixth studio album by English AlternativeDance band Music/DepecheMode. Released one year after their previous album, ''Music/BlackCelebration'', it further galvanizes the DarkerAndEdgier direction that the band had been forming since the addition of Alan Wilder and the appointment of Martin Gore to lead songwriter (both following Vincent Clarke's departure in 1982), a direction first fully realized on this album's direct predecessor. Unlike that album, producer and Creator/MuteRecords head Daniel Miller took a far more hands-off approach here, citing internal tensions from the production of ''Black Celebration''; in his place, production was more directly handled by David Bascombe, previously an engineer for Music/TearsForFears and Music/PeterGabriel. Like ''Black Celebration'', production was co-handled by Depeche Mode themselves.

* AutoErotica: The album frequently uses car-related imagery as metaphors for sexual relationships; this is most apparent in "Behind the Wheel", which ironically features a BikerBabe in its music video.
* BikerBabe: The "Behind the Wheel" video features one.

** The wind noise that closes out "Never Let Me Down" acts as a bridge into the start of "The Things You Said".

* HoYay: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] on "Never Let Me Down Again"; the narrator describes "taking a ride with [his] best friend," who is established to be male, but much of the lyricism implies that the relationship is a sexual one.

''Music for the Masses'', released in 1987, is the sixth studio album by English AlternativeDance band Music/DepecheMode. Released one year after their previous album, ''Black Celebration'', it further galvanizes the DarkerAndEdgier direction that the band had been forming since the addition of Alan Wilder and the appointment of Martin Gore to lead songwriter (both following Vincent Clarke's departure in 1982), a direction first fully realized on this album's direct predecessor. Unlike that album, producer and Creator/MuteRecords head Daniel Miller took a far more hands-off approach here, citing internal tensions from the production of ''Black Celebration''; in his place, production was more directly handled by David Bascombe, previously an engineer for Music/TearsForFears and Music/PeterGabriel. Like ''Black Celebration'', production was co-handled by Depeche Mode themselves.

* BookEnds: A somewhat subtle example with "Pleasure, Little Treasure", which closes the original CD and cassette versions of the album. The song is a brief return to the bouncy, minimalist SynthPop style of ''Music/SpeakAndSpell'' and ''Music/ABrokenFrame'', albeit with a noticeably darker edge to it, and acts as a closer to their 80's era in terms of their album discography[[note]]when including singles, their last release in the decade was [[Music/{{Violator}} "Personal Jesus"]] in 1989, which sounds more in line with their later style than their earlier one[[/note]]. Additionally, the song's backing track sounds like a harder-tinged variation of that for "Dreaming of Me", the band's very first single from 1981.

* CoversAlwaysLie: An odd variant: the back of the Creator/SireRecords CD release includes the disclaimer "the music on this Compact Digital Disc was originally recorded on analog equipment. We have attempted to preserve, as closely as possible, the sound of the original recording. Because of its high resolution, however, the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc can reveal limitations of the source tape," despite the fact that the album was recorded ''digitally'' and even features a "DDD" SPARS code on the exact same back cover. The disclaimer was standard for CD releases in the 1980's as a means of trying to reassure consumers that a bad-sounding CD wasn't the fault of the format, but rather the result of the sourced audio being poor to begin with (in part because a large number of early CD releases were sourced from multi-generation safety tapes instead of the original masters, leading to an anti-CD stigma among certain audiophiles); its inclusion here was most likely accidental given just how commonplace it still was in 1987.

* NewWaveMusic: This is probably the last Depeche Mode album that can be considered this, with later albums being full-on AlternativeDance, and it spares no expense in exploring the darkest reaches of new wave's potential. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" particularly exemplifies this: it's the last track on the original CD and cassette releases of the album, and acts as a last hurrah to Depeche Mode's 80's sound, being their last purely SynthPop track and a CallBack to the sound of their first two albums.

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Martin Gore sings lead on "The Things You Said" and "I Want You Now".

The resulting album was highly praised by music critics, who considered it a good continuation of Depeche Mode's darkening sound, a huge step up in quality from ''Black Celebration'' (which received mixed reviews upon release, but has since been VindicatedByHistory), and a sign of the band further coming into their own. Retrospective reviewers additionally noted that ''Music for the Masses'' marked the point where Depeche Mode was first taken seriously by the public and the press, having previously been stuck in the shadows of their bubblier [[Music/SpeakAndSpell first]] [[Music/ABrokenFrame two]] albums and carrying the baggage of being associated primarily with the SynthPop genre, one that was already thought kitschy by the second half of the decade. Though ''Black Celebration'' is commonly regarded as Depeche Mode's first truly great album in retrospect, ''Music for the Masses'' is considered proof that it wasn't just a fluke, signaling that they had arrived as a mainstream band in the U.S. The album was later listed at number 75 on ''Slant'' magazine's [[https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/best-albums-of-the-1980s/ list]] of the 100 best albums of the 1980's. As of 2020, it stands at No. 775 on ''WebSite/AcclaimedMusic''[='s=] [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums dynamic list]] of the 3000 most critically lauded albums.

