Depeche Mode - "Lie To Me"

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

So, you've got this burbling, syncopated bass line rolling throughout the song, accented by a snareless beat that just marches along in the epitome of Depeche Mode melancholy. Lyrically, this is Martin Gore channelling Morrissey, forcing David Gahan to sing lines that just don't flow at all, yet couldn't possibly be changed. The whole melody/countermelody thing going on on the last refrain is fantastic and is probably their most effective vocal arrangement up to this time. (They would reach their pinnacle on "Waiting For The Night", but you can see the prototype for that arrangement in this song.)

Pretty much the definition of "classic", I think.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 31 March 2003 13:35 (twenty-one years ago) link

Absolutely one of their best moments. What is that sound used as "percussion" from the beginning btw?

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 31 March 2003 13:40 (twenty-one years ago) link

What album is this on? I am trying to work out why I have no recollection at all of this song.

― Nicole (Nicole), Monday, 31 March 2003 13:50 (twenty-one years ago) link

It's the second track on _Some Great Reward_, Nicole.

Geir, are you talking about the bass synth or the drum-machine toms (I think their from an 808)?

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 31 March 2003 13:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

Ah! That makes sense, since that's one album I have never gotten around to.

― Nicole (Nicole), Monday, 31 March 2003 14:04 (twenty-one years ago) link

What! *weeps*

I'm thinking a DM flood via certain channels would be useful.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 31 March 2003 14:06 (twenty-one years ago) link

Seriously, that's maybe their second- or third-best album (behind _Black Celebration_ and, depending on my mood, either _Construction Time Again_ or _Violator_ or neither).

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 31 March 2003 14:20 (twenty-one years ago) link

Wow. What an incredibly boring song.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Monday, 31 March 2003 18:55 (twenty-one years ago) link

What were you looking for that the song didn't provide, Kenny?

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 31 March 2003 18:59 (twenty-one years ago) link

I'm not sure. Something to show me what it is that I've been missing about this band. Possibly something like "Strangelove," which is the closest I've come to liking Depeche Mode.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Monday, 31 March 2003 20:49 (twenty-one years ago) link

"Lie To Me" has a very different feel from "Strangelove"; I'd suggest investigating songs like "Sacred", "Halo", "Higher Love", "Rush", "Home", "Barrel of a Gun", "Black Celebration", "Fly On The Windscreen", or "Happiest Girl".

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 31 March 2003 21:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

Geir, are you talking about the bass synth or the drum-machine toms (I think their from an 808)?

None of them. Speaking of the sampled sound that is sort of used as "percussion" throughout. Possibly sounds like a knife being sharpened or something like that.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 09:29 (twenty-one years ago) link

Ah. I assumed it was a backwards cymbal crash elongated via the wonderful magic of technology.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 12:13 (twenty-one years ago) link

one year passes...

I just played this song in the midst of a veritable orgy of Depeche Mode songs and it's still outstanding.

― The Ghost of Say I'm The Only One (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 17:58 (nineteen years ago) link

yeah and only the 2nd best non-single of the lp.
'if you want' is a decade ahead of it's time.

― piscesboy, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 18:06 (nineteen years ago) link

Depeche phases are great to have, aren't they? :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 18:29 (nineteen years ago) link

Piscesboy, what exactly are you hearing in "If You Want"? I think it's very much of its time -- as a contemporary with tracks like "People are People" and "Get the Balance Right" (unless you are arguing that all those tracks are ahead of their time).

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 18:44 (nineteen years ago) link

it's the tempo. sounds like proto-house. always loved it.
and yeah, known fact that 'get the balance right' was the uk's first house tune.

― piscesboy, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 19:14 (nineteen years ago) link

They somewhat managed to release some of the worst songs as singles off "Some Great Reward". Not speaking of "Blasphemous Rumours" here, which is one of their best ever moments, but "Master & Servant" never impressed me much, and "People Are People" isn't quite as great as it is rumoured to be either. "Lie To Me" is a truly great track though, as are also "If You Want", "It Doesn't Matter" and, most of all, "Stories Of Old".

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 24 March 2005 02:10 (nineteen years ago) link

Also, revive:
Depeche Mode OP10

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 24 March 2005 02:29 (nineteen years ago) link

two years pass...

Anyway, so Dan is incredibly right about this.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 3 April 2007 04:52 (seventeen years ago) link

Also, that extended vocal wail from Martin (I presume) after the final chorus is this song's secret weapon.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 3 April 2007 04:55 (seventeen years ago) link

http://depechemodegay.ytmnd.com/

― gershy, Tuesday, 3 April 2007 05:57 (seventeen years ago) link

I remember particularly liking this track. It's not often I'll praise DM, either.

― Bimble, Tuesday, 3 April 2007 06:00 (seventeen years ago) link

seven years pass...

More about the full album, this, but I do start with "Lie to Me," so:

http://thequietus.com/articles/16246-depeche-mode-some-great-reward

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 15 September 2014 14:20 (nine years ago) link

The demo is pretty sweet.

― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 15 September 2014 16:47 (nine years ago) link

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.