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| Released = {{Startdate|2009|04|20}}
| Released = {{Startdate|2009|04|20}}
| Recorded = May-December 2008
| Recorded = May-December 2008
| Genre = [[Synthpop]]<br>[[Synthrock]]
| Genre = [[Synthpop]]<br>[[Synth rock]]
| Length = 60:51
| Length = 60:51
| Label = [[Mute Records|Mute]], [[EMI Records|EMI]], [[Capitol Records|Capitol]], [[Virgin Records]]
| Label = [[Mute Records|Mute]], [[EMI Records|EMI]], [[Capitol Records|Capitol]], [[Virgin Records]]

Revision as of 10:00, 4 March 2010

Untitled

Sounds of the Universe is the twelfth full-length album by Depeche Mode, released in Europe on 20 April, 2009, and on 21 April, 2009, in the US and Canada. It was supported by the 2009-10 concert tour Tour of the Universe.

As with the previous album, Playing the Angel, Dave Gahan has once again written three songs with Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott: "Hole to Feed", "Come Back" and "Miles Away / The Truth Is".[1] "Spacewalker" and the bonus track "Esque" are instrumentals. Martin Gore shares lead singing duties with Gahan on "In Chains", "Peace" and "Little Soul", he sings the lead of "Jezebel" and the probable B-side "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars" on the second disc of the Deluxe Box Set. The B-side "Oh Well" is the first track ever to be co-written by Gore and Gahan. The album ends with a short hidden instrumental track after "Corrupt".

So far, three singles have been released from the album; "Wrong", "Peace", and a double A-side of "Fragile Tension" and "Hole to Feed". "Perfect" was also released in the US as a promotional single.

Track listing

All songs written by Martin Gore unless otherwise noted:

  1. "In Chains" – 6:53
  2. "Hole to Feed" – 3:59 (Dave Gahan, Christian Eigner, Andrew Phillpott)
  3. "Wrong" – 3:13
  4. "Fragile Tension" – 4:09
  5. "Little Soul" – 3:31
  6. "In Sympathy" – 4:54
  7. "Peace" – 4:29
  8. "Come Back" – 5:15 (Gahan, Eigner, Phillpott)
  9. "Spacewalker" – 1:53
  10. "Perfect" – 4:33
  11. "Miles Away / The Truth Is" – 4:14 (Gahan, Eigner, Phillpott)
  12. "Jezebel" – 4:41
  13. "Corrupt" – 5:04 (8:58)
    "Interlude #5"  – 0:42 (hidden track starting at 8:17)

With a running time of 60:51, it is the longest Depeche Mode studio album, narrowly ahead of Ultra's 60:04.

Reception

Initial critical response to Sounds of the Universe was generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 70, based on 28 reviews.[2] Entertainment Weekly stated that on Sounds of the Universe, Depeche Mode "still sound genuinely inspired"[3] and Allmusic gave the album a 4 out of 5, concluding: "Sounds of the Universe is a grower, relying on a few listens to fully take effect, but when it does, it shows Depeche Mode are still able to combine pop-hook accessibility and their own take on "roots" music for an electronic age with sonic experimentation and recombination."[4] Awarding the album five stars in the The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick concluded that the album "shows up the imaginative constraints of most guitar-based rock.”[5]

A minority of reviewers were more negative, however. Rolling Stone magazine, historically unfriendly to Depeche Mode albums, gave the album a 2.5 out of 5.[6] PopMatters gave the album a 5 out of 10, saying Depeche Mode "... tempt us with a strong first half and then dump us in a collection of tossed off b-sides."[7]

Despite the first single "Wrong" only charting at #24 and spending only one week in the UK Singles Chart, Sounds of the Universe reached #2 in the UK Album Chart, the band's highest position since 1997's chart-topping Ultra, and reached #3 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., selling 80,000 units in its first week of release.[8] However the album only spent one week in UK and US top ten, and (like its predecessor Playing the Angel) only spent four weeks on the UK album chart altogether.

The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album on December 2, 2009.[9]

It has sold 182,000 copies in the US as of February 2010 and was ranked # 200 on the Billboard year end charts for 2009.[10]

In the German year end top 100 album charts it was ranked # 5 with sales of over 250,000 copies.

Release

Sounds of the Universe was released in five different formats:

Standard CD

Contains the standard 13 track album.

Digital download

Contains the standard 13 track album. The iTunes version includes two bonus tracks:

  • "Oh Well" (Black Light Odyssey Dub) - 5:02
  • "Wrong" (Trentemøller Remix Edit)

Vinyl LP (plus bonus audio CD)

Contains the standard 13 track album on 2 LPs, as well as a CD of the album (as per the standard CD).