** A sample of GratuitousRussian connects the end of "I Want You Now" to "To Have and to Hold".

* BSide: Every single associated with this album features one: "Agent Orange" (for "Strangelove"), "Pleasure, Little Treasure" (for "Never Let Me Down Again"), [[CoverVersion "Route 66"]] (for "Behind the Wheel"), and "Stjärna" (for "Little 15"). Most of these would be featured as bonus tracks on different CD releases, with "Route 66" also being treated as a [[SiameseTwinSongs Siamese twin song]] with "Behind the Wheel" outside of the album.

* MelismaticVocals: The vocals for "Pimpf" consist entirely of these.

* ObligatoryBondageSong: "Strangelove" and "Behind the Wheel"

* RearrangeTheSong: "Strangelove" was originally a more elaborate, club-oriented song that emphasized thudding bass, with this version being the one that saw release as the album's lead single. However, it was a poor match with the much darker, more experimental nature of the rest of the album and Alan Wilder viewed it as too cluttered, leading it to be stripped down and otherwise considerably rearranged by Daniel Miller for inclusion on the record. This version was then further remixed by Bomb the Bass and given a single release in the US in 1988 as the "Highjack Remix," alternately known as "Strangelove '88" (strangely though, the associated music video was based on the album version).

The resulting album was highly praised by music critics, who considered it a good continuation of Depeche Mode's darkening sound, a huge step up in quality from ''Black Celebration'' (which received mixed reviews upon release, but has since been VindicatedByHistory), and a sign of the band further coming into their own. Retrospective reviewers additionally noted that ''Music for the Masses'' marked the point where Depeche Mode was first taken seriously by the public and the press, having previously been stuck in the shadows of their bubblier [[Music/SpeakAndSpell first]] [[Music/ABrokenFrame two]] albums and carrying the baggage of being associated primarily with the SynthPop genre, one that was already thought kitschy by the second half of the decade. Though ''Black Celebration'' is commonly regarded as Depeche Mode's first truly great album in retrospect, ''Music for the Masses'' is considered proof that it wasn't just a fluke, signaling that they had arrived as a mainstream band in the U.S. The album was later listed at number 75 on ''Slant'' magazine's [[https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/best-albums-of-the-1980s/ list]] of the 100 best albums of the 1980's.

''Music for the Masses'', released in 1987, is the sixth studio album by English AlternativeDance band Music/DepecheMode. Released one year after their previous album, ''Black Celebration'', it further galvanizes the DarkerAndEdgier direction that the band had been forming since the addition of Alan Wilder and the appointment of Martin Gore to lead songwriter (both following Vincent Clarke's departure in 1982), a direction first fully realized on this album's direct predecessor. Unlike that album, producer and Mute Records head Daniel Miller took a far more hands-off approach here, citing internal tensions from the production of ''Black Celebration''; in his place, production was more directly handled by David Bascombe, previously an engineer for Music/TearsForFears and Music/PeterGabriel. Like ''Black Celebration'', production was co-handled by Depeche Mode themselves.

* RearrangeTheSong: "Strangelove" was originally a fast-paced SynthPop song, with this version being the one that saw release as the album's lead single. However, it was a poor match with the much darker, slower-paced nature of the rest of the album and Alan Wilder viewed it as too cluttered, leading it to be considerably rearranged by Daniel Miller for inclusion on the record. This version was then further remixed by Bomb the Bass and given a single release in the US in 1988 as the "Highjack Remix," alternately known as "Strangelove '88" (strangely though, the associated music video was based on the album version).

* CoversAlwaysLie: An odd variant: the back of the Creator/SireRecords CD release includes the disclaimer "the music on this Compact Digital Disc was originally recorded on analog equipment. We have attempted to preserve, as closely as possible, the sound of the original recording. Because of its high resolution, however, the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc can reveal limitations of the source tape," despite the fact that the album was recorded ''digitally'' and even features a "DDD" SPARS code on the exact same back cover. The disclaimer was standard for CD releases in the 1980's as a means of trying to reassure consumers that a bad-sounding CD wasn't the fault of the format, but rather the result of the sourced audio being poor to begin with (in part because a large number of early CD releases were sourced from multi-generation safety tapes instead of the original masters, leading to an anti-CD stigma among certain audiophiles); it's inclusion here was most likely accidental given just how commonplace it still was in 1987.

''Music for the Masses'' spawned four singles: "Strangelove", "Never Let Me Down Again", "Behind the Wheel", and "Little 15". In addition, it was supported by an eponymous tour spanning from late 1987 to mid-1988. A live album and a concert film, both titled ''101'', were released simultaneously in 1989; both the album and the film were taken from the tour's final show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The large turnout of the tour in this final show alone was indicative that the band had finally [[BreakthroughHit broken into the American mainstream]] with ''Music for the Masses'' (though their wider international success was [[Music/{{Violator}} yet to come]]), heralding the emergence of AlternativeRock as a whole within the same field alongside other releases in 1987 such as Music/{{REM}}'s ''Music/{{Document}}'', Music/TenThousandManiacs' ''Music/InMyTribe'', Music/{{U2}}'s ''Music/TheJoshuaTree'', Music/MidnightOil's ''Diesel and Dust'', and fellow alternative dance group Music/NewOrder's ''Music/{{Substance|New Order Album}}''.