Could this be the best Depeche Mode 12” boxset since 1990’s Violator? Read our full review of the band’s 10-disc dance triumph…

Depeche Mode – Playing the Angels: The 12″ Singles boxset

Effectively the last hurrah for multi-format physical singles, the releases from 2005’s 11th Depeche Mode album also saw the trio benefit from a healthy dance music scene.

Whereas Exciter’s remixers were from the murkier edges of clubland, Playing The Angel arrived during electroclash’s pomp. In his Jacques Lu Cont guise, Stuart Price turns A Pain That I’m Used To into a glistening, filthy romp before Tiga gets similarly shiny with Suffer Well. That same single then goes into a completely different realm as M83 does his spacey, stargazing atmospherics to perfection.

Buy Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel: The 12″ on Amazon now

There’s so much going on – check Sasha’s vintage comedown mood in Precious – that Goldfrapp are relegated to the 10-track bonus disc, a new and welcome idea for Mode’s 12” boxsets of material that doesn’t fit elsewhere. Goldfrapp’s previously promo-only folktronica take on A Pain That I’m Used To is now finally out there, in every sense, as the duo go full freak-out for the final minute.

Also on the bonus disc are the album’s three B-sides, the punky thrash of Better Days the pick.
The best Depeche Mode 12” boxset since 1990’s Violator, these 10 discs highlight how underrated the mid-00s were for dance music and for the band themselves.

What’s included in the Playing the Angel boxset?

Depeche Mode’s Playing the Angel boxset includes 10 12″ singles:

  • Precious (12BONG35)
  • Precious (L12BONG35)
  • A Pain That I’m Used To (12BONG36)
  • A Pain That I’m Used To (L12BONG36)
  • Suffer Well (12BONG37)
  • Suffer Well (L12BONG37)
  • The Darkest Star (XL12BONG37)
  • John The Revelator / Lilian (12BONG38)
  • John The Revelator / Lilian (L12BONG38)
  • Playing The Angel Promotional Collection (PSTUMM260)

Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel: The 12″ Singles Tracklist

  • Precious (12BONG35):
    1. Precious (Sasha’s Spooky Mix Full Length)
    2. Precious (Sasha’s Gargantuan Vocal Mix Full Length)
  • Precious (L12BONG35):
    1. Precious (Misc. Full Vocal Mix)
    2. Precious (Michael Mayer Balearic Mix)
    3. Precious (Motor Remix)
    4. Precious (Misc. Crunch Mix)
  • A Pain That I’m Used To (12BONG36):
    1. A Pain That I’m Used To (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
    2. A Pain That I’m Used To (Jacques Lu Cont Dub)
  • A Pain That I’m Used To (L12BONG36):
    1. A Pain That I’m Used To (Bitstream Threshold Mix)
    2. A Pain That I’m Used To (Bitstream Spansule Mix)
  • Suffer Well (12BONG37):
    1. Suffer Well (Tiga Remix)
    2. Suffer Well (Tiga Dub)
    3. Suffer Well (Narcotic Thrust Vocal Dub)
  • Suffer Well (L12BONG37):
    1. Suffer Well (Metope Remix)
    2. Suffer Well (Metope Vocal Remix)
    3. Suffer Well (M83 Remix)
    4. Better Days
  • The Darkest Star (XL12BONG37):
    1. The Darkest Star (Holden Remix)
    2. The Darkest Star (Holden Dub)
  • John The Revelator / Lilian (12BONG38):
    1. John The Revelator (‘Dave Is In The Disco’ Tiefschwarz Remix)
    2. John The Revelator Tiefschwarz Dub)
    3. Lilian (Chab Dub)
  • John The Revelator / Lilian (L12BONG38):
    1. John The Revelator (Murk Mode Dub)
    2. John The Revelator (Boosta Club Remix)
    3. Lilian (Chab Vocal Remix)
  • Playing The Angel Promotional Collection (PSTUMM260)
    1. Free
    2. Better Days
    3. Newborn
    4. John The Revelator (Single Version)
    5. Lilian (Single Version)
    6. Precious (Michael Mayer Ambient Mix)
    7. Suffer Well (Alter Ego Remix)
    8. Lilian (Robag Wruhme Slomoschen Kikker)
    9. A Pain That I’m Used To (Goldfrapp Remix)
    10. A Pain That I’m Used To (Telex Remix)

Want to hear more from the band? Read our exclusive Depeche Mode interview now