Songs of Faith and Devotion Live is the second live album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 6 December 1993 by Mute Records in the UK. Recorded during the band's 1993 Devotional Tour, the album consists mainly of performances recorded in Liévin, France, with tracks recorded in Copenhagen, Milan and New Orleans. It was a track-by-track live duplication of Depeche Mode's eighth studio album, Songs of Faith and Devotion, which was released earlier in 1993.

The album was poorly received by critics and performed moderately on the charts, reaching number 46 on the UK Albums Chart and number 193 on the US Billboard 200.

A near-complete concert of the Devotional Tour was released on the Devotional video album in 1993, which attained more commercial success.

Background

Depeche Mode had recorded Songs of Faith and Devotion in 1992, released in 1993.

The decision was made by Mute Records to have the album mirror the running order of the studio album, in what Wilder called

Some songs, such as "I Feel You" and "Condemnation" were pitched down a semitone so that lead singer Dave Gahan could sing them more easily. Said Wilder, "The only way to do this successfully was to adjust each sound individually. The tempo remained the same [as the original studio tracks], so any non-musical part didn't need to be changed."

Of Gahan's performance on the live album, Wilder said, "There is a degradation in [Gahan's] vocals during some of the live performances from [the] Devotional Tour, but this is partly down to the stresses and strains of extensive touring and perfectly understandable. That said, I would rather hear a cracked and rough sounding voice that is full of emotion [rather than] one that is technically perfect, but bland and lifeless."

Release

Songs of Faith and Devotion Live was released on 6 December 1993 by Mute Records in the UK and given catalogue number LSTUMM106, to mirror Songs of Faith and Devotions catalogue number STUMM106.

The album spent a single week on the Billboard charts in the US, and while it did better in the UK, it was at that point the only Depeche Mode album released that failed to crack the UK's top ten album list. As of April 2006, it had sold 114,000 copies in the United States.

In 1994, to help promote the tour's swing through Oceania, Liberation Records of Austrlia released a limited double pack release of the original Songs of Faith and Devotion and Songs of Faith and Devotion Live combined into a single package with a unique sleeve, given catalogue number D93398.

Critical reception

In comparison to Songs of Faith and Devotion, Songs and Faith and Devotion Live received less acclaim from music critics; AllMusic rated the album two stars out of five. In the same feature, the album was listed as one of ten nominees for "Least Essential Album" of the decade with the comment, "It's not like Depeche Mode is inclined to rely on radical instrumental improvisation live."

Depeche Mode

  • Alan Wilder
  • Martin Gore
  • Dave Gahan
  • Andy Fletcher

Additional musicians

  • Hildia Campbell – backing vocals
  • Samantha Smith – backing vocals

Technical

  • Alan Wilder – production, mixing
  • Steve Lyon – production, mixing, recording
  • Peter Brandt – recording assistance
  • Rob Kirwan – mixing assistance
  • Alex Firla – mixing assistance
  • Jeremy Wheatley – mixing assistance
  • Kevin Metcalfe – mastering
  • JD Fanger – album coordination
  • Daryl Bamonte – album coordination
  • Pepe Jansz – album coordination

Artwork

  • Anton Corbijn – visuals, art direction, sleeve design
  • Area – sleeve design

Charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Chart performance for Songs of Faith and Devotion Live

! scope="col"| Chart (1993–1994)

! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position

|-

|-

|-

! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)

| 70

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

References

Works cited

  • Album information from the official Depeche Mode website

es:Songs of Faith and Devotion#Edición en concierto