Michael Joseph Jackson who was born  August 29, 1958 Gary, Indiana, United States died on  June 25, 2009 (aged 50) in Los Angeles, California United States. The pop legend and and perhaps its most enigmatic figure, was about to attempt one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Then his life was cut shockingly — and so far, mysteriously — short.

according to msn,
The 50-year-old musical superstar died Thursday, just as he was preparing for what would be a series of 50 concerts starting July 13 at London’s famed 02 arena. Jackson had been spending hours and hours toiling with a team of dancers for a performance he and his fans hoped would restore his tarnished legacy to its proper place in pop.

An autopsy was planned for Friday, though results were not likely to be final until toxicology tests could be completed, a process that could take several days and sometimes weeks. However, if a cause can be determined by the autopsy, they will announce the results, said Los Angeles County Coroner Investigator Jerry McKibben.

bbc posted the news as follow,
Paramedics were called to the singer’s Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.

He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Jackson’s brother, Jermaine, said he was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.

Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK, beginning on 13 July.

Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.

He added: “The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time.”

“And Allah be with you Michael, always. I love you.”

TV footage showed the star’s body flown from UCLA to the LA County Coroner’s office where a post-mortem is expected to take place on Friday.

Concerns were raised last month when four of Jackson’s planned comeback concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.

A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.

Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: “I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.

“I’m wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.

“It was wishful thinking that, at this stage of his life, he could be Michael Jackson again.”

Tributes have poured in from the entertainment industry. Sir Paul McCartney described Jackson’s death as ” sad and shocking”.

The pair worked together on two hit tracks, Say Say, Say and The Girl Is Mine from Jackson’s Thriller album.

He said ” I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy-man with a gentle soul.

“His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.

“I send my deepest sympathy to his mother and the whole family, and to his countless fans all around the world.”

Speaking outside New York’s historic Apollo theatre, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.

“I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me,” he said.

“I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media.”

Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of “pandemonium”.

“At the moment there is a period of disbelief. He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras - it’s absolute craziness.

“I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture.”

Jackson is undoubtedly a music legend and one of the greatest ever live he was the 7th child of his family and made his début to the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1969, in 1971 he started a solo career and rocked the whole world with his vocals and fine beats Referred to as the “King of Pop” in subsequent years, his 1982 album Thriller is the world’s best-selling record of all time and four other solo studio albums are also among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).

Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. He was one of those persons that changed the way people see pop music and took the music videos to a whole new level, it was due to the popularity of his music videos that the music channels became so popular. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists. While Jackson was a member of Generation Jones, he had an impact on multiple generations.

Many of Jackson’s famous friends or followers issued statements to pay tribute to the King of Pop’s legacy. Here are some of their memorials:

Madonna: “I can’t stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless.”

Quincy Jones: “I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words. Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the 80’s. To this day, the music we created together on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all…talent, grace, professionalism and dedication.He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

Paul McCartney: “I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.”

Justin Timberlake: “We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.”

Eddie Van Halen: “I am really shocked; as I’m sure the world is, to hear the news. I had the pleasure of working with Michael on ‘Beat It’ back in ‘83 — one of my fondest memories in my career. Michael will be missed and may he rest in peace.”

Diana Ross: “I can’t stop crying; this is too sudden and shocking. I am unable to imagine this. My heart is hurting. I am in prayer for his kids and the family.” (MTV)

John Mayer: Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ. I think we’ll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to Thriller on the record player. I truly hope he is memorialized as the ‘83 moonwalking, MTV owning, mesmerizing, unstoppable, invincible Michael Jackson.” (via Twitter)

Steven Spielberg: “Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend.” (EW)

The Roots’ ?uestlove: “i know we make light of me never getting sleep and overworking. but i’ll say that he didn’t go in vein. i will do my best to slow down as to not overwork myself to the point in which i can’t even enjoy life anymore. im am devastated over this but we all have memories. i just hope that he will get due justice in all the press memorials and whatnot. i know he was mired in controversy the last decade of his life but i think its time we let him rest in peace and learn to separate the ART and the ARTIST. –that is the MJ i will forever remember.” (via Twitter)

Lisa Marie Presley: “I am so very sad and confused with every emotion possible. I am heartbroken for his children, who I know were everything to him, and for his family. This is such a massive loss on so many levels, words fail me.”

Britney Spears: “I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!” (People)

Lil Wayne: “I personally can’t believe it. But it’s more unfortunate for the world of music. … My love goes out to his family. … A sad day in history, not [just] music.” (MTV)

Beyoncé: “This is such a tragic loss and a terrible day. The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music. He was magic. He was what we all strive to be. He will always be the King of Pop! Life is not about how many breaths you take, but about how many moments in life that take your breath away. For anyone who has ever seen, felt or heard his art, we are all honored to have been alive in this generation to experience the magic of Michael Jackson. I love you, Michael.”

Chris Brown: “Michael Jackson is the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer. I am devastated by this great loss, and I will continue to be humbled and inspired by his legacy. My prayers are with his family. Michael will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. He’s the greatest … the best ever. No one will ever be better.”

