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Perhaps part of it has to do with the shift (again) in producers. The new sound, rougher, less polished and almost tin can-like at times, is a real detriment. As mentioned earlier, the formerly subtle and musical guitar work became blaring and out of place. Then again, maybe it is the song-writing itself. Many of the songs, even the good ones, don't follow through to logical conclusions; they don't rise in intensity when the lyrics or whatever indicate they should, so they end up sounding badly crafted. This was certainly the case with "Enjoy the Silence," where almost every single version was better than the album version. Or perhaps it has to do with the changing musical environment. I didn't adapt and Depeche Mode did. This, of course, implies that Depeche Mode sold out, in a way, to society. Most likely it was a subtle combination of all of these factors. I really, really tried hard to like this album, and although for any other band it would be considered an excellent piece, it wasn't up to the standard Depeche Mode had set for themselves with the last three albums. In fact, the first song, "World in My Eyes" is a good example of most of the things that were starting to go wrong with Depeche Mode already. It sounds clunky rather than polished, and worst of all, it is actually rather boring! Unfortunately, the b-sides accompanying the single are among the best songs released during this period, especially "Sea of Sin." When the b-sides are better than the "hits" you know something's wrong! "Sweetest Perfection" has even more problems, and it can't seem to quite find it's niche on the album. Although it should technically be one of the better songs, since it is more artistically crafted, I've had a hard time really enjoying it much at all. "Personal Jesus" is perhaps Depeche Mode's most successful song ever. Certainly it's a good song, especially on some of the singel versions where it actually sounds like a Depeche Mode song instead of the album version, where the hoaky guitar really gets in the way. Again, the single versions are very good, and the b-side song "Dangerous" is one of the better songs Depeche Mode did this year. "Halo" got some well deserved attention. It is a good song, reflecting many of the ideals that made Depeche Mode great. Although I have a serious hang-up with the newer style, which is evident on "Halo" as on all the songs in the album, this is still one of the better songs of the album. "Waiting for the Night" is another song that rates up there near the top of the album. It showcases Gore's ability to write a touching and tender song, and it's really the first song in the last two albums that accomplished that successfully. "Enjoy the Silence," another one of the best known songs from the album is next, and as I mentioned earlier, the single versions are normally quite a bit better than the album version. This is really a shame, I think, since it's one of the best songs the band has done, and single-handedly makes Violator a real contender as an album. "Policy of Truth" is another song that almost made it. It is really good, lyrically and musically except for one big problem: the hoaky guitar effects. Nobody in Depeche Mode is really a talented enough guitar player to try using the instrument as a major voice. It worked well, especially in Music for the Masses as a subtle effect, and where used subtly on this song it sounds very much like it could have come from that album. However, the big droopy guitar sounds that Gore seemed to have loved this year make it drop to an almost great song when it should have been one of the best one's on the album. The next two songs, "Blue Dress" and "Clean" are very much what you would expect by this time. They would be great songs by any other band, especially "Blue Dress" (which shows some of Gore's poignancy again) but they are somewhat disappointing from Depeche Mode. In fact, "Clean" can almost be said to be boring at times.
Overall, Violator is a good album, but one that was not nearly as good as the others that came before. Unfortunately, from my point of view, it was DM's most commercially successful, so it insured that the album's disturbing trends were only magnified in the next one to come out. Perhaps I judge it too harshly; by my own admission, it would be a great album from anyone else. However, Depeche Mode had been, up until now, the best band that the modern music scene had ever seen, and Violator just wasn't up to snuff.
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