Ultra (Depeche Mode album)

Ultra
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released	14 April 1997
Recorded	January 1996 – February 1997
Studio	Abbey Road, Eastcote, Westside, Strongroom, RAK (London); Electric Lady (New York City); Larrabee West (Los Angeles)
Genre	Alternative dance, electronic rock, industrial rock, alternative rock
Length	60:04
Label	Mute
Producer	Tim Simenon
Depeche Mode chronology
Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993) Ultra (1997) Exciter (2001)
Singles from Ultra
"Barrel of a Gun" Released: 3 February 1997 "It's No Good" Released: 31 March 1997 "Home" Released: 16 June 1997 "Useless" Released: 20 October 1997

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
NME	6/10[5]
PopMatters	7/10[6]
Q	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Spin	6/10[9]
Vox	7/10[10]

Ultra is the ninth studio album by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 14 April 1997 by Mute Records. The album was the band's first since the departure of Alan Wilder, who had left the band in 1995 having become disillusioned with life in Depeche Mode. Wilder's departure and lead singer Dave Gahan's drug problems, which culminated in a near-fatal overdose, had caused many people to speculate that the band was finished.^[11] This is their first album as a trio since 1982's A Broken Frame, along with it being their first album where the band themselves were not involved with production.

Ultra debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and at number five on the Billboard 200. By April 2006, the album had sold 584,000 copies in the United States.^[12] The project was initially conceived as an EP.

In 1999, Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 50 on his list of "The Top 136 or so Albums of the Nineties".^[13] That same year, the annual Ultra Music Festival in Miami was named after the album by its co-founder Russell Faibisch,^[14] and acknowledging its influence on the Polish rock scene, Tylko Rock ranked it at number 71 in its list of "100 Albums That Shook Polish Rock."^[15]

Track listing

All songs written by Martin Gore.

1. "Barrel of a Gun" – 5:35
2. "The Love Thieves" – 6:34
3. "Home" – 5:42
4. "It's No Good" – 5:58
5. "Uselink" – 2:21
6. "Useless" – 5:12
7. "Sister of Night" – 6:04
8. "Jazz Thieves" – 2:54
9. "Freestate" – 6:44
10. "The Bottom Line" – 4:26
11. "Insight" – 8:37

• "Junior Painkiller" (hidden track) – 2:11
• A ninety-second pause separates "Junior Painkiller" from "Insight", which is five minutes and ten seconds in length.

Promotion

To promote the release of the album the band played two short concerts in London and Los Angeles, titled Ultra Parties. The London concert took place on 10 April 1997 at Adrenalin Village and the Los Angeles concert was held on 16 May 1997 at the Shrine Exposition Hall. The Shrine show was produced by Philip Blaine whose 1500 Records was at that point compiling the soon to be released Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses. The shows featured Christian Eigner on drums and Dave Clayton on keyboards. The Los Angeles show was filmed by MTV but the performance was never broadcast in its entirety.^[16][17]

Setlist

1. Instrumental intro, "Uselink" on Los Angeles, "Junior Painkiller" on London
2. "Barrel of a Gun"
3. "Useless"
4. "It's No Good"
5. "Home"
6. "Never Let Me Down Again"

2007 re-release

On 2 October 2007 (3 October in North America), Ultra was re-released in a two-disc set, along with Exciter, completing the Depeche Mode Collectors Edition catalog. The first disc is a remastered version of the original album, on a SACD/CD hybrid (except for in the U.S., where it's a CD only). The second disc is a DVD which features the album in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo. The B-sides from the album's singles can be listened to as well, including the standalone single "Only When I Lose Myself" and its B-sides.