The Recording Academy President Neil Portnow: “Rarely has the world received a gift with the magnitude of artistry, talent, and vision as Michael Jackson. He was a true musical icon whose identifiable voice, innovative dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and sheer star power carried him from childhood to worldwide acclaim. A 13-time GRAMMY recipient, Michael’s career transcends musical and cultural genres and his contributions will always keep him in our hearts and memories. We are deeply saddened by this tragic news and our hearts go out to his family and to music lovers around the globe who mourn this great loss.”

Diddy: “MJ showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life!! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him!” (via Twitter)

Slash: “Really sad news about Michael, he was a talent from on high.”

Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz: “I have never felt this before in my life. I could measure my childhood 2 now on an mj growth chart. if this is true. Rip. The last legend.” (via Twitter)

Ne-Yo: “Michael Jackson will live forever through the thing that he put all of his life energy into: his music. I will do my part to keep the melody alive, to keep the energy forever changing form, but never ever dying!! Long live Michael Jackson.”

Usher: “This loss has deeply saddened me, with a heavy heart I composed this statement. May God cover you Michael. We all lift your name up in prayer. I pray for the entire JACKSON family particularly Michael’s mother and all his fans that loved him so much. I would not be the artist, performer, and philanthropist I am today without the influence of Michael. I have great admiration and respect for Him and I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to meet and perform with such a great entertainer In so many ways he transcended culture. He broke barriers, he changed radio formats! With music, he made it possible for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to impact the mainstream world. His legacy is unparalleled Michael Jackson will never be forgotten.”

Thriller director John Landis: “He had a troubled and complicated life and despite his gift, he remains a tragic figure. My wife Deborah and I will always have great affection for him.”

Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus: “first album i ever bought was thriller. with birthday money. on cassette. for my brand new sony walkman. truth. rest in peace” (via Twitter)

M.I.A.: “MICHAEL JACKSON the first 2 english words i eva spoke . the future sucx!” (via Twitter)

Wyclef: “I will not be going on TV talking about this, but my memory of Michael was when he came and saw me in the studio, I LOVE MICHAEL” (via Twitter)

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: “Today, the world has lost one of the most influential and iconic figures in the music industry. From his performances with the Jackson 5, to the premiere of the ‘moonwalk’ and ‘Thriller,’ Michael was a pop phenomenon who never stopped pushing the envelope of creativity. Though there were serious questions about his personal life, Michael was undoubtedly a great entertainer and his popularity spanned generations and the globe. Maria and I join all Californians in expressing our shock and sadness over his death and our hearts go out the Jackson family, Michael’s children and to his fans worldwide.”

Rev. Al Sharpton: “A friend of Michael’s for the last 35 years, I call on people around the world to pray for him and his family in the hour. I have known Michael since we were both teens, worked with him, marched for him, hosted him at our House of Justice headquarters in New York, and we joined together to eulogize our mutual idol, James Brown. I have known him at his high moments and his low moments and I know he would want us to pray for his family.”

Miley Cyrus: “Michael Jackson was my inspiration. Love and blessings.” (via Twitter)

Ludacris: “If it were not for Michael Jackson I would not be where or who I am today. His Music and Legacy will live on Forever. Prayers to the fam. R.I.P.” (via Twitter)

Hanson: “We are all is shock to hear that Michael Jackson just died. It is heart breaking to think that we have lost such a musical inspiration.” (via Twitter)

Solange Knowles: “Thank you Michael Jackson for being my FIRST of many! My mother took me to my FIRST concert. I was only two years old. I fell in love.” (via Twitter)

MC Hammer: “I will be mourning my friend, brother, mentor and inspiration.. He gave me and my family hope. I would never have been me without him” (via Twitter)

About the Band

U2 are a rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion).

The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. By the mid-1980s, the band had become a top international act. Their success as a live act was greater than their success as a record selling act until their 1987 album The Joshua Tree, which according to Rolling Stone, elevated the band’s stature “from heroes to superstars”. U2 responded to the dance and alternative rock revolutions and their own sense of musical stagnation by reinventing themselves with their 1991 album Achtung Baby and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour. Since 2000, U2 have pursued a more conventional rock sound that retains the influence of their previous musical explorations.

U2 have sold more than 145 million albums worldwide and have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band. In 2005, the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone magazine listed U2 at #22 in its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and social justice causes, including Amnesty International, the ONE Campaign, and Bono’s DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) campaign.

Band’s Discography

The discography of the Irish rock band U2 consists of twelve studio albums, seven live albums, five compilation albums, fifty-eight singles, and seven extended plays (EPs). The band consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar) and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). They formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency.

U2’s success as a live act was greater than its success at selling records until The Joshua Tree was released in 1987, which helped to increase the band members’ stature “from heroes to superstars”. U2 responded to the dance and alternative rock revolutions, and its own sense of musical stagnation by reinventing themselves with the 1991 album Achtung Baby and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour. Similar experimentation continued for the rest of the 1990s. Since 2000, U2 has pursued a more traditional sound that retains the influence of their musical explorations.

U2 first received Grammy Awards for The Joshua Tree in 1988, and have won 22 in total since, tying U2 with Stevie Wonder as contemporary artists with the most Grammies. These include Best Rock Duo or Group, Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Rock Album. The British Phonographic Industry has awarded U2 seven BRIT Awards, five of these being for Best International Group. In Ireland, U2 have won 14 Meteor Awards since the awards began in 2001. Other awards include one AMA, four VMAs, ten Q Awards, two Juno Awards, three NME Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in early 2005. U2 has sold more than 140 million albums worldwide.

Studio Albums

• Boy (1980)
• October (1981)
• War (1983)
• The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
• The Joshua Tree (1987)
• Rattle and Hum (1988)
• Achtung Baby (1991)
• Zooropa (1993)
• Pop (1997)
• All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)
• How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
• No Line on the Horizon (2009)

Live albums

• Under a Blood Red Sky
• Hasta la Vista Baby!
• Live from Boston 1981
• Live from the Point Depot
• U2.COMmunication
• Zoo TV Live
• U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle
• Live from Paris

Compilations

• Melon: Remixes for Propaganda
• The Best of 1980–1990
• The Best of 1990–2000
• Unreleased and Rare
• U218 Singles
• Medium, Rare and Remastered

Album Review

No Line on the Horizon is the twelfth studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on 27 February 2009. The album is U2’s first since 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the longest gap between studio albums in the band’s career. The material was originally intended to be released as two EPs, titled Daylight and Darkness, but the band decided to combine them into one album.

U2 began work on a new studio album in 2006 with Rick Rubin but later decided to shelve most of the material from those sessions. The band collaborated with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois from June 2007–December 2008 for the album, allowing them to be involved in the songwriting process. Writing and recording for the album took place in four different cities. The album was planned for release in November 2008, but the band had written approximately 50–60 songs and wished to continue writing.

Prior to release, the band indicated that their collaborations with Eno and Lanois, as well as the brief time they spent in Fez, Morocco, resulted in a record more experimental than their previous two albums. Upon release, No Line on the Horizon received generally favourable reviews from critics, although many noted the album was not as experimental as previously suggested. The band has indicated plans to release a follow-up record entitled Songs of Ascent sometime in 2009 or 2010. U2 will be supporting No Line on the Horizon with the U2 360° Tour.

Tracklisting

1. No Line On The Horizon
2. Magnificent
3. Moment Of Surrender
4. Unknown Caller
5. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
6. Get On Your Boots
7. Stand Up Comedy
8. Fez - Being Born
9. White As Snow
10. Breathe
11. Cedars Of Lebanon

Songs Details

‘No Line On The Horizon’
Great news for Bono bashers. The most punchable motormouth in rock is back with another album full of preposterous slogans and half-baked pretensions. But U2’s 12th studio album is good news for curious, open-minded floating voters too. Because No Line On The Horizon is their most playful, experimental and sonically adventurous work for over a decade. The Irish superstars have been treading water since the millennium, taking care of business, methodically reclaiming the conservative heartland of their mullet-haired 1980s prime. Consequently their last two albums were lacklustre pop-rock affairs, shorn of the kaleidoscopic irony and self-doubting ambiguity that made them the most interesting stadium band in the world during their weird, wobbly, wayward 1990s. Ripe for reinvention again, they have finally reunited with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, the producers and co-writers behind their best work. The shift is instantly apparent on this opening title track, a fuzzy disco-rock juggernaut layered with Krautrock rhythms and vaguely eastern-sounding keyboard drones. Edge’s guitars are fluid and libidinous. Bono is in Paris, dreaming of Morocco, singing about girls and traffic cops. His voice sounds liberated again, an ecstatic falsetto screech. U2 are not quite back in the nocturnal urban sleaze-world of Achtung Baby, but their mood has definitely changed. We’re not in Kansas any more.

‘Magnificent’
With a modest title like that, this affirmative anthem of all-conquering love really needs to be great. Fortunately, it is. Emerging from an introductory clatter of Eno-esque bleeps and beats, Edge’s spangled starburst of guitar galvanises the tune into a windswept spaghetti-western gallop. There are echoes of ‘New Year’s Day’ and ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ in the choppy fast-forward momentum, but more nimble than either, with invincible romantic optimism as its driving force. Bono’s widescreen voice sounds like its bouncing off the Grand Canyon in blazing sunshine, channelling the shrill euphoria of the late, great Billy Mackenzie at times. An instant U2 classic and dead cert for future single release.

‘Moment Of Surrender’
The obligatory slow-burn power-ballad weepie, and it’s another cracker. U2 have been trying to recreate the lustrous, soulful splendour of ‘One’ for almost two decades. This is not quite in that Olympian league but it’s probably their closest attempt so far: an understated trip-hop shuffle beat, wrapped in mournful strings and gospel-kissed keyboards, with languid licks of Floydian guitar draped across its latter half. Drifting through a nocturnal city, Bono’s haunted narrator suffers a nervous breakdown after spying his own ravaged reflection the ATM machine. Stuck in a moment he can’t get out of, the Biblical allusions tumble by, including subway stops becoming stations of the cross. The warm, surging chorus kneels at the altar of Stones classic ‘Wild Horses’ and Neil Young’s ‘After The Goldrush’. A show-stopping stadium epic is born.

‘Unknown Caller’
A pop-noir sketch, incorporating snatches of birdsong and lightly robotic beats. Bono takes a mystery phone call in the small hours and turns it into a chanted, disconnected jumble of computer language: “force quit and move to trash… reboot yourself.” The mood is faintly melancholy, but the tune ungainly. This could be a lesser track from Achtung Baby. Enjoyably strange but ultimately insubstantial.