Special edition CD+DVD combo

Contains the standard 13 track album, plus a bonus DVD with exclusive features:

Video
  • Sounds of the Universe (A Short Film) – 10:05
  • Wrong (Promo Video) – 3:16
Audio
  • Sounds of the Universe in 5.1 surround sound
  • "In Chains" (Minilogue's Earth Remix)
  • "Little Soul" (Thomas Fehlmann Flowing Ambient Mix)
  • "Jezebel" (SixToes Remix)

iTunes Pass version

With iTunes Pass, fans receive new and exclusive singles, remixes, video and other content from Sounds of the Universe over a set period of time, delivered to their libraries as soon as they're available. In addition, the iTunes standard pre-order release of Sounds of the Universe will contain "Oh Well (Black Light Odyssey Dub)" as track 14, along with an exclusive edit of "Wrong", "Wrong (Trentemøller Remix Edit)", as track 15.

The iTunes Pass track listing contained the standard 13 track album, plus the following:

  • "Oh Well" (Black Light Odyssey Dub) – 5:02
  • "Wrong" music video – 3:23
  • "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars" (Electronic Periodic's Microdrum Mix) – 4:04
  • "Miles Away/The Truth Is" (Lagos Boys Choir Remix) – 4:06
  • "Wrong" (Thin White Duke Remix) – 7:41
  • "Wrong" (Magda's Scallop Funk Remix) – 6:23
  • "Wrong" (D.I.M. vs. Boys Noize Remix) – 5:09
  • Sounds of the Universe (A Short Film) – 10:05
  • "Wrong" (Trentemøller Remix Edit) – 5:45
  • "Jezebel" (SixToes Remix) – 5:32
  • "Little Soul" (Thomas Fehlmann Flowing Ambient Mix) – 9:20
  • "In Chains" (Minilogue's Earth Remix) – 7:54
  • "Corrupt" (Studio Session) – 4:54
  • "Little Soul" (Studio Session) – 3:57
  • "Little Soul" (Thomas Fehlmann Flowing Funk Dub) – 10:03
  • "Peace" (Hervé's 'Warehouse Frequencies' Remix) – 5:10
  • "Peace" (The Japanese Pop Stars Remix) – 6:41
  • "In Sympathy" (Live In Tel Aviv) – 5:18
  • "Walking In My Shoes" (Live In Tel Aviv) – 6:24

Deluxe box set edition

The Deluxe Box Set Edition of Sounds of the Universe

Includes three CDs containing the album, bonus songs and remixes, as well as 14 exclusive demos ranging from as far back as the Music for the Masses era.[11] It will also contain a DVD featuring three films, a promo video for "Wrong", four songs filmed live in the studio in December 2008, and the album and bonus tracks mastered in 5.1 surround. The box set also includes two 84-page hardback books, the first featuring lyrics to all the songs from the Sounds of the Universe sessions, along with exclusive photography by Anton Corbijn, and the second containing exclusive and candid studio photography by Daniel Miller, Ben Hillier, Luke Smith and Ferg Peterkin. In addition, the box set includes 2 enamel badges, 5 artcards sealed in a collector's envelope, a poster, and a certificate of authenticity.

CD 1 - Sounds of the Universe
The standard 13 track album.
CD 2 - Bonus Tracks & Remixes
  1. "Light" – 4:44
  2. "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars" – 4:41
  3. "Ghost" – 6:26
  4. "Esque" – 2:17
  5. "Oh Well" (Gore, Gahan) – 6:02
  6. "Corrupt (Efdemin Remix)" – 6:29
  7. "In Chains (Minilogue's Earth Remix)" – 7:54
  8. "Little Soul (Thomas Fehlmann Flowing Ambient Mix)" – 9:20
  9. "Jezebel (SixToes Remix)" – 5:33
  10. "Perfect (Electronic Periodic's Dark Drone Mix)" – 5:21
  11. "Wrong (Caspa Remix)" – 5:04
CD 3 - Demos
  1. "Little 15" – 4:16
  2. "Clean" – 3:42
  3. "Sweetest Perfection" – 3:23
  4. "Walking in My Shoes" – 3:22
  5. "I Feel You" – 4:03
  6. "Judas" – 3:25
  7. "Surrender" – 5:00
  8. "Only When I Lose Myself" – 5:22
  9. "Nothing's Impossible" – 5:02
  10. "Corrupt" – 4:41
  11. "Peace" – 4:33
  12. "Jezebel" – 4:38
  13. "Come Back" – 5:09
  14. "In Chains" – 4:33
DVD
  • Making the Universe / Film – 45:23
  • Usual Thing, Try and Get the Question in the Answer – 55:12
  • Sounds of the Universe (A Short Film) – 10:05
  • Wrong (Promo Video) – 3:16
  • Studio Sessions:
  1. "Corrupt" – 4:08
  2. "Little Soul" – 3:52
  3. "Stories of Old" – 3:24
  4. "Come Back" – 6:05
  • Audio: Sounds of the Universe plus bonus tracks in 5.1 surround sound
Packaging/additional content
  • Two-piece custom made box with foil blocking.
  • 2 x 84 page hardback books: The first featuring the lyrics to all the songs from the Sounds of the Universe sessions accompanied by exclusive photography by Anton Corbijn. The second featuring exclusive and candid studio photography by Daniel Miller, Ben Hillier, Luke Smith and Ferg Peterkin.
  • Two exclusive enamel badges
  • Poster
  • Five artcards, sealed in a collectors envelope
  • Certificate of authenticity

