Ultra is the ninth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on April 14, 1997 by Mute Records. It was the band’s first album following the departure of Alan Wilder. Wilder‘s departure and lead singer Dave Gahan‘s drug problems, which culminated in a near-fatal overdose, had caused speculation that Depeche Mode was finished.
Ultra was the first album the band recorded as a trio since A Broken Frame (1982); it was also their first where the band members were not involved with production, with these duties being handled by Tim Simenon of Bomb the Bass fame. Though not directly supported by a full-length tour, it was promoted via a brief series of concerts promoted as Ultra Parties.
The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and at number five on the US Billboard 200. By April 2006, it had sold 584,000 copies in the United States. In 1999, Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 50 on his list of the “Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties”. That same year, the annual Ultra Music Festival in Miami was named after the album by its co-founder Russell Faibisch, and acknowledging its influence on the Polish rock scene, Tylko Rock ranked it at number 71 on its list of the “100 Albums That Shook Polish Rock”.
The album was preceded by the singles “Barrel of a Gun”, released on February 3, and “It’s No Good” which was released on March 31. It was followed by the singles “Home”, released on June 16, and “Useless”, released on October 20 .
Tracklist:
- Barrel of a Gun
- The Love Thieves
- Home
- It’s No Good
- Uselink (instrumental)
- Useless
- Sister of Night
- Jazz Thieves (instrumental)
- Freestate
- The Bottom Line
- Insight
- Junior Painkiller (hidden track)
Depeche Mode
David Gahan
Andrew Fletcher
Martin Gore
Additional musicians
Kerry Hopwood: programming
Dave Clayton: keyboards, keyboard programming (all tracks); string arrangements (track 3)
Victor Indrizzo: percussion (tracks 1, 4)
Jaki Liebezeit: percussion (track 10)
B. J. Cole: pedal steel guitar (track 10)
Gota Yashiki: drums (track 6)
Keith LeBlanc: drums (track 6)
Danny Cummings: percussion (tracks 6, 9)
Doug Wimbish: bass (track 6)
Daniel Miller: System 700 (track 5)
Richard Niles: strings score, strings conducting (track 3)
Graeme Perkins: strings coordination (track 3)
Technical
Tim Simenon: production, mixing
Q: mixing, engineering
Paul Hicks: engineering assistance
Guy Massey: engineering assistance
Lee Fitzgerald: engineering assistance
Tom Rixton: engineering assistance
Gary Forde: engineering assistance
Lee Phillips: engineering assistance
Jamie Campbell: engineering assistance
Jim: engineering assistance
Greg: engineering assistance
Audie Chamberlain: engineering assistance
Robbie Kazandjian: engineering assistance
Mike Marsh: mastering at The Exchange (London)
Evelyn Halus: vocal coach
Gareth Jones: mixing (tracks 5, 8); additional vocals engineering (tracks 2, 3, 9)
Artwork
Anton Corbijn: art direction, photography, front cover
Brian Dowling: colour prints
Area: sleeve design
