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★★★★★ 4.5 points (18 reviews)


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  • Issued : 15 Apr 1997
  • Availability : Deleted Items
    This item has been deleted by the manufacturer and is therefore no longer available for order
  • Point  :   1points / 100yen

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Item Details

Genre : Rock & Pop Catalogue Number : 46522
Format : CD Label : Reprise/wea
Issued : 15 Apr 1997 Item sourced from : UK
Number of Discs : 1

Ultra

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Other Versions

  • LP   EUR Edition   ¥3,800   Reissue LP (EUR Import)   Released: 08 Oct 2007  
  • CD   US Edition   ¥1,101   Reissue CD (US Import)   Released: 27 Sep 2011  

HMV Review

When news surfaced in 1995 that Alan Wilder had departed Depeche Mode to concentrate on his solo project Recoil, the immediate concern among fans was whether the band would be able to hit past heights again. Though Wilder's profile was always much lesser than that of Martin Gore and David Gahan -- and almost even that of Alan Fletcher, whose nonperformance live has always been a running joke in the fan community and who freely admits to generally being around merely to maintain a vibe with his childhood friend Gore -- his capability at arranging the songs over the years gave the band its increasingly distinct, unique edge. Combined with Gahan's near suicide and lengthy recovery from drugs, things looked bleak. Happily, Ultra turned out a winner; hooking up with Tim Simenon, longtime U.K. dance maven and producer of arty fare such as Gavin Friday's Adam 'n' Eve, Depeche delivered a strong album as a rejuvenated band. The most immediate change was Gahan's singing; for the first time ever, he took singing lessons beforehand, and his new control and projection simply shines, especially on the marvelous It's No Good, a pulsing, tense, yet beautiful song with another deeply romantic Gore lyric. Opener Barrel of a Gun continues in the vein of arena-level stompers like Never Let Me Down Again and I Feel You, with huge drum slams and scratching to boot, but Ultra mostly covers subtler territory, such as the slightly creepy Sister of Night and the gentle The Love Thieves. Gore sings two winners: the orchestral, slow dance groove Home and The Bottom Line, featuring steel guitar and Can's Jaki Liebezeit on drums, distinctly different territory for Depeche. Closing with Insight, a quite lovely, building ballad, Ultra showed Depeche wasn't ready to quit by any means. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi

Credits

Daniel Miller(Synthesizer),  Danny Cummings(Percussion),  David Clayton(Keyboards),  Doug Wimbish(Bass),  Gota Yashiki(Drums),  Jaki Liebezeit(Drums),  Jaki Liebezeit(Percussion),  Keith Leblanc(Drums),  Victor Endrizzio(Percussion),  Bj Cole(Pedal Steel),  Q.(Engineer),  Tim Simenon(Producer),  Anton Corbijn(Art Direction),  Anton Corbijn(Photography),  Audie Chamberlain(Assistant Engineer),  Gary Forde(Assistant Engineer),  Guy Massey(Assistant Engineer),  Jamie Campbell(Assistant Engineer),  Kerry Hopwood(Programming),  Lee Phillips(Assistant Engineer),  Martin L Gore(Composer),  Mike Marsh(Mastering),  Paul Hicks(Assistant Engineer),  Q.(Mixing),  Robbie Kazandjian(Assistant Engineer),  Tim Simenon(Mixing),  Tom Rixton(Assistant Engineer),  David Clayton(Keyboard Programming),  Alan Fletcher,  David Gahan,  Martin L Gore

Songs

  •   
    1
    Barrel of a Gun  (05:35)
  •   
    2
    Love Thieves  (06:34)
  •   
    3
    Home  (05:42)
  •   
    4
    It's No Good  (05:58)
  •   
    5
    Uselink  (02:21)
  •   
    6
    Useless  (05:12)
  •   
    7
    Sister of Night  (06:04)
  •   
    8
    Jazz Thieves  (02:54)
  •   
    9
    Freestate  (06:43)
  •   
    10
    Bottom Line  (04:26)
  •   
    11
    Insight  (06:26)
  •   
    12
    Junior Painkiller  (02:09)

Customer Reviews

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  • ★★★★★ 

    pegina400  |  三重県  |  40year  |  10/October/2010

    これが彼らの最高傑作です、間違いない。世の中不思議だね、ソング〜が最高とか言う人もいるんだから。ありゃどう考えたってオーバープロデュースだし、メロディーラインもチープでっせ。ま、嫌いじゃないけど。俺は70年代からずっとロック&ポップスフリーク、併せてDMファンを自認してきたけど、このアルバムが最高傑作なんて笑わせる…もっと聴き込めよ…みたいなこと言ってる人は、一体どういう脳ミソをしてて、音楽に何を求めてるのか知りたいもんだ〔因みに俺レコード1万枚、CD1万枚以上持ってますけど〕。左脳で聴いちゃだめだよ、右脳で、音そのものを構造として捉えなきゃ。このアルバムを大したことないとか言うヤツは、自らの俗っぽさを反省しなさい。まともで正しいDMファンの皆さん、代弁しといたからね。笑。

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  • ★★★★★ 

    HARD NORMAL DADDY  |  不明  |  29/April/2009

    '97年発表。転落、そして再生の歌。なんてサブ・タイトルを私たちは安易につけたがる。シンガー、デイヴ・ガーンの自殺未遂、ドラッグに絡む逮捕という一連の騒ぎの後では、バンドが元に戻って(とは言え、95年にアラン・ワイルダーが脱退し、本作からはトリオになっているが)アルバムを作っただけでも奇跡のように思えるのだから。しかし、93年の前作「ソングス・フォー・フェイス&デヴォーション」でついに世界の頂点を極めた後の、この運命の皮肉な変転、それがもたらした精神的なダメージは、ハタからは簡単に測りがたいものに違いない。 それにしても堂々のカムバックだ。壮麗にして陰影に富んだエレクトロニック・ポップという彼らの昔からのコアの部分を維持しつつ、サウンド面ではさらに冒険的(プロデューサーのティム・シムノンの手腕が冴える)でハードかつヘビーになり、

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  • ★★★★★ 

    musuka  |  不明  |  20/March/2007

    重たいです…が、その重たさ加減が私には、たまりません♪ DMのアルバムの中で一番薦めたい作品です♪

    2 people agree with this review

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