Playing the Angel

Playing the Angel
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released 17 October 2005
Recorded January–July 2005; Sound Design (Santa Barbara, California); Stratosphere Sound (New York City; Whitfield Studios (London)
Genre Synthpop, alternative dance, industrial rock, alternative rock
Length 52:16
Label Mute
Producer Ben 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, released in the United Kingdom on 17 October 2005 by Mute Records and in the United States and Canada on 18 October by Sire Records and Reprise Records. It was supported by the Touring the Angel tour.

Overview

Playing the Angel is Depeche Mode's first album to feature 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 its album, 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 analog 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 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.

Album art

The character on the album cover is a little creature called "Tubby Goth" (by the band) and "Mister Feathers" (by the label, the webmaster and the fans). The cover design by Anton Corbijn is believed to be a tip of the hat to a famous still photograph of The Cure's Robert Smith circa "Boys Don't Cry".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
Blender [3]
Entertainment Weekly B[4]
The Guardian [5]
Pitchfork Media 7.0/10[6]
Rolling Stone [7]
Sputnikmusic 4.5/5[8]
Stylus Magazine A−[9]
The Times [10]
Yahoo! Music UK [11]

Playing the Angel received mostly positive reviews. E! Online and Entertainment Weekly gave the album high scores. Indie music website Pitchfork Media 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 twenty on E! Online's Top 20 Albums of 2005 list and number sixty-eight on WOXY's Top 97 Albums of 2005.

The red book version of the album is considered by numerous fans to be poorly mastered,[12][13] relying on heavy compression to intentionally and artificially boost the output, especially when compared with the vinyl version that was mastered differently.

Commercial performance

Playing the Angel debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 32,505 copies in its first week.[14] In the United States, the album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 98,000 copies.[15] 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.[15] Playing the Angel had sold 418,000 copies in the US as of November 2007.[16] By January 2007, the album had sold 1.6 million copies worldwide (excluding the US and Canada), according to EMI.[17]

Track listing

All songs written by Martin Gore, except where noted.

  1. "A Pain That I'm Used To" – 4:11
  2. "John the Revelator" – 3:42
  3. "Suffer Well" (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" (Gahan, Eigner, Phillpott) – 6:09
  8. "Nothing's Impossible" (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

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.[18]

  • Arjun Agerwala – assistant engineering
  • Anton Corbijn – art direction, cover design, photography
  • Rudyard Lee Cullers – assistant engineering
  • Christian Eigner – original programming ("Suffer Well", "I Want It All", "Nothing's Impossible")
  • Steve Fitzmaurice – mixing
  • Four5one.com – design
  • Ben Hillier – engineering, mixing, production
  • Jonathan Kessler – management
  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Dave McCracken – programming (all tracks); piano ("The Darkest Star"; miscredited to "I Want It All" in the booklet)
  • Richard Morris – engineering, programming
  • Andrew Phillpott – original programming ("Suffer Well", "I Want It All", "Nothing's Impossible")
  • Kt Rangnick – assistant mixing, engineering
  • Sarah Register – assistant mastering
  • Nick Sevilla – assistant engineering
  • Devin Workman – assistant mixing, engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[19] 45
Austrian Albums Chart[20] 1
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[21] 4
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[22] 1
Canadian Albums Chart[23] 3
Czech Albums Chart[24] 1
Danish Albums Chart[25] 1
Dutch Albums Chart[26] 11
European Top 100 Albums[27] 1
Finnish Albums Chart[28] 1
French Albums Chart[29] 1
German Albums Chart[30] 1
Hungarian Albums Chart[31] 1
Irish Albums Chart[32] 15
Italian Albums Chart[33] 1
Japanese Albums Chart[34] 104
Mexican Albums Chart[35] 3
Norwegian Albums Chart[36] 1
Polish Albums Chart[37] 1
Portuguese Albums Chart[38] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[39] 2
Swedish Albums Chart[40] 1
Swiss Albums Chart[41] 1
UK Albums Chart[42] 6
US Billboard 200[43] 7
US Top Electronic Albums[44] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[45] 54
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[46] 53
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[47] 16
Danish Albums Chart[48] 43
Finnish Albums Chart[49] 78
French Albums Chart[50] 57
German Albums Chart[51] 22
Hungarian Albums Chart[52] 27
Mexican Albums Chart[35] 81
Swedish Albums Chart[53] 40
Swiss Albums Chart[54] 30
US Top Electronic Albums[55] 2
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[56] 95
Danish Albums Chart[57] 85
European Top 100 Albums[58] 54
German Albums Chart[59] 44
Hungarian Albums Chart[60] 100
Mexican Albums Chart[61] 95

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[62] Gold 20,000x
Austria (IFPI Austria)[63] Gold 15,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[64] Gold 50,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[65] Gold 20,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[66] Gold 16,777[66]
France (SNEP)[67] Platinum 212,900[68]
Germany (BVMI)[69] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Hungary (MAHASZ)[70] Platinum 20,000x
Mexico (AMPROFON)[35] Gold 50,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[71] Platinum 20,000*
Portugal (AFP)[72] Gold 10,000x
Russia (NFPF)[73] 3× Platinum 60,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[74] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[75] Gold 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[76] Gold 100,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[77] Platinum 1,000,000*