‘I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight’
The first track without input from Eno or Lanois, and it shows. U2’s current infatuation with the Killers and Kings of Leon seems to inform this shiny, old-school sky-puncher, which spent 16 months slouching towards Bethlehem to be born. Bono’s lyric is another scrappy beat-poet shopping list of fortune-cookie paradoxes and smirking one-liners: “every beauty needs to go out with an idiot… the right to appear ridiculous is something I hold dear.” A few sharp lines but the bustling tune never gets out of second gear, and ultimately sounds like an outtake from How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. Everything from that goofy title down only serves to prove that U2, stripped of their more playful and pretentious side, are just a whisker away from turning into Bon Jovi.

‘Get On Your Boots’
The shame of it – the heavily hyped lead single from No Line On The Horizon was denied a high UK chart placing by Lily Allen and Lady GaGa. But ‘Get On Your Boots’ still a hell-for-leather hurtle of dayglo bubblegum pop, rocketing along on Adam Clayton’s rude, fuzzed-up, snaking bassline and Bono’s self-mocking crap-rap slogans: “I don’t wanna talk about wars between nations”. Reviewers have already spotted Elvis Costello, Dylan and Queens of the Stone Age lurking in the pick’n’mix foliage. Me, I reckon that swirling chorus sounds like Queen in their pomp-rock prime. It’s a throwaway tune, but there are worse things in rock than finding U2 in priapic party mode. The question now is: can they do the fandango?

‘Stand Up Comedy’
U2 squeeze into their old leather trousers for a blast of dirty funk-rock boogie. Edge plays slinky glam-grunge riffs in the vein of ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me’ while Bono winks at the listener with more self-referential slogans: “stand up to rock stars… be careful of small men with big ideas.” There are a few droll lines here, but plenty of clumsy ones too. U2 have always been too cerebral and self-conscious to rock out with any real conviction, a quality which is both their Achilles heel and saving grace. A minor track.

‘Fez - Being Born’
Further proof why Brian Eno is my favourite member of U2. This conjoined track opens with one minute of amorphous ambient sound painting, its only vocal a ghostly loop of Bono’s “let me in the sound” refrain from ‘Get On Your Boots’. Then the more muscular second section kicks in, a textured electro-rock travelogue with a driving motorik rhythm and a wide-eyed retro-futurist sheen reminiscent of Neu! or early Kraftwerk. Featuring a spare, fragmentary vocal, this is one of the album’s more successful experiments. New ground for U2.

‘White As Snow’
A striking change of tone brings this austere, mournful, finger-picking acoustic lament about war-torn Afghanistan seen through outsider‘s eyes. U2 have not played the Celtic folk card in such an unadorned manner since the 1980s, although the mood here is less one of sepia-tinted rustic introspection than brooding, remorseful unease. Think Rubin-era Johnny Cash with a hint of Metallica’s ‘Unforgiven’. Adapted from a traditional folk melody, ‘White As Snow’ is destined for the soundtrack of Jim Sheridan’s new film, Brothers. A sublime moment of quiet contemplation on a otherwise crowded, noisy album.

‘Breathe’
Some advance reports of No Line On The Horizon hinted that Edge was turning into an old-school axe hero following his jam session with Jimmy Page and Jack White for the forthcoming guitar documentary It Might Get Loud. There is actually scant evidence of this shift on the album, thankfully, besides ‘Breathe’. Here U2 plug in and let rip with a bluesy, swaggering, saloon-bar rocker set to a sloppy speed-waltz rhythm. Bono slathers these overdriven riffs in rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness verbosity about “Ju Ju men” and “loose electricity”. He’s standing on the shoulders of Patti Smith and Dylan again, but also trying to access his inner Robert Plant. This oddly traditional cock-rock number has been tipped as a future stadium slayer, but I’m not convinced. It’s raunchy swagger feels forced, its drunken stagger calculated. And let’s be honest, Led Zeppelin were always crap.

‘Cedars Of Lebanon’
Always leave them laughing: the cast-iron showbiz rule that U2 have consistently ignored on almost every album. Written from the viewpoint of a jaded war reporter adrift in the Middle East, Bono’s croaky confessional falls somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Mark Knopfler. After such a rich opening spread, this sketchy character study simply lacks the melodic and emotional punch to cut it as a credible finale. But such is the perverse logic of U2 World. They may not know how to sequence albums, while their quality control and crazy-paving mix of styles feels totally haywire at times. But No Line On the Horizon is still their most adventurous and rewarding long-player for 15 years. A record full of mischief, sunshine, hedonism, love, grief, humour, lust and vulnerability. At last, U2 have joined us mere mortals again.

About the Band

Depeche Mode are an English electronic band formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex, England. The group’s orignal member on the time of formation were Dave Gahan (lead vocals), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980–81). Right after the release of their debut album in 1981 Vince Clarke left the band and his place was filled by, Alan Wilder (lead keyboards, production 1982–1995) with Gore taking over songwriting. Since Wilder’s departure, Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher have continued as a trio.

According to wikipedia,
Depeche Mode are one of the longest-lived, most successful and influential bands to have emerged from the early 80s. They have had forty-five songs in the UK Singles Chart, as well as #1 albums in UK, US and throughout countries in Europe. According to EMI, Depeche Mode have sold over 75 million albums worldwide, as part of total worldwide record sales (including singles) in excess of 100 million.

