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seedarklyxeroWelcome to SeeDarkly Sunday DisCOVERies:
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
First time here? Click here for details from first entry.
It's time for another Fifth Sunday A La Mode, highlighting one of near countless covers of Depeche Mode. This month our featured cover comes to us from a gothic rock band of whom I otherwise don't really share the popular opinion of those among the scene who are their fans. And not for lack of trying. I've given their discography a chance. I've heard it all and every time they release something new, I always listen through it, hoping something will catch my ear and impress me. Unfortunately, until their release of this cover, they have always let me down:
Bella Morte - Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode)
Never Let Me Down Again was released in August 1987 as the second single of their sixth studio album, Music For The Masses (which was not itself released until the following month.) Debatably their most popular song while also not necessarily their most successful hit, Never may in fact be the one single they've performed more than any other throughout their career.
This is another of their songs of which there are ridiculously many covers. Among the more notable are those by Berlin, The Mission U.K., Tina Root of Switchblade Symphony (as Tre Lux,) and Smashing Pumpkins (a personal favorite of Martin Gore's from the 1998 For The Masses multi-artist compilation.) And One, who has performed the song live on numerous occasions, was supposed to have released an E.P. with a recorded version of the cover in 2007, but plans for the E.P. were cancelled in favor of his full length Bodypop 1½, which excluded it. (Perhaps such a recording is currently hidden in a secret vault somewhere?)
Just before Halloween in 2014, Belle Morte released their most recent album, Exorcisms, featuring a cover of Never Let Me Down Again as the second track. In complete subjective honesty, I was surprised I liked it so much. For once, despite my contrarian opinion of the band, I found their approach to the song perfectly suited their overall style and sound, especially the deep and resonant vocals by Andy Deane (which, on most of their other tracks, typically turn me off.) Where the original is rooted in synthpop-dance-goth, this guitar-driven gothic synth-rock interpretation adds an appropriate layer of angst-ridden suffering to the character of the song. It may come across as a back-handed compliment, even still I wish I liked any of the rest of the album (or their back catalog) as much. But where Belle Morte is concerned, I'll gladly take what I finally got from them and hope their next builds on what they achieved with this:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
An unanticipated industrial interpretation of 90's dance pop... I'm shocked I'd never heard it before last month and I can't wait to share it with you!
Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome!
I have a bit of a break in my schedule for now but my next gig is in August. Click through for details and if you attend any event I spin feel free to request anything you find here that you like! ^_^
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
July 24 - Zeromancer - Send Me An Angel (Real Life)
July 17 - Nine Inch Nails - Get Down Make Love (Queen)
July 10 - Portishead - SOS (ABBA)
July 03 - Mechanical Cabaret - Desperate But Not Serious (Adam Ant)
June 26 - Neuroticfish - They're Coming to Take Me Away (Napoleon XIV)
Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
First time here? Click here for details from first entry.
It's time for another Fifth Sunday A La Mode, highlighting one of near countless covers of Depeche Mode. This month our featured cover comes to us from a gothic rock band of whom I otherwise don't really share the popular opinion of those among the scene who are their fans. And not for lack of trying. I've given their discography a chance. I've heard it all and every time they release something new, I always listen through it, hoping something will catch my ear and impress me. Unfortunately, until their release of this cover, they have always let me down:
Bella Morte - Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode)
Never Let Me Down Again was released in August 1987 as the second single of their sixth studio album, Music For The Masses (which was not itself released until the following month.) Debatably their most popular song while also not necessarily their most successful hit, Never may in fact be the one single they've performed more than any other throughout their career.
This is another of their songs of which there are ridiculously many covers. Among the more notable are those by Berlin, The Mission U.K., Tina Root of Switchblade Symphony (as Tre Lux,) and Smashing Pumpkins (a personal favorite of Martin Gore's from the 1998 For The Masses multi-artist compilation.) And One, who has performed the song live on numerous occasions, was supposed to have released an E.P. with a recorded version of the cover in 2007, but plans for the E.P. were cancelled in favor of his full length Bodypop 1½, which excluded it. (Perhaps such a recording is currently hidden in a secret vault somewhere?)
Just before Halloween in 2014, Belle Morte released their most recent album, Exorcisms, featuring a cover of Never Let Me Down Again as the second track. In complete subjective honesty, I was surprised I liked it so much. For once, despite my contrarian opinion of the band, I found their approach to the song perfectly suited their overall style and sound, especially the deep and resonant vocals by Andy Deane (which, on most of their other tracks, typically turn me off.) Where the original is rooted in synthpop-dance-goth, this guitar-driven gothic synth-rock interpretation adds an appropriate layer of angst-ridden suffering to the character of the song. It may come across as a back-handed compliment, even still I wish I liked any of the rest of the album (or their back catalog) as much. But where Belle Morte is concerned, I'll gladly take what I finally got from them and hope their next builds on what they achieved with this:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
An unanticipated industrial interpretation of 90's dance pop... I'm shocked I'd never heard it before last month and I can't wait to share it with you!
Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome!
I have a bit of a break in my schedule for now but my next gig is in August. Click through for details and if you attend any event I spin feel free to request anything you find here that you like! ^_^
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
July 24 - Zeromancer - Send Me An Angel (Real Life)
July 17 - Nine Inch Nails - Get Down Make Love (Queen)
July 10 - Portishead - SOS (ABBA)
July 03 - Mechanical Cabaret - Desperate But Not Serious (Adam Ant)
June 26 - Neuroticfish - They're Coming to Take Me Away (Napoleon XIV)
Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies