Ultra (album)
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| Ultra | ||
 |
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| Studio album by Depeche Mode | ||
| Released | April 15, 1997 | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road - Eastcote - Westside - Strongroom - RAK, London; Electric Lady, New York; Larrabee West, Los Angeles. | |
| Genre | Synth pop | |
| Length | 60:04 | |
| Label | UK: Mute / US: Reprise | |
| Producer(s) | Tim Simenon | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Depeche Mode chronology | ||
| Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1993) |
Ultra (1997) |
The Singles 86>98 (1998) |
Ultra is Depeche Mode's ninth full-length album, which was released on April 15, 1997. The album is the first album after the departure of Alan Wilder, who left to focus on his solo project Recoil. The long time that separates this album from the previous was due to David Gahan's near suicide and recovery from addiction to drugs. These two events caused many to speculate the end of Depeche Mode, but this turned out to not be the case.
Instead Ultra was eventually released, reaching number one in the UK Chart, and producing several hit singles. As of April 2006, Ultra has sold 584,000 units in the U.S.
[edit] Track listing
- "Barrel Of A Gun" – 5:35
- "The Love Thieves" – 6:34
- "Home" – 5:42
- "It's No Good" – 5:58
- "Uselink" – 2:21
- "Useless" – 5:12
- "Sister Of Night" – 6:04
- "Jazz Thieves" – 2:54
- "Freestate" – 6:44
- "The Bottom Line" – 4:26
- "Insight" – 6:26
- "Junior Painkiller" – 2:11*
- All songs written by Martin L Gore. Martin sings lead on "Home" and "The Bottom Line", while Dave Gahan sings the other songs. "Uselink", "Jazz Thieves", and "Junior Painkiller" are instrumental interludes.
- * Unlisted bonus track.
[edit] Singles
- "Barrel Of A Gun" (03 February, 1997)
- "It's No Good" (31 March, 1997)
- "Home" (16 June, 1997)
- "Useless" (20 October, 1997)
[edit] Personnel
- Depeche Mode is:
- Produced by Tim Simenon.
- Mixed by Tim Simenon & Q.
- Engineered by Q.
- Programming on all tracks by Kerry Hopwood.
- Keyboards & Keyboard Programming on all tracks by Dave Clayton.
- Recorded at:
- Abbey Road - Eastcote - Westside - Strongroom - RAK, London
- Electric Lady, New York
- Larrabee West, Los Angeles
- Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain, Robbie Kazandjian.
- Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.
- Additional musicians:
- Victor Indrizzo (misspelled in the credits as "Endrizzio"), percussion: "Barrel Of A Gun" & "It's No Good".
- Jaki Liebezeit, percussion: "The Bottom Line".
- BJ Cole, pedal steel guitar: "The Bottom Line".
- Gota Yashiki, drums: "Useless".
- Keith Le Blanc, drums: "Useless".
- Danny Cummings, percussion: "Useless" & "Freestate".
- Doug Wimbish, bass: "Useless".
- Daniel Miller, System700: "Uselink".
- Vocal coach Evelyn Halus.
- "Uselink" & "Jazz Thieves": Mixed by Tim Simenon & Gareth Jones.
- "Home", "Love Thieves" & "Freestate": Additional vocals engineered by Gareth Jones at RAK Studios
- "Home":
- Strings arranged by Dave Clayton;
- Strings scored by Richard Niles;
- Strings coordinated by Graham Perkins.
- Special thanks to: Daniel Miller, Howie Klein, Anton Corbjin, Andy Ferguson, Donna Vergier, Pepe Jansz, Gerald Myers, everyone at Mute Records, Craig Kostich, Rich Fitzgerald, Steve Tipp, everyone at Reprise Records, Ronnie Harris, Andrew Thompson, Keith Drinkwater, Michael Pagnotta, Bernard Doherty, Karen Stringer, John Kennedy, Daryl Bamonte, Lynn Newcombe, Michaela Olexova, Richard Bell, Richard Smith, Ian McAndrew, Emma Feather, Philip Bagenal, Dundas Brothers.
- Management: Jonathan Kessler for Baron Inc.
- London office: JD Fanger.
- Art direction, photography & front cover - Anton Corbijn.
- Color prints - Brian Dowling.
- Sleeve design - Area.
- Label: Mute