Band’s Discography

The discography of Depeche Mode consists of twelve studio albums, three live albums, eight compilation albums, forty-nine singles, and eight box sets on Mute Records, Sire Records and Reprise Records, as well as fifty-seven music videos (not including remixed and edited versions), ten music VHS/DVDs (not including re-releases), and six DVD singles.

Studio Albums

• Speak & Spell (1981)
• A Broken Frame (1982)
• Construction Time Again (1983)
• Some Great Reward (1984)
• Black Celebration (1986)
• Music for the Masses (1987)
• Violator (1990)
• Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993)
• Ultra (1997)
• Exciter (2001)
• Playing the Angel (2005)
• Sounds of the Universe (2009)

Compilation Albums

• People Are People
• The Singles 81>85
• Catching Up with Depeche Mode
• Greatest Hits
• The Singles 86>98
• Remixes 81 - 04
• The Best Of, Volume 1
• The Complete Depeche Mode

Live albums

• 101
• Songs of Faith and Devotion Live
• Recording the Angel
• Recording the Universe

Singles

• Dreaming of Me
• New Life
• Just Can’t Get Enough
• See You
• The Meaning of Love
• Leave in Silence
• Get the Balance Right!
• Everything Counts
• Love, in Itself
• People Are People
• Master and Servant
• Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody
• Shake the Disease
• It’s Called a Heart
• Stripped / But Not Tonight
• A Question of Lust
• A Question of Time
• Strangelove
• Never Let Me Down Again
• Behind the Wheel
• Little 15
• Strangelove ‘88
• Everything Counts (Live)
• Personal Jesus
• Dangerous
• Enjoy the Silence
• Policy of Truth
• Halo
• World in My Eyes
• I Feel You
• Walking in My Shoes
• Condemnation
• In Your Room
• Barrel of a Gun
• It’s No Good
• Home
• Useless
• Only When I Lose Myself
• Dream On
• I Feel Loved
• Freelove
• Goodnight Lovers
• Enjoy the Silence ‘04
• Remixes 04
• Precious
• A Pain that I’m Used To
• Suffer Well
• John the Revelator / Lilian
• Martyr
• Wrong
• Peace (to be released June 15 2009)

Album Review

Sounds of the Universe is the twelfth full-length album by Depeche Mode, released in Europe on 20 April, 2009, and on 21 April, 2009, in the US and Canada. Sounds of the Universe is a 13 track album with a length of 60:51, produced by Ben Hillier, under the label Mute, EMI, Capitol, Virgin Records.

Sounds of the Universe was released in Europe on 20 April, 2009, and on 21 April, 2009, in the US and Canada. The album generes are Synthpop, Electronica, Alternative Dance.

For their new album, Depeche Mode said they were using analog synthesizers and other vintage gear to “conjure up images of the universe and space travel.” But the result sounds like a time machine back to the Eighties. The pulsing single “Wrong” oozes classic synth-pop angst, but with Commodore 64-style beats and laser-tag keyboards, ballads like “Peace” are comically New Romantic, and the dour “Spacewalker” sounds like the score to Star Trek rewritten by a deeply bummed-out robot. Depeche Mode should be poised for a comeback, but it’s too soon to unpack those black turtlenecks.

Recording

As with the previous album, Playing the Angel, Dave Gahan has once again written three songs with Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott: “Hole to Feed”, “Come Back” and “Miles Away / The Truth Is”. “Spacewalker” and the B-Side “Esque” are instrumentals. Martin Gore sings the lead of “Jezebel” and the B-side “The Sun and the Moon and the Stars”. The B-side “Oh Well” is the first track ever to be co-written by Gore and Gahan. The album ends with a short hidden instrumental track after “Corrupt”, possibly called Interlude #5, which can be seen as “Wrong (reprise)”.

Reception

Initial critical response to Sounds of the Universe was generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 70, based on 28 reviews. Entertainment Weekly stated that on Sounds of the Universe, Depeche Mode “still sound genuinely inspired” and Allmusic gave the album a 4 out of 5, concluding: “Sounds of the Universe is a grower, relying on a few listens to fully take effect, but when it does, it shows Depeche Mode are still able to combine pop-hook accessibility and their own take on “roots” music for an electronic age with sonic experimentation and recombination.” Awarding the album five stars in the The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick concluded that the album showed “the imaginative constraints of most guitar-based rock.”

A minority of reviewers were more negative, however. Rolling Stone magazine, historically unfriendly to Depeche Mode albums, gave the album a 2.5 out of 5. PopMatters gave the album a 5 out of 10, saying Depeche Mode “… tempt us with a strong first half and then dump us in a collection of tossed off b-sides.”

Despite the first single “Wrong” only charting at #24 and spending only one week in the UK Singles Chart, Sounds of the Universe reached #2 in the UK Album Chart, the band’s highest position since 1997’s chart-topping Ultra, and reached #3 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., selling 80,000 units in its first week of release. However the album only spent one week in UK and US top ten, and (like its predecessor Playing The Angel) only spent 4 weeks on the UK album chart altogether.

Tracklisting

All songs written by Martin Gore unless otherwise noted:

1. “In Chains” – 6:53
2. “Hole to Feed” – 3:59 (Dave Gahan, Christian Eigner, Andrew Phillpott)
3. “Wrong” – 3:13
4. “Fragile Tension” – 4:09
5. “Little Soul” – 3:31
6. “In Sympathy” – 4:54
7. “Peace” – 4:29
8. “Come Back” – 5:15 (Gahan, Eigner, Phillpott)
9. “Spacewalker” – 1:53
10. “Perfect” – 4:33
11. “Miles Away/The Truth Is” – 4:14 (Gahan, Eigner, Phillpott)
12. “Jezebel” – 4:41
13. “Corrupt” – 5:04 (8:58)
    “Interlude #5″ – 0:42 (hidden song starting at 8:17)

Songs Details

‘In Chains’

Depeche Mode’s twelfth album opens with a tone of such a high frequency that maybe some of their older fans may at first struggle to make it out. One can imagine men of a certain age, with a penchant for black 501s, black leather jackets and white vests being asked to sit in a booth and raise one finger when they thing they can discern the sound. It is joined by a burbling, clicking, analogue and insectile burr, which slowly becomes an orchestra of ancient and angry sounding synth tones. For a few disorientating seconds this sounds spookily like the Anglia TV ident from the 70s, before building into THX proportions. But this doesn’t signify a “stunning return to X”, or “their most uncompromising album since Y” or a “hauntological take on Z”. Instead this fanfare, reminiscent of the work of the Radiophonic Workshop, is more a warning to the listener which says: “brace yourself, we have invested in a lot of vintage synthesizers, creaking drum machines and dusty sequencers, and we are not going to shy away from using them.” If anything this slightly disturbing intro is misleading because it ushers in what is arguably the 29-year-old band’s most mellow and mature album to date. The actual track ‘In Chains’ is the kind of bluesy cyber spiritual that the band made their own between ‘Personal Jesus’ in 1989 and ‘John The Revelator’ in 2005. Dave Gahan’s smooth croon is set off by the feverish efflorescence of Martin Gore’s guitar.

‘Hole To Feed’

This is one of Dave Gahan’s three contributions as a songwriter to the main album, worked on with his writing partners Christian Eigner (DM’s regular drummer) and Andrew Phillpott. The construction of Playing The Angel was marred by jockeying for position between the singer and Martin Gore but this has given way to an almost Socialist division of labour. Instead of Gahan insisting on having a certain amount of space on the album before agreeing to even set foot in the studio now both parties (i.e. Gore and Gahan. Andy Fletcher doesn’t write the music or play any instruments) write according to their abilities and the group as a whole receives according to its needs. This is as it should be. Gore remains the primary songwriter and Gahan is the front man and secondary song writer, while Fletch, perhaps more crucially is a facilitator. He stops the other two from killing each other and acts as a necessary intermediary for Gore. This is minimal acid blues and concerns the singer’s addictive nature, and its minimalism is emphasized by the use of old equipment and a prominent, primitive rock guitar.

‘Wrong’

The first single is classic Mode with Gore casting Gahan in the role of corrupt preacher, like a character from Flannery O’Connor’s southern gothic novel Wise Blood, railing against his almost apocalyptic bad luck. His slightly mad ravings elevate the scenario to the scale of black comedy: “I was born in the wrong house / with the wrong sign / in the wrong ascendency. / I took the wrong road / that led to / the wrong tendencies. / I was in the wrong place / at the wrong time / for the wrong reasons / on the wrong night / of the wrong day / on the wrong week. / I used the wrong method / with the wrong technique”. Buzzing MOOGs are the ideal accompaniment to the stentorian backing vocals that admonish the singer for all his bad choices/lack of choice, like an over-zealous, slightly gothic Greek chorus.

‘Fragile Tension’

This song, like ‘Jezebel’, harks back to ‘Lillian’ from Playing The Angel and appears to be a bit of an eco-ballad or an elegy to the not-yet disappeared beauty of planet earth. However the melancholia of the synth and the sentiment aren’t reflected in Gore’s almost raucous guitar playing.

‘Little Soul’

Many of these songs are built around a pop, proto industrial skeleton like material you’d find on Some Great Reward or Black Celebration but these tunes themselves are, necessarily, much more mature in tone and content. Abrasive metallic textures underlie this gentle meditation on death and (possibly) rebirth or continuation through children. There has been some talk of retro-futurism influencing this album and it’s certainly clear on this track, with Gore’s surf guitar calling to mind the exotica of the 50s and 60s mixed with the electronic tones of the space race era.

‘In Sympathy’

How have Depeche Mode not already recorded a song called ‘In Sympathy’? Anyway, there was a time that when the band were never far from singing about teenagers and being extremely creepy (’Behind The Wheel’, ‘Question of Time’ etc) but nowadays they seem to be presenting enthusiastic and motivating songs to various children and young relatives. This isn’t a bad song by any stretch but there’s something ever so slightly prissy about the arrangement of it. There’s no point in having loads of really cool old synth gear and then drowning it out with big washes of simplistic guitar.

‘Peace’

This is much better, starting a bit like OMD’s excellent ‘Messages’ before revving up the spiritual vibes again. Rather than being Gahan singing soulfully with Gore handling angelic backing vox, this is a straight duet between the two which can be read as the self-determination of recovering alcoholics and drug users who are now clean or a song declaring the end to inter-band arguing. The song has unashamedly massive Beatles-y melodies and stadium sized positivity. The necessary grit is provided by atonal squawks of noise and electro rushes. An album highlight.

‘Come Back’

Gahan’s finest songwriting moment on the album and possibly to date. This is a real piece of drugged up shoegaze, with warm opiate/amniotic fuzz pop guitars that calls to mind the Jesus and Mary Chain, Ultra Vivid Scene and Spiritualized. The lyrical conceit is one that Jason Spaceman from Spiritualized would be familiar with at least - the analogy between a relationship with a lover and a drug. In the background Steiner Parker synths create random misfires of noise and tune. Sumptuous.

‘Spacewalker’

The Eastern synth pop style of this instrumental, made me initially think of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yellow Magic Orchestra but Martin Gore insists it makes him think of Martin Denny. So let’s say that it sounds a little like YMO’s cover of Denny’s ‘Firecracker’ and an interesting piece of retro exotica and leave it at that.

‘Perfect’

Overall Ben Hillier (Doves, Blur, Elbow) has done a grand job on Sounds Of The Universe. He has grasped the overall concept of finding spirituality in science and physics – a kind of religious atheism – and how our expectations of technology have changed over the years by marshalling a combination of bleeding edge technology and anarchic vintage equipment. Trouble is in this instance that this track sounds very much like one or two other tracks elsewhere on the album. The synth chord changes on the verse put this reviewer in mind of Genesis or Peter Gabriel in the early 80s - but in a good way.

‘Jezebel’

More from Martin Gore’s fascination with exotica. It’s easy to imagine the youthful, bleach blond, rubber dress wearing Gore of yore singing this in the manner of a wistful but asexual torch singer. But this almost cabaret number is dedicated to a young woman who (presumably) has a bracing line in the kind of clothing that wouldn’t go down too well in Saudi Arabia.

‘Corrupt’

This opens like a track from Violator complete with Gahan’s lizard croon: “I could corrupt you/it would be easy. / Watching you suffer / girl, it would be easy.” It seems that despite maturity and all, the Mode can still be slightly creepy if they want. Who knows who the ‘intended victim’ of the song is and what she’s done to upset the Basildon boys but this is perhaps a reminder that no matter how old they get physically, we don’t want them to mature too much.

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About The Record

21st Century Breakdown is the eighth studio album by American punk rock band Green Day, released through Reprise Records on May 15, 2009. It is the band’s second rock opera, following American Idiot, and its first album to be produced by Butch Vig. Vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong described 21st Century Breakdown as a “snapshot of the era in which we live as we question and try to make sense of the selfish manipulation going on around us, whether it be the government, religion, media or frankly any form of authority.

Time Span

The span of nearly five years between American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown was the longest gap between studio albums in Green Day’s career. The band had been working on new material since January 2006. By October 2007, Armstrong had 45 songs written, but the band showed no further signs of progress until October 2008, when a video of the group recording with producer Butch Vig in the studio was posted on YouTube. The writing and recording process, spanning three years and four recording studios, was finally finished in April 2009.

Reception

The album received generally positive reception. 21st Century Breakdown achieved Green Day’s best chart performance to date. Upon its release, 21st Century Breakdown reached number one on the album charts of at least 24 countries “. The album subsequently achieved number one on the Billboard 200, European Top 100 Albums and UK Albums Charts.

Writting of the Album

Green Day’s seventh album, American Idiot, was released in 2004 and immediately garnered the band much success. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling five million copies in the US, and was nominated for several awards, winning the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. With that set Green Day had to pull up something new for their next piece of work. Green Day set out to a 13 month long tour of American Idiot which ended in October 2005. In January 2006, the band began to write new songs for what would become their eighth album and the followup to American Idiot. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said in a January 2006 interview with Billboard, “We’ll start with silence, and that’s how we’ll be able to find the inspiration to find another record.”

Release of the Album

On February 9, 2009, Green Day announced that the upcoming album would be titled 21st Century Breakdown and that it would be split into three acts; “Heroes and Cons”, “Charlatans and Saints”, and “Horseshoes and Handgrenades”.

On March 17 a teaser trailer for 21st Century Breakdown was posted to the band’s website. A week later, it was announced that 21st Century Breakdown would have an international release date of May 15. In early April, Green Day premiered “Know Your Enemy” on television.

21st Century Breakdown was released internationally on May 15, 2009 through Reprise Records. A vinyl version was released, limited to 3,000 copies and consisting of three ten-inch records (one for each of the album’s “acts”), a CD copy of the album, a sixty-page art booklet, and a digital download of the full album at midnight on the day of release. 21st Century Breakdown was only released in a Parental Advisory version containing explicit lyrics and content. Wal-Mart refuses to sell albums with a Parental Advisory sticker, and it requested that Green Day release a censored edition. Green Day chose not to release a censored edition and responded to Wal-Mart’s request by stating, “There’s nothing dirty about our record… They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there. We just said no. We’ve never done it before. You feel like you’re in 1953 or something.”