Chart positions

Sounds of the Universe was at Number 1 in 21 countries. In a further 9 countries, the album reached the top 3.[12]

Chart (2009) Peak
position 		Certifications Sales
Argentina[13] 1
Australian Albums Chart[14] 32
Austrian Albums Chart 1 Gold 10,000+
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) 2 [15] Platinum 30,000+
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) 2 [16]
Canadian Albums Chart[17] 3 11,000+
Czech Republic 1
Croatia 1
Denmark 1
Estonian Album Chart[18] 2
Finnish Albums Chart[19] 1
French Albums Chart[20] 2 Platinum 100,000+
German Albums Chart[21] 1 Platinum 250,000+
Greece 1
Hungarian Albums Chart[22] 1 Platinum 7,500+
Irish Albums Chart[23] 3
Israeli Album Charth[24] 1
Italian Albums Chart[25] 1 Platinum 100,000+
Japan 8
Mexico 1 Gold[26] 100,000+
the Netherlands 7
New Zealand Albums Chart[27] 31
Norway[28] 2
Polish Albums Chart[29] 1 Double Platinium[30] 40,000+
Portugal 2
Russian Albums Chart[31] 1 Platinum 20,000+
Slovakia 1
Spanish Albums Chart[32] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[33] 1 Gold[34] 20,000+
Switzerland 1 Platinum 50,000+
Turkey 1
UK Albums Chart[35] 2 30,500+
U.S. Billboard 200[8] 3 182,000+
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums[36] 1
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums[37] 1
U.S. Billboard Top Electronic Albums[38] 1
European Top 100 Albums[39] 1
World Albums Top 40[40] 1 1,500,000+ (only CD count)


Preceded by Italian Albums Chart number-one album
April 18, 2009 - May 1, 2009 		Succeeded by
Stupida by Alessandra Amoroso
Preceded by Mexican Albums Chart number-one album
April 27, 2009 		Succeeded by
Atrévete a Soñar by Various Artists

Personnel

  • Andy Fletcher – keyboards
  • Dave Gahan – lead vocals (except "Jezebel", "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars")
  • Martin Gore – keyboards, guitar, backup vocals, lead vocals ("Jezebel", "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars")
  • Ben Hillier – producer, mixer, engineer
  • Christian Eigner – pre-production/demos with Dave Gahan; drums on "Hole to Feed" & "Fragile Tension"
  • Tony Hoffer – mix

Footnotes

  1. ^ [Source: Album Electronic Press Kit]
  2. ^ "Depeche Mode:Sounds Of The Universe (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  3. ^ "Sounds of the Universe — Music Review — Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  4. ^ "allmusic's review of Sounds of the Universe". Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  5. ^ "Daily Telegraph review of Sounds of the Universe". Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  6. ^ "Sounds of the Universe: Depeche Mode". Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  7. ^ "Depeche Mode: Sounds of the Universe". Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  8. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith. "Rick Ross Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 for Third Time". billboard.com. April 29 2009.
  9. ^ "The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List",Grammy.com, December 2, 2009
  10. ^ "Billboard Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard.biz. Issued date 2009.
  11. ^ Depeche Mode makes 'Sounds' in many forms
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?CodOp=ESCS&CO=6
  14. ^ Top 50 Albums Chart - Australian Recording Industry Association
  15. ^ http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Depeche+Mode&titel=Sounds+Of+The+Universe&cat=a
  16. ^ http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Depeche+Mode&titel=Sounds+Of+The+Universe&cat=a
  17. ^ [2]
  18. ^ [3]
  19. ^ [4]
  20. ^ SNEP - Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique
  21. ^ "Charts — VIVA Album Top 50". Viva.tv. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  22. ^ MAHASZ Top40 albumlista
  23. ^ "IRMA — Irish Recorded Music Association". Irma.ie. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  24. ^ [5]
  25. ^ "FIMI — Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana — Classifiche". Fimi.it. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  26. ^ http://www.devotionmode.com/principal/?p=3779
  27. ^ "RIANZ". RIANZ. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  28. ^ [6]
  29. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS — Official Retail Sales Chart". OLIS. 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  30. ^ [7]
  31. ^ "Official russian albums chart". 2M. 2009-06-03.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Álbumes" (PDF). Promusicae. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  33. ^ "www.sverigetopplistan.se". www.sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  34. ^ Swedish IFPI certifications of 2009
  35. ^ "Radio 1 - Chart Show — The UK Top 40 Albums". BBC. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  36. ^ [8]
  37. ^ [9]
  38. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Albums&f=Top+Electronic+Albums
  39. ^ [10]
  40. ^ [11]
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