Originally released on 17 October 2005, Playing The Angel is the 11th studio album by Depeche Mode. It was recorded at Santa Barbara Sound Design, Stratosphere Sound in New York City, and Whitfield Street Studios in London, where it was also mixed. Playing The Angel is the first Depeche Mode album to feature lyrics by lead singer David Gahan. It includes the singles Precious, A Pain That I’m Used To, Suffer Well, and the double A-side John The Revelator/Lilian. Initially, the album wasn’t released on vinyl in North America. Over the years, Playing The Angel has been reissued several times.
2xLP – Europe
Mute – stumm260 (released 17 October 2005, gatefold sleeve)
A1 A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
A2 John The Revelator 3:42
A3 Suffer Well 3:50 gep
B1 The Sinner In Me 4:55
B2 Precious 4:10
B3 Macro 4:02
C1 I Want It All 6:10 gep
C2 Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
C3 Introspectre 1:42
C4 Damaged People 3:28
D1 Lilian 4:46
D2 The Darkest Star 6:55
Get your original edition of Playing The Angel on vinyl format from eBay (subject to availability).
CD – UK
Mute – cdstumm260 (released 17 October 2005)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:43
- Suffer Well 3:49 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:56
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:04
- I Want It All 6:09 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:22 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:30
- Lilian 4:50
- The Darkest Star 6:55
SACD + DVD deluxe edition
Europe: Mute – lcdstumm260 (released 17 October 2005, multichannel CD/SACD hybrid + DVD)
US: Mute – Reprise Records – 49456-2 (released 18 October 2007, remastered CD + DVD)
SACD
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- Suffer Well 3:50 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:02
- I Want It All 6:10 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:28
- Lilian 4:46
- The Darkest Star 6:55
DVD
Playing The Angel (PCM Stereo, DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital Surround 5.1)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- Suffer Well 3:50 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:02
- I Want It All 6:10 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:28
- Lilian 4:46
- The Darkest Star 6:55
Video
- Making The Angel 8:25
- Clean (Bare) 3:45
- Photo gallery
- Precious (music video) 4:04
Get your remastered collectors edition of Playing The Angel on SACD + DVD format from eBay (subject to availability).
CD-R numbered and personal promo – UK
Mute – no catalogue number (issued in 2005, alias band name and different title used to prevent the album from being leaked)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- Suffer Well 3:50 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:02
- I Want It All 6:10 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:28
- Lilian 4:46
- The Darkest Star 6:55
CD-R album sampler promo – UK
Mute – no catalogue number (issued in 2005)
- John The Revelator 3:41
- Precious 4:23
VHS (PAL) promo – UK
Mute – no catalogue number (released in 2005)
- Playing The Angel Electronic Press Kit 11:28
CD-R interview – UK
Mute – STUMM260 (issued in 2005)
- the band answering 29 questions (audio taken from “The Talking” on the second DVD of “One Night In Paris”) 10:24
DVD-R promo – Germany
Mute – EMI Music – no catalogue number (issued in 2005)
- Intro
- Precious (music video) 4:04
- Behind the scenes 12:08
DVD-R promo – Greece
Virgin – no catalogue number (issued in 2005)
- Touring The Angel tour announcement (Dusseldorf 16 June 2005) 3:35
- Playing The Angel Electronic Press Kit 11:28
- Precious (music video) 4:04
Box set promo – Greece
Mute – EMI Music – PRODMPTABOX1 (released in October 2005, box containing the commercial Playing The Angel vinyl and several other items)
- 2xLP – stumm260
- T-shirt
- Poster
- Promo photos
- Flyer invitation
- Press release
- “Rock & roll” magazine with Depeche Mode on the cover
CD – US
Mute – Reprise Records – 49348-2 (released 18 October 2005)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- Suffer Well 3:49 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:56
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:03
- I Want It All 6:09 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:29
- Lilian 4:49
- The Darkest Star 6:55
CD-R numbered and personal album sampler promo – US
Reprise Records – no catalogue number (issued in 2005, Black Swarm used as alias band name to prevent the album from being leaked)
- Precious 4:10
- John The Revelator 3:42
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- Suffer Well 3:50 gep
- Lilian 4:46
CD-R numbered and personal promo – US
Reprise Records – no catalogue number (issued in 2005, alias band name and title used to prevent the album from being leaked)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- Suffer Well 3:50 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:02