Track Listing

All lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong, all music composed by Green

Track Review

The album starts with a short into titled Song Of The Century. It’s a one-minute track where Billy Joe Armstrong’s voice seems to come out of a radio as the noise of static surrounds his singing.

The first act, Heroes And Cons, begins after Song Of The Century and contains six tracks. First, the title-track, 21st Century Breakdown, bridges the gap between American Idiot and this album. Its piano intro followed by the drums’ entrance is reminiscent of the intro to “The Saints Are Coming” but the rest of the track has the exact same sound as American Idiot. As a matter of fact, this track in particular sounds a lot like “Jesus Of Surburbia” mainly because Billy Joe sings in the same melodic tone.

The second track of the first act is also the first single of the album. Titled Know Your Enemy, the song has the kind of energy that makes you want to jump up and break something. It’s definitely the kind of song that will play in arenas all summer long.
In “¡Viva la Gloria!”, the first verse only features a piano along with a violin to accompany the singing but the song turns high-tempo as soon as it hits the chorus. It’s basically a track calling to revolution.

Before The Lobotomy is probably the first song that shows how Green Day’s sound has subtly evolved. It starts out slow with great singing by Billy Joe then the full band pops in and out after every line from the first verse to finally erupt completely in the eighth verse. The song feels more like a classic rock track at the start then the usual pop-punk fare. Somehow Green Day successfully mixed both genre to create some sort of uber-pop-punk.

Christian’s Inferno, a high-tempo song, brings Green Day back to the pop-punk sphere. There is nothing really memorable about this track save for the drums which sound a lot like The Go-Go’s “We Got The Beat.”

Heroes And Cons concludes with Last Night On Earth, a piano-driven ballad that is probably the best song out of this act. Until this point, most of the songs were quite similar to those on American Idiot. Despite the great start of Before The Lobotomy, the song did end up sounding just like the others towards the end. Last Night On Earth is different as it stays on the same pace all the way to the end. I don’t want to sound blasphemous but this was a very Beatles-esque kind of track. A beautiful song.

The second act, called Charlatans And Saints, also has six tracks and begins with East Jesus Nowhere, a medium-tempo song. It begins with someone messing around with a radio dial as we get to hear snippets of various radio stations and then the guitar kicks in with the main riff. Although the song isn’t really extraordinary, something about it truly shows how they managed to improve their sound from American Idiot. I don’t really know how to explain it. It might be the lyrics, it might be the neat bassline in the second verse, or just the way the song was produced overall; all I know is that it sounds sort of the same, but better. I know, it doesn’t make any sense, but that’s how I feel.

With its fast-paced acoustic guitar, Peacemaker sounds like a cross between a Mexican song and folk rock. It’s one of the best track of the album.

The third track of the second act is Last Of The American Girls, a song where “the last of the American girls” is described. Like East Jesus Nowhere, there’s nothing that really sets this track apart from the rest, yet it is still a pretty good song. There’s also a sense of connection here as the ending goes right into the start of Murder City which is the next track. There’s not much to say about Murder City. It’s a high-tempo song, similar to the stuff in American Idiot.

¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl) follows Murder City. The first verse along with the instrumental in the beginning sounds a lot like My Chemical Romance’s “Mama” from The Black Parade album, another rock opera record. The instrumental is excellent as it goes well with Billy Joe’s singing and the guitar solo is pretty good. It’s one of the best tracks of the album.

Restless Heart Syndrome brings Green Day out of the punk sphere and more into a rock/alternative frame thanks to the presence of a piano and an orchestra. Billy Joe delivers again on the songwriting and singing parts of the song. The ending is also great as the instrumental reaches a climax. After my first listen, I rated this one as a great track while I rated the previous one as a good track. Now, I prefer ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl) but I’ll probably change my mind after listening to them again. It goes to show how good this album is. It only gets better and better.

The final act, Horseshoes And Handgrenades, has only five songs but is probably the best part of the album. The high-tempo Horseshoes And Handgrenades starts off the third act with a bang. The instrumental sounds familiar but I can’t quite place it. It sounds like the kind of song you would hear on a commercial but the first line - “I’m not f***ing around” - quickly takes that idea out of your head. This song is quite edgy and Billy Joe adds to it with the rage in his voice and some screaming towards the end.

The Static Age is another solid high-tempo track. Nothing really stands out apart from the great songwriting.

The second single of the album, 21 Guns, is probably my favorite track out of the eighteen songs. Like Last Night On Earth, this is more of a classic rock song than punk. Billy Joe’s singing is great especially in the chorus where the title gets mentioned. The singing isn’t the only thing working in this track. The instrumental is also great. The overall feel of this song is just perfect with a tight production that makes every note count. A superb song.

American Eulogy shares the same format as two songs in American Idiot - “Jesus Of Suburbia” and “Homecoming.” Indeed, like those two songs, American Eulogy is actually split into two parts: “Mass Hysteria” and “Modern World.” The track begins like Song Of The Century, the album’s intro, only the lyrics are different. “Mass Hysteria”’s lyrics allude to several moments of crisis in the United States, namely Hurricane Katrina and the wildfires of California while “Modern World”’s lyrics clearly state “I don’t wanna live in the modern world.”

The final track of the album is also one of its best. See The Light has a catchy melody and a good overall production.

Hopefully you’ll like the review. Please Leave a comment.