Depeche Mode: Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)

Depeche Mode are known for their iconic synth pop and fame as one of the seminal acts of the 80's. Recent remixes of past works have bought their sound up to date with contemporary pop and dance music. This particular track, 'The Stargate Mix' of 'Personal Jesus' from the band's 'Violator' album, reviewed here.

Depeche Mode: Personal Jesus 2011

'Personal Jesus' at the time of writing back in 1990 was the first single from 'Violator.' Fiercely promoted, it became one of the band's biggest singles. This remix introduces a synthetic soundworld in place of the guitar led alternative blues style of the original, the new style being comparable to many works by the band themselves.

The piece is lively and upbeat and contains a 12/8 feel metre in place of the clear 4/4 time of the origional. Throughout the arrangement, the synthetic timbres develop although greater variety between each verse could be achieved to great effect. With a 3:40 runtime and little variation of timbres between each repeated section, a slight sense of monotony creeps in when actively listened to.

It is interesting that the track has seen very diverse covers and remixes - on one hand, this particular dance and pop influenced remix is crafted for the dancefloor, while on the other hand this piece has been covered by Heavy Metal icon Marilyn Manson among others, presenting a great variety in the musical context of the song. This particular track comes from a recent release of remixed material, when browsing the sheer number of remixes available, it goes to show the great skill of the band and their sustained longevity.

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