Some Great Reward

Some Great Reward
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released	24 September 1984
Recorded	January–August 1984
Studio	Music Works (Highbury, London) Hansa Mischraum (Berlin)
Genre	pop[1] electronic[2]
Length	40:18
Label	Mute
Producer	Depeche Mode Gareth Jones Daniel Miller
Depeche Mode chronology
Construction Time Again (1983) Some Great Reward (1984) Black Celebration (1986)
Singles from Some Great Reward
"People Are People" Released: 12 March 1984 "Master and Servant" Released: 20 August 1984 "Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody" Released: 29 October 1984

Some Great Reward is the fourth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released in 1984. The album peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and at number fifty-four in the United States. The title comes from the last lines of the bridge in "Lie to Me" when it repeats near the end. The album was supported by the Some Great Reward Tour.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Q	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Melody Maker hailed the album, noting a "truly remarkable development in the voice of Gahan". Reviewer Barry McIlheney noted that "[i]t used to be okay to slag this bunch off because of their lack of soul, their supposed synthetic appeal, their reluctance to really pack a punch." He concluded that Some Great Reward "just trashes such bad old talk into the ground and demands that you now sit up and take notice of what is happening here, right under your nose".^[5]

NME criticised the album, stating that it "suffers from too many missed grips on good ideas." Reviewer David Quantick found the tunes "ordinary" but he nevertheless rated the singles as "fine". He finally stated that the result was "annoying" and concluded, "Depeche Mode can be one the few acts worthy of the name pop group. It's just that they should be so much better."^[1]

Re-release

In 2006, Some Great Reward was re-released with a bonus DVD. The CD was remastered and was released on a CD/SACD hybrid. The bonus DVD includes the B-sides "In Your Memory" and "(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me" in addition to a remix of "Somebody" and several live versions of some of the songs from the album. The DVD also includes a documentary on the making of the album.

The remastered album was released on "deluxe" vinyl in March 2007.

Track listing

All tracks written by Martin Gore, except "If You Want" and "In Your Memory" written by Alan Wilder. 

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Something to Do"	3:45
2.	"Lie to Me"	5:04
3.	"People Are People"	3:52
4.	"It Doesn't Matter"	4:45
5.	"Stories of Old"	3:12

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Somebody"	4:26
7.	"Master and Servant"	4:13
8.	"If You Want"	4:40
9.	"Blasphemous Rumours"	6:21

2006 re-release bonus DVD

• Video

A short film
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Depeche Mode: 1984 Some Great Reward" (written and produced by Roland Brown; directed by Ross Hallard and Phil Michael Lane)	29:20

• Audio

Some Great Reward (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Something to Do"	3:47
2.	"Lie to Me"	5:04
3.	"People Are People"	3:52
4.	"It Doesn't Matter"	4:45
5.	"Stories of Old"	3:14
6.	"Somebody"	4:28
7.	"Master and Servant"	4:12
8.	"If You Want"	4:41
9.	"Blasphemous Rumours"	6:22

Live tracks (DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo)
No.	Title	Length
10.	"If You Want" (Live in Basel, 30 November 1984)	5:15
11.	"People Are People" (Live in Basel, 30 November 1984)	4:16
12.	"Somebody" (Live in Liverpool, 29 September 1984)	4:30
13.	"Blasphemous Rumours" (Live in Basel, 30 November 1984)	5:30
14.	"Master and Servant" (Live in Basel, 30 November 1984)	5:33

Additional tracks (PCM Stereo)
No.	Title	Length
15.	"In Your Memory"	4:06
16.	"(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me"	4:18
17.	"Somebody" (Remix)	4:21

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Some Great Reward.^[6]

Depeche Mode – production Martyn Atkins – design Jacqui Frye – clothes stylist Stuart Graham – photography assistance Brian Griffin – photography David A. Jones – design

Gareth Jones – production Stefi Marcus – assistant engineering Marcx – design Colin McMahon – assistant engineering Daniel Miller – production Ben Ward – assistant engineering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1984–85) Peak position Austrian Albums Chart[7] 19 Canadian Albums Chart[8] 34 Dutch Albums Chart[9] 34 French Albums Chart[10] 10 German Albums Chart[11] 3 Swedish Albums Chart[12] 7 Swiss Albums Chart[13] 5 UK Albums Chart[14] 5 US Top Pop Albums[15] 54

Year-end charts Chart (1985) Peak position US Top Pop Albums[16] 91

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Germany (BVMI)[17]	Gold	250,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[18]	Silver	60,000^^
United States (RIAA)[19]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Quantick, David (6 October 1984). "Modeahead? Uh-Uh... But How Do You Rate The Review, Lads?". NME.
2. Raggett, Ned. "Some Great Reward – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
3. "Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward". Q (106): 139. July 1995.
4. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 229–30. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
5. McIlheney, Barry (29 September 1984). "Greatness and Perfection". Melody Maker.
6. Some Great Reward (CD liner notes). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1984. CD STUMM 19.
7. "Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
8. "RPM100 Albums". RPM. 41 (25). 2 March 1985. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
9. "Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
10. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste" (select "DEPECHE MODE" and click "OK") (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
11. "Depeche Mode, Some Great Reward" (in German). charts.de. Media Control. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
12. "Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
13. "Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
14. "1984 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. 6 October 1984. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
15. "Some Great Reward – Depeche Mode | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
16. "1985 The Year in Music & Video – Top Pop Albums". Billboard. 97 (52): T-19. 28 December 1985. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
17. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Depeche Mode; 'Some Great Reward')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
18. "British album certifications – Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward". British Phonographic Industry. 19 October 1984. Enter Some Great Reward in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
19. "American album certifications – Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward". Recording Industry Association of America. 4 August 1994. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH