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So Depeche Mode releases a singles compilation featuring only one previously unreleased song ("Only When I Lose Myself") in anticipation of a major tour. Sound suspiciously like a shameless cash-in? Sure. But The Singles, 86-98 needed to be made. This is a worthwhile purchase for casual admirers and completists alike. The two-disc set contains revamped versions of the major singles from 1986 to 1998 and a version of "Little 15" that was first released only in France. The set's "grand finale" is the live recording of "Everything Counts," from the 101 album. Although the original studio version of the "Everything Counts" single appeared on 1984's People Are People, DM fudged the chronology to justify including this astounding live recording on the album (a ploy to psych up concert-ticket buyers?). The live recording highlights the worshipful crowd applauding, cheering, and chant-singing "The grabbing hands / Grab all they can / Everything counts in large amounts" long after the song has ended. Ka-ching! --Beth Bessmer

Review

...[T]his two-CD collection shows how the grimy alleyways of cult approval opened out into shiny stadium Valhalla, singer Dave Gahan moving from songwriter Martin Gore's personal voyeur to rock star ringleader. All along, lurking behind the dungeon door and the bedsit curtains, Depeche Mode never really enjoyed the silence. All they ever wanted was the applause. -- New Musical Express, ISBN13: B00000DAGD ISBN10: B00000DAGD Material Type: audioCD