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ Quan, Denise. "A Sobering Interview with Depeche Mode". CNN.com. 13 May 2009.
  2. ↑ Kellman, Andy. Playing the Angel at AllMusic. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "Playing The Angel review". Blender (November 2005): 130.
  4. ↑ Fiore, Raymond (28 October 2005). "Playing The Angel (2005)". Entertainment Weekly (847). Archived from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  5. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (14 October 2005). "Pop CD Depeche Mode, Playing The Angel". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Abebe, Mitsuh (19 October 2005). "Depeche Mode: Playing The Angel". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  7. ↑ Edwards, Gavin (20 October 2005). "Playing The Angel". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Depeche Mode: Playing The Angel (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 25 February 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  9. ↑ Parrish, Peter (15 November 2005). "Depeche Mode, Playing The Angel Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "Depeche Mode: Playing the Angel review". The Times. 15 October 2005. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  11. ↑ O'Connell, Sharon (18 October 2005). "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  12. ↑ "Another victim of the loudness race". brianstagg.co.uk. 20 October 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2011
  13. ↑ "The Loudness War" sharoma.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  14. ↑ Jones, Alan (24 October 2005). "Sales dip despite big debuts". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Whitmire, Margo (26 October 2005). "Simpson Strikes Back: Ashlee Scores 2nd No. 1". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
  16. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (16 November 2007). "Ask Billboard: Tick, Tick, Tick". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  17. ↑ Cashmere, Paul (13 January 2007). "EMI Share Price Drops On Restructure Announcement". Undercover.fm. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  18. ↑ Playing the Angel (CD liner notes). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 2005. CDSTUMM260.
  19. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  21. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  22. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  23. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Chart history: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  24. ↑ "Oficiální česká hitparáda IFPI ČR – 43. týden 2005" (in Czech). Marketing & Media. 27 October 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  25. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  26. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  27. ↑ Brandle, Lars (27 October 2005). "Depeche Mode's 'Angel' Flies High In Europe". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  28. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  29. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  30. ↑ "Depeche Mode | Chartverfolgung | Playing The Angel" (in German). Musicline.de. PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  31. ↑ "Top 40 album- és válogatáslemez-lista – 2005. 43. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  32. ↑ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 20 October 2005". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  33. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  34. ↑ デペッシュ・モードのアルバム売り上げランキング [Depeche Mode album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 "Top 100 Album 2005" (PDF) (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  36. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  37. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży". OLiS. 24 October 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  38. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  39. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  40. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  41. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  42. ↑ "2005 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. 29 October 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  43. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  44. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Chart history: Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  45. ↑ "Jahreshitparade Alben 2005" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  46. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2005 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  47. ↑ "Rapports Annuels 2005 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  48. ↑ "Chart of the Year 2005". TOP20.dk. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  49. ↑ Best-selling albums of 2005 in Finland:
  50. ↑ "Classement Albums – année 2005" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  51. ↑ "VIVA Album Jahrescharts 2005" (in German). VIVA Germany. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  52. ↑ "Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista – eladási darabszám alapján – 2005" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  53. ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2005" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Swedish Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  54. ↑ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2005". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  55. ↑ "2005 Year End Charts – Top Electronic Albums". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. 26 November 2005. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  56. ↑ "Rapports Annuels 2006 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  57. ↑ "Chart of the Year 2006". TOP20.dk. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  58. ↑ "2006 Year End Charts – European Top 100 Albums". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  59. ↑ "VIVA Album Jahrescharts 2006" (in German). VIVA Germany. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  60. ↑ "Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista – eladási darabszám alapján – 2006" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  61. ↑ "Top 100 Album 2006" (PDF) (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  62. ↑ "Argentinian album certifications – Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  63. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel" (in German). IFPI Austria. 24 October 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2010. Enter Depeche Mode in the field Interpret. Enter Playing the Angel in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  64. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel". Music Canada. 23 November 2005. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  65. ↑ "Platin til The Four Jacks" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 The first web page presents the sales figures, the second presents the certification limits:
  67. ↑ "French album certifications – Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  68. ↑ "Les Albums Platine" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  69. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Depeche Mode; 'Playing the Angel')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  70. ↑ "Arany- és platinalemezek › Adatbázis – 2005" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  71. ↑ "Polish album certifications – Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel" (in Polish). Polish Producers of Audio and Video (ZPAV). 5 July 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  72. ↑ "Top 30 Artistas – Semana 4 de 2006" (in Portuguese). Artistas & Espectáculos. Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  73. ↑ "Russian album certifications – Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  74. ↑ "Top 100 Albumes – Lista de los títulos mas vendidos del 06.02.06 al 12.02.06" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  75. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2005" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. 18 November 2005. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  76. ↑ "British album certifications – Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel". British Phonographic Industry. 14 October 2005. Retrieved 21 March 2011. Enter Playing the Angel in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  77. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2005". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. November 2005. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2011.