Condemnation (song)

"Condemnation"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Songs of Faith and Devotion
B-side
  • "Death's Door" (Jazz mix)
  • "Rush" (remixes)
Released13 September 1993 (1993-09-13)
Studio
GenreGospel
Length3:22
LabelMute
SongwriterMartin Gore
Producers
  • Depeche Mode
  • Flood
  • Alan Wilder ("Paris Mix" version)
  • Steve Lyon ("Paris Mix" version)
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Walking in My Shoes"
(1993) 		"Condemnation"
(1993) 		"In Your Room"
(1994)
Music video
"Condemnation" on YouTube
Alternative cover
Cover for the limited edition single

"Condemnation" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 13 September 1993 by Mute Records as the third single from the band's eighth studio album, Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993). The song reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 3 in Sweden, and No. 1 in Portugal. Its music video was directed by Anton Corbijn.

The B-sides to the "Condemnation" single are remixes of "Death's Door" and "Rush" plus some live tracks from the Devotional Tour. "Death's Door" is a song from the 1991 Until the End of the World soundtrack. The original version, recorded by Martin Gore and Alan Wilder after the World Violation Tour was over, was exclusive to that album until the 2020s MODE box compilation.

Background

Main article: Songs of Faith and Devotion

"Condemnation" was written by songwriter Martin Gore.[2] In February 1992, the band convened at a villa near Madrid, Spain, to start the recording sessions for the album, at which time they were presented with the demo for the song.[3] The sessions were fraught with struggles, as lead singer Dave Gahan was struggling with an addiction to heroin, and the rest of the band found themselves frequently at odds.[4]

Recording

Recording for the song began during the Madrid sessions in February 1992.[3] "Condemnation" began with the band jamming together.[5]

Described as "gospel-like",[6] for "Condemnation", Wilder said that "the idea ... was to enhance the gospel feel that the song originally had ... and to try and create the effect of it being played in a room, a space."[7] The early version of the song included all four band members performing in the same space — Fletcher bashing a flight case with a pole, producer Flood and Gahan clapping, Wilder playing a drum and Gore playing an organ.[8] The sound gave the band a direction as to how the track should sound.[8] Sound engineer Steve Lyon remembered that originally, the song was supposed to be sung by Gore, but Gahan convinced Gore to let him sing it instead.[9]

For the final recording, Lyon remembered that Gahan had set up the space with candles, and that "the vibe was good" for recording.[9] Gahan delivered what he thought was the finest vocal performance of his career, despite his struggles with addiction.[10] Said Gahan, "It was done under the studio in Madrid, a low-ceilinged place – very concrete and metal, and echoey and cold, and it had a great sound and a great ambience. When I came out, everybody in the control room went all quiet and turned around, and suddenly Flood said, 'That was fucking great!' And Alan [Wilder] and everybody said, 'That's probably the best vocal you ever did' – and I thought, 'Yeah, it was.' It was completely breaking me up inside, and, at the same time, it was really optimistic and uplifting."[10] He said later of the song that "There are a lot of words in there that were entirely apt to the way I was feeling. And I really felt, for the first time, the words flowing through me as if I had written them."[10]

For the song's backing vocal, the band did not use backing singers.[10] Instead, according to Gore, "It is actually sung in an old gospel quartet style. We basically worked out the parts and sang them – we didn't sample vocals, we just sang the parts like a quartet. So it was very interesting to do that, and I think Dave [Gahan] has given his best vocal performance ever on the track."[10] Band member Alan Wilder said "We did that particular vocal in Madrid, and the house we'd set up the studio in had a very echoey-tiled room, down in the garage."[10]

