Depeche Mode Members Solo - Who's Better?

Which Depeche Mode member is best on their own?

  • David Gahan

    Votes: 7 43.8%
  • Martin Gore

    Votes: 4 25.0%
  • Recoil (Alan Wilder)

    Votes: 1 6.3%
  • Erasure (Vince Clark)

    Votes: 4 25.0%

  • Total voters
    16

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Sugar Booger
Just bought David Gahans new album. Brilliant. He does very well on his own. Love his lyrics and music selection. I've listened to Recoil (Alan Wilder) and Martin Gore solo and was wondering what everyone else thought.
 
Vince is better on his own. Granted his songs are not as good these days, he has written some good tracks.

-Dave and Martin do an ok job solo, but nothing spectacular.
-Recoil is to abstract for me most of the time.
-So, that leaves Vince...(Speak and Spell is my fave DM album)
 
I see by your name, that you know what youre talking about. Has Clark done anything outside of Erasure? I really like Daves latest album. Do you know how much control he has over the music? Really like it. I had read that Martin wrote most of the lyrics for DM. Is that true? That bothered me and I hope its not. Anyway, Daves solo stuff really moved me. Martins not so much but maybe its just the song selections. Recoil is ok, but I agree, a little difficult to get into all the time. I thought Alan was very gifted, i wish he would have gone on to do more after he left.
 
And what the hell does Andrew Flethcer do anyway? Early on he did nothing. I saw them several times live. Nothing but walk around and wave while Martin and Alan were going off with their kits. I wouldnt even see Andrew start any of the tracks. He honestly did nothing except bang the pads during Master and Servant and Stripped, and I think that may be all. We always joked that Andrews keyboard was inflatable. Seriously, what the hell did he do? Was he a sound guy, or a compuetr whiz? What?
 
Martin Gore's first solo record is classic, in my opinion. I didn't like the second one enough to keep listening to it, but I think it is one of those records that would grow on you. I found that the production got in the way of the songs for me.

I do like Depeche Mode. My favorite song is Things You Said. I would like to hear Martin sing more of the songs. I wonder if there are demo versions with him singing? I think that some writers feel that they need a singer or a frontman to put their material across. Dave Gahan does that, in the tradition of rock lead singers like Roger Daltrey, though I actually see him as being closer to David Lee Roth. He dresses up in his little fetish outfits and whores himself out but it works for them.

I am not interested in any Dave Gahan solo records though. I'm definitely a fan of Martin Gore and I think that he probably has a good laugh at Dave doing his little new wave Elvis routine. But it's all in good fun.
 
Vince is better on his own. Granted his songs are not as good these days, he has written some good tracks.

-Dave and Martin do an ok job solo, but nothing spectacular.
-Recoil is to abstract for me most of the time.
-So, that leaves Vince...(Speak and Spell is my fave DM album)

Wow this was hard since they are all amazing in different ways. My favorite Depeche member is Alan but I voted for Martin. I really like his solo stuff even though he does covers, he adds his own touch which makes the songs great to hear...As for Dave, it took me awhile to get used to Paper Monsters and Hourglass. It seems like there are only a few really decent songs on each album. However i think his best work was on Playing the Angel....I have to agree with Depeche609 that Recoil is sometimes too abstract for me...And Vince, hes great with and without Depeche.
 
And what the hell does Andrew Flethcer do anyway? Early on he did nothing. I saw them several times live. Nothing but walk around and wave while Martin and Alan were going off with their kits. I wouldnt even see Andrew start any of the tracks. He honestly did nothing except bang the pads during Master and Servant and Stripped, and I think that may be all. We always joked that Andrews keyboard was inflatable. Seriously, what the hell did he do? Was he a sound guy, or a compuetr whiz? What?

The band has said Andy is like DMs in house manager so to speak. He does a lot of stuff behind the scenes apparently.

You can't really compare the current members solo output to what Vince Clarke has achieved with Erasure. Not everyone's cup of tea, but technically speaking, the man is a genius.

Also, not only is Violator Depeche Mode's finest hour, I honestly think it's the best album of all time. Absolutely flawless.
 
Wow...Dave..Martin..Vince..neck and neck......it's close..

poor recoil..

I do like the Bloodline cd by Recoil, but then Alan got too weird after that.
 
Depeche mode overdoes snyth like a Thai hooker overdoes makeup.

Recoil is ok, sort of. The solo stuff is blah.
 
And what the hell does Andrew Flethcer do anyway? Early on he did nothing. I saw them several times live. Nothing but walk around and wave while Martin and Alan were going off with their kits. I wouldnt even see Andrew start any of the tracks. He honestly did nothing except bang the pads during Master and Servant and Stripped, and I think that may be all. We always joked that Andrews keyboard was inflatable. Seriously, what the hell did he do? Was he a sound guy, or a compuetr whiz? What?

aw, come on now, give Fletch some credit. Depeche Mode would not be the same without him and he does alot more than that.
 
I doubt he has any real desire to do so, but I wish that Fletch would dust off his bass guitar and get out in front with Martin and Dave for concerts. That'd add another nice dimension to the live shows, and it'd free up the second keyboard spot for someone who played with it plugged in :) (I kid)

Truthfully, with the exception of Vince's work with Erasure (I think calling it "DM solo material" is probably a bit reaching), all of the members' individual projects seem to compliment DM's legacy rather than strike a new path for the one doing it.

That said, I absolutely love Martin's Counterfeit records. Paper Monsters didn't do anything for me (outside of a small handful of songs), but I was very happy with Hourglass. Recoil is enjoyable, but I was never enamored with it. I can't recall hearing anything solo from Fletch, but that group Client that he was associated with was pretty good. So it's kind of a mixed bag.
 
For me, it's Alan's Recoil project. I've loved DM since Black Celebration - a classic - when Alan began to have more influence in the sound. And DM today are poorer without him. Unsound Methods is a great Recoil lp.

Dave's stuff lacks killer tunes. Martin picks great writers to cover (Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Eno, Lennon) but the production is bereft of flair; the last Counterfeit lp is like the same long song. And Fletch is nothing but a passenger.

9 x Fined is right: Violator is the greatest album ever.
 
Truthfully, with the exception of Vince's work with Erasure (I think calling it "DM solo material" is probably a bit reaching), all of the members' individual projects seem to compliment DM's legacy rather than strike a new path for the one doing it.

I agree with you. I didn't like Dave's Paper Monster album, but Hourglass is a really good album. Martin's Counterfeit album was good, but for me not great. Alan music is a bit to out there for me to hear all the time. Vince has done a good job in Erasure, but I would love to hear a solo album from him. And poor Fletch, he has been there from the beginning so give him some credit.But what really needs to happen is all the current and past members of DM should get together and have a world tour!!:D
 
I agree with you. I didn't like Dave's Paper Monster album, but Hourglass is a really good album. Martin's Counterfeit album was good, but for me not great. Alan music is a bit to out there for me to hear all the time. Vince has done a good job in Erasure, but I would love to hear a solo album from him. And poor Fletch, he has been there from the beginning so give him some credit.But what really needs to happen is all the current and past members of DM should get together and have a world tour!!:D

Finally someone else stands up for Fletch:p Thank you! And I love your idea for a world tour, wouldnt that be something! :D
 
^^THAT WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE DREAM FOR ME! Yes, I did know that Martin attended the Santa Barbara show. I think he has a home at there!
 
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