JOHN EARLS
It wasn’t perhaps obvious that Delta Machine had been the concluding part of a trilogy. Dave Gahan talked a good game when explaining in the run-up to Spirit that Depeche’s previous three longplayers should be considered as a “run” of albums. True, they’d all been produced by Ben Hillier… but it’s unlikely that future generations of fans will consider Hillier’s work to form a linked artistic triptych to rival, say, The Cure’s Trilogy tour of Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers.
Although Andy Fletcher has since somewhat waspishly stated that Hillier’s production was a bit full-on at times, any failings on the previous three albums shouldn’t be attributed to a capable producer like Hillier. Instead, in retrospect Delta Machine seems to draw a line in the sand for the internal politics that had frequently threatened to rise, like a whack-a-mole, to see off Depeche for good. Playing The Angel, Sounds Of The Universe and Delta Machine are far from terrible albums. The latter, in particular, is an exemplar of their doomier internal monologues. But nor are any of the three likely to be mentioned among most Depeche fans’ all-time faves. Unlike Spirit… The making of Spirit wasn’t without its tensions, as Dave Gahan muttered darkly about feeling dismissed by Martin Gore for apparently failing to see the metaphor of life’s beauty in Cover Me, one of four songs the singer co-writes on Spirit. But, as Gahan stated, he and Depeche’s perennially established songwriter had finally recognised each other’s place in the band.