Release and promotion

"Condemnation" was released as the third single from the album on 13 September 1993.[2] In the UK, Mute Records released the single in a pair of commercial formats: a 12" single given catalogue number 12BONG23 and a limited edition 12" vinyl single (L12BONG23).[11] In addition, a 7" vinyl single (BONG23) and two 12" vinyl singles (P12BONG23 and PL12BONG23R) were released promotionally.[11] Wilder and Lyon had remixed the song for its 12" release at Studio Guillaume Tell in Paris, giving the remix the name "Paris Mix".[2] 12BONG23's B-side were remixes of the album track "Rush" with mixes provided by Jack Dangers and "Death's Door" with a remix by Depeche Mode and Lyon.[2] The B-side of L12BONG23 contained live tracks recorded on the band's then-current Devotional Tour on 15 July 1993 in Madrid, Spain.[2]

In the US, label Sire Records did not want to release "Condemnation" as a single, instead preferring album track "One Caress".[12] To that end, Sire commissioned a video for "One Caress", directed by Kevin Kerslake, and issued "One Caress" on a promotional CD format (catalogue number PRO-CD-6626) before changing their minds and releasing "Condemnation" in the US as a single after all.[12]

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by the Dutch photographer, film director and music video director Anton Corbijn.[13] It was later made available on YouTube in July 2019.[14]

The video for "One Caress" was shot "in the freezing cold" in Chicago; the video for "Condemnation" was shot on 29 July 1993 near Budapest.[15]

Corbijn's music video did not appear on Depeche Mode's music video compilation, The Videos 86>98, in 1998, replaced by the live version from Devotional. The original video eventually was included on the compilation's 2002 re-release (Videos 86>98 +). Both videos appear on the Devotional DVD re-release from 2004, although the live video is not identical to the one in the main Devotional release. Kerslake's video for "One Caress" also appears on the 2002 re-release of Videos 86>98. Both Corbijn's original video and Kerslake's video appear on Video Singles Collection (2006).

Live performances

"Condemnation" was performed on the 1993–94 Devotional Tour and the 2001 Exciter Tour, released on Devotional (1993) and One Night in Paris (2002), respectively.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton described the song as "a haunting, beautiful ballad of the type they do so well".[17] David Fricke from Melody Maker viewed it as "typical, a song that almost makes it, a sly Anglican gospel take on R.E.M.'s Al Green experiment 'Everybody Hurts' that stumbles basically because Dave Gahan doesn't have the vocal authority to bring it home."[18] On the magazine's single review, music critic Peter Paphides said, "And it's all very anguished, intense and protracted, with lots of gospel singing going on in the background and a bit of real piano, none of your fancy keyboards, and MTV will play it every 10 minutes until the end of the century."[19] Alan Jones from Music Week gave it a score of four out of five, writing, "One of the more atypical singles in Depeche Mode's career, this slow gospel-style song bears a lusty, full force vocal, but a reverential and reserved instrumental track. Subtle and stylish."[20]

Sam Wood from Philadelphia Inquirer noted that the band "appropriates gospel harmonies and the rhythms of Southern slave chants for 'Condemnation', a song that defies the judgment of some unnamed Philistine accuser".[21] Andrew Harrison from Select named it the low point of the album, "with Gahan in the dock for some unspecified crime of the heart and the Mode doing an acceptable deep South spiritual thing, all clanking chains and heartfelt groaning."[22] Tom Doyle from Smash Hits also gave the song four out of five, adding, "You always expect the strangest things to happen in the world of pop, but Depeche Mode going gospel?! The Bizarre thing is, it really works too. Dave Gahan is joined by a gospel choir and the result is quite the best thing since, well, the last Depeche Mode single. Life is weird."[23]

Track listings

All songs were written by Martin Gore. All live tracks were recorded at The Forum (Milan, Italy) in 1993.

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 13 September 1993
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Mute [51]
Australia 20 September 1993
  • CD
  • cassette
  • Liberation
  • Mute
 [52]
Japan 1 October 1993 CD Mute [53]