Finally, like the other albums, there is a documentary on the making of Ultra titled Depeche Mode 95–98 (Oh well, that's the end of the band...), the subtitle of which comes from Gore's thoughts about Wilder's departure. The documentary begins with discussion from all parties of Wilder's departure before moving on to early album sessions despite Dave Gahan's drug issues present. Eventually, it moves on to Gahan's "death" and rehab. The documentary then covers the recording of Ultra and ends with a discussion on The Singles 86>98 and its corresponding singles tour. The whole band is interviewed, along with Alan Wilder, Daniel Miller, producer Tim Simenon, Mute executives, touring keyboardist Peter Gordeno, touring drummer Christian Eigner, Anton Corbijn and others.

The remastered version of the album was released on "deluxe" vinyl 30 March 2007 in Germany and 1 October 2007 internationally.

2007 re-release (CD/SACD)

• Disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer.
• Disc 2 is a DVD which includes "Ultra" in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo plus the following bonus material:

Live tracks in London, April 1997 (in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM Stereo)

1. "Barrel of a Gun"
2. "It's No Good"
3. "Useless"

Bonus tracks (in PCM Stereo)

1. "Painkiller"
2. "Slowblow"
3. "Only When I Lose Myself"
4. "Surrender"
5. "Headstar"

Additional material

• Depeche Mode 95–98 (Oh well, that's the end of the band...) (50-minute documentary)

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Ultra.^[18]

Area – sleeve design Jamie Campbell – assistant engineering Audie Chamberlain – assistant engineering Dave Clayton – string arrangements ("Home"), keyboards, keyboard programming (all tracks) BJ Cole – pedal steel guitar ("The Bottom Line") Anton Corbijn – art direction, front cover, photography Danny Cummings – percussion ("Useless", "Freestate") Brian Dowling – colour prints JD Fanger – London office Lee Fitzgerald – assistant engineering Gary Forde – assistant engineering Greg – assistant engineering Evelyn Halus – vocal coach Paul Hicks – assistant engineering Kerry Hopwood – programming Victor Indrizzo – percussion ("Barrel of a Gun", "It's No Good") Jim – assistant engineering

Gareth Jones – additional vocal engineering ("The Love Thieves", "Home", "Freestate"), mixing ("Uselink", "Jazz Thieves") Robbie Kazandjian – assistant engineering Jonathan Kessler – management Keith LeBlanc – drums ("Useless") Jaki Liebezeit – percussion ("The Bottom Line") Mike Marsh – mastering Guy Massey – assistant engineering Daniel Miller – System 700 ("Uselink") Richard Niles – string conductor, string score ("Home") Graeme Perkins – string coordinator ("Home") Lee Phillips – assistant engineering Q – engineering, mixing Tom Rixton – assistant engineering Tim Simenon – mixing, production Doug Wimbish – bass ("Useless") Gota Yashiki – drums ("Useless")

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[19] 7 Austrian Albums Chart[20] 5 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[21] 8 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[22] 1 Canadian Albums Chart[23] 2 Danish Albums Chart[24] 3 Dutch Albums Chart[25] 17 European Top 100 Albums[26] 1 Finnish Albums Chart[27] 3 French Albums Chart[28] 2 German Albums Chart[29] 1 Hungarian Albums Chart[30] 2 Irish Albums Chart[26] 4 Italian Albums Chart[31] 2 Japanese Albums Chart[32] 39 New Zealand Albums Chart[33] 25 Norwegian Albums Chart[34] 2 Portuguese Albums Chart[35] 4 Spanish Albums Chart[35] 1 Swedish Albums Chart[36] 1 Swiss Albums Chart[37] 4 UK Albums Chart[38] 1 US Billboard 200[39] 5

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Peak position Austrian Albums Chart[40] 38 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[41] 35 Italian Albums Chart[42] 32 US Billboard 200[43] 162

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
France (SNEP)[44]	Gold	100,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[45]	Gold	250,000^^
Sweden (GLF)[46]	Gold	40,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[47]	Gold	25,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[48]	Gold	100,000^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[49]	Gold	50,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[50]	Platinum	100,000^*
Belgium (BEA)[51]	Platinum	50,000^*
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[52]	Gold	25,000^^
United States (RIAA)[53]	Gold	584,000[12]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[54]	Platinum	1,000,000^*
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of European number-one hits of 1997
• List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 1990s

