Martin Gore - Counterfeit 2
(Mute)
Gore has been guiding Depeche Mode to world domination and healthy bank accounts ever since their genius leader, Vince Clarke left to form Yaz (and then Erasure) after their marvelous debut over 20 years ago. You're forgiven, then, if you're expecting his debut solo album to be a bunch of stale DM leftovers that Dave Gahan refused to sing. Luckily, the only remnants of the Mode are the atmospheric, downbeat melancholia of many of the songs here, all covers [as was his debut EP, Counterfeit].
Beginning your first solo effort with "In My Time of Dying" is not exactly an enticing welcome, and turning David Essex's "Stardust" into a morose dirge is another challenging decision. "I Cast A Lonely Shadow" has a funky, techno-industrial backbeat and Gore adopts a suave, Bryan Ferry delivery method to add to its enjoyment.
A somber interpretation of Julee Cruise's "In My Other World" is an unusual, yet surprisingly effective choice to add a more etheric tone to the album. Another highlight (of many) is Eno and Cluster's "By This River," which Gore turns into a haunting, electronic lullaby. And speaking of lullabies, Kurt Weill's "Lost In The Stars" is a cute, nursery rhyme for little ones, but is better suited to a Marianne Faithfull or Tom Waits—someone with a weather beaten, besotted vocal to begin with. Gore's monotonic delivery is more grating, verging on parody, and doesn't do the song justice. Also worth ignoring are his versions of Nick Cave's "Loverman" and Bowie's "Tiny Girls," both horrible songs to begin with. And Lennon's "Oh My Love" totally betrays his ties to DM and sounds like it would have been better suited to one of their B-sides.
The metallic k.o. of "Das Lied Vom Einsamen Madchen" (perhaps best known from Nico's Garbo-esque interpretation) out-Reznors Nine Inch Nails and is highly recommended to listeners who might wonder what Kraftwerk would sound like if they decided to tackle the industrial wasteland.
Overall, a promising debut album from an artist who is obviously keeping his own compositions for future DM releases, but I'd like to hear some of them in a solo setting next time out.
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