Some Great Reward

Some Great Reward
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released 24 September 1984
Recorded January–August 1984; Music Works (Highbury, London); Hansa Mischraum (Berlin)
Genre Electronic music[1]
Length 40:18
Label Mute
Producer Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller, Gareth Jones
Depeche Mode chronology

Construction Time Again
(1983)		 Some Great Reward
(1984)		 Black Celebration
(1986)
Singles from Some Great Reward
  1. "People Are People"
    Released: 12 March 1984
  2. "Master and Servant"
    Released: 20 August 1984
  3. "Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody"
    Released: 29 October 1984

Some Great Reward is the fourth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released in 1984. The album peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and at number fifty-one in the United States. The title comes from the last lines of the bridge in "Lie to Me" when it repeats near the end. The album was supported by the Some Great Reward Tour.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Melody Maker very positive[2]
NME negative[3]

Melody Maker hailed the album, noting a "truly remarkable development in the voice of Gahan". Reviewer Barry McIlheney noted that "[i]t used to be okay to slag this bunch off because of their lack of soul, their supposed synthetic appeal, their reluctance to really pack a punch." He concluded that Some Great Reward "just trashes such bad old talk into the ground and demands that you now sit up and take notice of what is happening here, right under your nose".[2]

NME criticised the album, stating that it "suffers from too many missed grips on good ideas." Reviewer David Quantick found the tunes "ordinary" but he nevertheless rated the singles as "fine". He finally stated that the result was "annoying" and concluded, "Depeche Mode can be one the few acts worthy of the name pop group. It's just that they should be so much better."[3]

Re-release

In 2006, Some Great Reward was re-released with a bonus DVD. The CD was remastered and was released on a CD/SACD hybrid. The bonus DVD includes the B-sides "In Your Memory" and "(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me" in addition to a remix of "Somebody" and several live versions of some of the songs from the album. The DVD also includes a documentary on the making of the album.

The remastered album was released on "deluxe" vinyl in March 2007.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Martin L. Gore, except "If You Want" and "In Your Memory" written by Alan Wilder. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Something to Do"   3:45
2. "Lie to Me"   5:04
3. "People Are People"   3:52
4. "It Doesn't Matter"   4:45
5. "Stories of Old"   3:12
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "Somebody"   4:26
7. "Master and Servant"   4:13
8. "If You Want"   4:40
9. "Blasphemous Rumours"   6:21

2006 re-release bonus DVD

A short film
No. Title Length
1. "Depeche Mode: 1984 (You Can Get Away with Anything If You Give It a Good Tune)" (written and produced by Roland Brown; directed by Ross Hallard and Phil Michael Lane) 29:20
Some Great Reward (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo)
No. Title Length
1. "Something to Do"   3:47
2. "Lie to Me"   5:04
3. "People Are People"   3:52
4. "It Doesn't Matter"   4:45
5. "Stories of Old"   3:14
6. "Somebody"   4:28
7. "Master and Servant"   4:12
8. "If You Want"   4:41
9. "Blasphemous Rumours"   6:22
Live tracks (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo)
No. Title Length
10. "If You Want" (Live in Basel, 30 November 1984) 5:15
11. "People Are People" (Live in Basel, 30 November 1984) 4:16
12. "Somebody" (Live in Liverpool, 29 September 1984) 4:30
13. "Blasphemous Rumours" (Live in Basel, 30 November 1984) 5:30
14. "Master and Servant" (Live in Basel, 30 November 1984) 5:33
Additional tracks (PCM Stereo)
No. Title Length
15. "In Your Memory"   4:06
16. "(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me"   4:18
17. "Somebody" (Remix) 4:21

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Some Great Reward.[4]

  • Depeche Mode – production
  • Martyn Atkins – design
  • Jacqui Frye – clothes stylist
  • Stuart Graham – photography assistance
  • Brian Griffin – photography
  • David A. Jones – design
  • Gareth Jones – production
  • Stefi Marcus – assistant engineering
  • Marcx – design
  • Colin McMahon – assistant engineering
  • Daniel Miller – production
  • Ben Ward – assistant engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1984–85) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[5] 19
Canadian Albums Chart[6] 54
Dutch Albums Chart[7] 34
French Albums Chart[8] 10
German Albums Chart[9] 3
Swedish Albums Chart[10] 7
Swiss Albums Chart[11] 5
UK Albums Chart[12] 5
US Top Pop Albums[13] 54

Year-end charts

Chart (1985) Peak
position
US Top Pop Albums[14] 91

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Germany (BVMI)[15] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Raggett, Ned. "Some Great Reward – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 McIlheney, Barry (29 September 1984). "Greatness and Perfection". Melody Maker.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Quantick, David (6 October 1984). "Modeahead? Uh-Uh... But How Do You Rate The Review, Lads?". NME.
  4. ↑ Some Great Reward (CD liner notes). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1984. CD STUMM 19.
  5. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "RPM100 Albums". RPM 41 (25). 2 March 1985. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste" (SELECT "DEPECHE MODE" AND CLICK "OK") (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Depeche Mode, Some Great Reward" (in German). charts.de. Media Control. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "1984 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. 6 October 1984. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Some Great Reward – Depeche Mode | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "1985 The Year in Music & Video – Top Pop Albums". Billboard 97 (52): T-19. 28 December 1985. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Depeche Mode; 'Some Great Reward')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  16. ↑ "British album certifications – Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward". British Phonographic Industry. 19 October 1984. Enter Some Great Reward in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  17. ↑ "American album certifications – Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward". Recording Industry Association of America. 4 August 1994. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH