Depeche Mode - Only When I Lose Myself [US #1] (CD)

All Music Guide

Once more releasing singles on the British lines -- meaning two at a time -- this and the other version of the single are curious in that the actual song itself doesn't appear on either them, just remixes. Thankfully, said remixes on both discs are top-notch. On this first single, the lead remix comes from one fine boardsman, Dan the Automator -- his distinctly hip-hop sensibilities get applied to the moodier trip-hop crawl of the original, finding a smart middle ground between the two. Gahan's vocals get isolated at the start, leading into a heavy, crackling break and scratching which underpins the remainder of the take, even when other elements like the song's piano line return. The other remix comes courtesy of Danny Briottet, whose "Subsonic Legacy" mix is a quicker, louder revamp of the track with a fine beat that matches Gahan's vocal quite well. Meanwhile, hardcore fans will be pleased by the inclusion of not one but two wholly new B-sides. "Headstar" is a nicely messy instrumen...tal, in that the guitar fuzz and feedback gets produced and arranged all over the low funk crawl of the beat just right. It's like a more active version of "Painkiller," the short track which concluded Ultra. "Surrender," meanwhile, starts with a bass line similar to the mood-setting start of "In Your Room," but then shifts to a darkly beautiful late-night jazzy feel not far off from "Only When I Lose Myself" itself, with a snaky guitar line at the center. Gahan's singing, meanwhile, turns the track into a grand ballad, barbed like many of such songs by Depeche are, but his new singing abilities take all the higher. Luke Slater pops up at the disc's end to contribute his own mix of "Headstar" -- as might be expected from him, it's a fast techno workout. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide Read more Less