References

  1. ^ Shaw, William (April 1993). "In The Mode". Details: 90–95, 168. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 216.
  3. ^ a b Gittins 2018, p. 157.
  4. ^ Hallard & Lane (2006)
  5. ^ Gittins 2018, p. 155.
  6. ^ Weidenbaum, Marc (May 1993). "Fashion Victims". Pulse! (magazine). No. 114. pp. 49–53.
  7. ^ Miller 2003, p. 481.
  8. ^ a b Doerschuk, Robert L. (July 1993). "Modus Operandi". Sound on Sound. ISSN 0951-6816. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2013 – via Playingtheangel.com.
  9. ^ a b Depeche Mode – Interview With S.O.F.A.D Engineer Steve Lyon by Vaughn George on YouTube
  10. ^ a b c d e f Miller 2003, p. 488.
  11. ^ a b Burmeister & Lange 2017, pp. 216–217.
  12. ^ a b Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 217.
  13. ^ "Depeche Mode: Condemnation". IMDb. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Depeche Mode – Condemnation (Paris Mix) (Official Video)". YouTube. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  15. ^ Miller 2003, p. 550.
  16. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Condemnation – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  17. ^ Masterton, James (19 September 1993). "Week Ending September 25th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  18. ^ Fricke, David (13 March 1993). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 30. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  19. ^ Paphides, Peter (18 September 1993). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 36. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  20. ^ Jones, Alan (18 September 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream – Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 16. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  21. ^ Wood, Sam (30 March 1993). "Depeche Mode Meditates on Religion with 'Songs of Faith and Devotion'". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  22. ^ Harrison, Andrew (April 1993). "Reviews: New Albums". Select. p. 75. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  23. ^ Doyle, Tom (15 September 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 51. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  24. ^ Condemnation (UK CD single liner notes). Mute Records. 1993. CD Bong 23.
  25. ^ Condemnation (Japanese CD single liner notes). Mute Records. 1993. ALCB-848.
  26. ^ Live... (UK limited CD single liner notes). Mute Records. 1993. LCD Bong 23.
  27. ^ Live... (UK limited 12-inch single sleeve). Mute Records. 1993. L12 Bong 23.
  28. ^ Condemnation (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Mute Records. 1993. 12 Bong 23.
  29. ^ Condemnation (UK cassette single sleeve). Mute Records. 1993. C Bong 23.
  30. ^ Condemnation (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Sire Records, Reprise Records, Mute Records. 1993. 9 41058-2.
  31. ^ Condemnation (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Sire Records, Reprise Records, Mute Records. 1993. 0-41058.
  32. ^ Condemnation (US maxi-cassette single cassette notes). Sire Records, Reprise Records, Mute Records. 1993. 4-41058.
  33. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  34. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 42. 16 October 1993. p. 18. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  35. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 41. 9 October 1993. p. 15. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  36. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 42. 16 October 1993. p. 30. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  37. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  38. ^ "Depeche Mode – Condemnation" (in French). Le classement de singles.
  39. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name.
  40. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Condemnation (EP)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  41. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Depeche Mode".
  42. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 49. 4 December 1993. p. 12. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  43. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  44. ^ "Depeche Mode – Condemnation". Singles Top 100.
  45. ^ "Depeche Mode – Condemnation". Swiss Singles Chart.
  46. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 25/9/1993 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  47. ^ "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 2 October 1993. p. 30. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  48. ^ "Depeche Mode Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  49. ^ "Depeche Mode Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  50. ^ "Årstopplistan 1993, Singlar" (in Swedish). Grammotex. Archived from the original on 16 February 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  51. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 11 September 1993. p. 23. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  52. ^ "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 20/09/93: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 189. 19 September 1993. p. 18.
  53. ^ "デペッシュ・モード | コンデムネイション" [Depeche Mode | Condemnation] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 5 February 2025.

Works cited

  • Burmeister, Dennis; Lange, Sascha (2017). Depeche Mode: Monument. New York: Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-593-4.
  • Gittins, Ian (2018). Depeche Mode: Faith and Devotion. London: Palazzo Editions. ISBN 978-1-78675-064-8.
  • Hallard, Ross (director); Lane, Phil Michael (director) (2006). Depeche Mode: 1991–94 (We Were Going to Live Together, Record Together and It Was Going to Be Wonderful) (DVD). Mute Records.
  • Miller, Jonathan (2003). Stripped: The True Story of Depeche Mode. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-415-2.
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