- I Want It All 6:10 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:28
- Lilian 4:46
- The Darkest Star 6:55
CD-R promo – US
EMI Music – no catalogue number (issued in 2005, excludes the tracks with lyrics by David Gahan due to publishing rights)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:02
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:28
- Lilian 4:46
- The Darkest Star 6:55
CD-R promo – US
Reprise Records – no catalogue number (issued in 2005)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- Suffer Well 3:50 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:02
- I Want It All 6:10 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:28
- Lilian 4:46
- The Darkest Star 6:55
CD-R promo – US
Reprise Records – no catalogue number (issued 11 October 2005)
- A Pain That I’m Used To (Instrumental) 4:11
- John The Revelator (Instrumental) 3:42
- Suffer Well (Instrumental) 3:50 gep
- The Sinner In Me (Instrumental) 4:55
- Precious (Instrumental) 4:10
- Macro (Instrumental) 4:02
- I Want It All (Instrumental) 6:10 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible (Instrumental) 4:21 gep
- Introspectre (Instrumental) 1:42
- Damaged People (Instrumental) 3:28
- Lilian (Instrumental) 4:46
- The Darkest Star (Instrumental) 6:55
CD-R interview – US
Reprise Records – no catalogue number (issued 3 November 2005)
- the band answering 29 questions (audio taken from The Talking on the second DVD of One Night In Paris) 10:24
Enhanced CD with bonus track* and video – Japan
Mute – Virgin – TOCP-66471 (released 13 October 2005)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- Suffer Well 3:50 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:02
- I Want It All 6:10 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:28
- Lilian 4:46
- The Darkest Star 6:55
- Free* 5:10
Video
- Precious (music video) 4:12
Digital download – Europe
Venusnote Limited – no catalogue number (released 13 October 2005, made available as pre-order from Qobuz)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:01
- John The Revelator 3:41
- Suffer Well 3:49 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:10
- Macro 4:02
- I Want It All 6:09 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:27
- Lilian 4:45
- The Darkest Star 6:55
- Free 4:19
- Waiting For The Night (Bare) 4:19
- Newborn 5:35
- Newborn (Foster Remix by Kettel) 5:28
- Better Days 2:28
- Better Days (Basteroid ‘Dance Is Gone’ Vocal Mix) 7:12
- Better Days (Basteroid ‘Dance Is Gone’ Remix) 7:11
Digital download – US
Sire – no catalogue number (released in October 2005, made available as pre-order from iTunes)
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
- John The Revelator 3:42
- Suffer Well 3:50 gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:55
- Precious 4:06
- Macro 4:02
- I Want It All 6:10 gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
- Introspectre 1:42
- Damaged People 3:28
- Lilian 4:46
- The Darkest Star 6:55
- Waiting For The Night (Bare) 4:20
Video
- Precious (music video) 4:13
CD – various reissued editions
Europe: Mute – cdstumm260 (released in 2010 and 2012)
Europe: Mute – Sony Music – 88883750842 (released 5 August 2013)
Japan: Mute – Sony Music – SICP 30545 (released 23 April 2014)*
US: Rhino Records – R2 49348 (released 30 June 2017)*
- A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11 / 4:11*
- John The Revelator 3:43 / 3:42*
- Suffer Well 3:49 / 3:49* gep
- The Sinner In Me 4:56 /4: 56*
- Precious 4:10 / 4:10*
- Macro 4:04 / 4:03*
- I Want It All 6:09 / 6:09* gep
- Nothing’s Impossible 4:22 / 4:21* gep
- Introspectre 1:42 / 1:42*
- Damaged People 3:30 / 3:29*
- Lilian 4:50 / 4:49*
- The Darkest Star 6:55 / 6:55*
2xLP – various remastered & reissued limited editions in gatefold sleeve
Europe: BMG – Music On Vinyl – MOVLP950 (released 22 May 2014)
US: Mute – Rhino Records – 1-48791 (released 2014)
Europe: Mute – Sony Music – 88985336991 (released 10 February 2017)
A1 A Pain That I’m Used To 4:11
A2 John The Revelator 3:42
A3 Suffer Well 3:50 gep
B1 The Sinner In Me 4:55
B2 Precious 4:10
B3 Macro 4:02
C1 I Want It All 6:10 gep
C2 Nothing’s Impossible 4:21 gep
C3 Introspectre 1:42
C4 Damaged People 3:28
D1 Lilian 4:46
D2 The Darkest Star 6:55
Note: Playing The Angel was also released on the UMD format (for PlayStation) in Europe, the cassette format in Indonesia, Malaysia, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine, and the Blu-spec CD2 format in Japan.
Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel
- all tracks written by Martin Gore, except gep by David Gahan, Christian Eigner, and Andrew Phillpott
- produced by Ben Hillier
- highest chart position 6 (UK) 7 (US)
- 2005 Depeche Mode was Andrew Fletcher, David Gahan, and Martin Gore
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