References

1. Raggett, Ned. "Ultra – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
2. Kot, Greg (18 April 1997). "Depeche Mode: Ultra (Mute)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
3. Farber, Jim (18 April 1997). "Ultra". Entertainment Weekly (375). Retrieved 25 June 2011.
4. Scribner, Sara (13 April 1997). "That Same Gloom and Doom Mode". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
5. Oldham, James (4 April 1997). "Common Synths". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
6. Bergstrom, John (20 December 2007). "Depeche Mode: Ultra". PopMatters. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
7. Malins, Steve (May 1997). "Downbeat". Q (128): 118.
8. Gardner, Elysa (10 April 1997). "Ultra". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
9. Weisbard, Eric (May 1997). "Depeche Mode: Ultra". Spin. 13 (2): 110–11. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
10. Fadele, Dele (May 1997). ""Bleak Celebration". Vox (79).
11. "Especial Depeche Mode: Ultra" (in Spanish). Hipersonica. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
12. Caulfield, Keith (5 April 2006). "Ask Billboard: New Depeche Order Mode". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
13. Breathe internet
14. Duran, Jose D. (2013-03-14). "How Russell Faibisch Built Ultra Music Festival -- and Whom He's Battled Along the Way". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
15. Acclaimed Music - Ultra
16. depeche mode dot com, depechemode.com
17. depeche mode dot com, depechemode.com
18. Ultra (CD liner notes). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1997. CDSTUMM148.
19. "Depeche Mode – Ultra". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
20. "Depeche Mode – Ultra" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
21. "Depeche Mode – Ultra" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
22. "Depeche Mode – Ultra" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
23. "Depeche Mode – Chart history: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
24. "Depeche Mode / Ultra". TOP20.dk. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
25. "Depeche Mode – Ultra" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
26. "Hits of the World". Billboard. 109 (18): 49. 3 May 1997. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
27. "Depeche Mode – Ultra". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
28. "Depeche Mode – Ultra" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
29. "Depeche Mode | Chartverfolgung | Ultra" (in German). Musicline.de. PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
30. "Archívum › Kereső – előadó/cím szerint" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
31. "Hits of the World". Billboard. 109 (18): 48. 3 May 1997. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
32. 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 February 2014.
33. "Depeche Mode – Ultra". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
34. "Depeche Mode – Ultra". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
35. "Hits of the World". Billboard. 109 (19): 49. 10 May 1997. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
36. "Depeche Mode – Ultra". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
37. "Depeche Mode – Ultra". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
38. "1997 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. 26 April 1997. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
39. "Depeche Mode – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
40. "Jahreshitparade Alben 1997" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
41. "Rapports Annuels 1997 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
42. "Gli album più venduti del 1997" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
43. "The Year in Music 1997 – Top 200 Albums". Billboard. 109 (52): YE-28. 27 December 1997 – 3 January 1998. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
44. "Certifications Albums Or – année 1997" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 24 June 1997. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
45. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Depeche Mode; 'Ultra')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
46. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. 9 April 1997. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
47. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Depeche Mode; 'Ultra')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
48. "British album certifications – Depeche Mode – Ultra". British Phonographic Industry. 1 April 1997. Enter Ultra 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
49. "Spanish album certifications – Depeche Mode – Ultra" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. 1 April 1997. Select the "Chart", enter ' in the field "Year". Select ' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
50. "Italian album certifications – Depeche Mode – Ultra" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 1 April 1997. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter Depeche Mode in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
51. NO certyear WAS PROVIDED for BELGIAN CERTIFICATION.
52. "Danish album certifications – Depeche Mode – Ultra". IFPI Denmark. 1 April 1997. Click on næste to go to page if certification from official website
53. "American album certifications – Depeche Mode – Ultra". Recording Industry Association of America. 7 August 1997. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
54. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1998 Awards". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2014.