Due to its release six months before Violator appeared, not to mention the fact that Depeche's American fan base was reaching critical mass, the EP release of "Personal Jesus" became the biggest selling 12" single in Warner Bros.' history up to that point. It's not too hard to see why -- outrageously but perfectly fusing the aesthetics of clinical synth sheen, funky breakbeats courtesy of stomping on travel cases and looping the results, and bluesy, twangy guitar, it's an instant classic from the band. Gore's lyric was one of his simplest ever -- apparently inspired by Priscilla Presley's depiction of her life with Elvis -- but was delivered by Gahan with strutting, sly panache and power. Besides the killer single mix that also surfaced on the near-unavoidable video, four others ended up on the full-CD version of the EP. Legendary disco figure Francois Kevorkian handled three of these total -- the single mix, the "Holier Than Thou Approach," and the preacher-sampling, often quite dramatic "Pump" mix. Said "Holier Than Thou Approach" extended the overall feeling of the song but had a lot of extra fun with the massive, stomping drums; most of it later surfaced as the final Violator album take. Flood's "Telephone Stomp" mix goes right ahead and includes a phone while a surprising, fun bonus was the original acoustic demo of the song, as performed by Gore on his own -- low key, bluesy, and quite successful. One other song turned up, "Dangerous," appearing in three separate versions and featuring a great Gahan vocal. The original take is a nicely threatening, snaky number, Daniel Miller's "Hazchemix" cranks up the straight-ahead techno approach well, while Flood's "Sensual" mix lives up to its name with its tense, extended groove. ~ Ned Raggett
Really good stuff This is a very good record, the song "Personal Jesus" for example, is my favourite. It got all the cool stuff in it; the Depeche Mode's typical sound, Dave Gahan's typical voice, a cool rythm and it's so much fun to dance to! It's magical. Submitted by jennie_eriksson06 (Helsingborg, Sweden) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
A must have! I have been a Depeche Mode fan for a long time and I never could understand why "Dangerous" is not found on any other album. It is a great song that doesn't get the play time it deserves! If you are a true fan you will love this forgotten flip-side. Submitted by Heather (Florida) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
a shot for ears I coincides with the before guy. this a must cd for a serious depeche mode fan, in fact this one is the best selling single of the band Submitted by a reviewer (Lima, Peru) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
Very good. This is one of the cds that you must have if you are fun of Depeche Mode. For me it's one of the best cd of Depeche. Submitted by a reviewer (Montevideo) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
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