As far as capturing the mood of the times, Depeche Mode had a perfect moment when they released "Violator." They were suddenly jerked out of their status as the band disenfranchised Goth kids moped along with to arena rock superstars. Although a few of the singles from the classic "Black Celebration" had made them alternative gods when alternative still meant you were in the alienated minority and "Music For The Masses" had already moved them to the forefront of MTV Video makers, it was songs like "Enjoy The Silence" and "Personal Jesus" that made them truly mass music makers.

This "Singles 86<98" collection is, then, a more honest representation of the music that most people "understand" as Depeche Mode. It's brooding, foreboding and seductive, and often not without the kinky undertones that you can easily find on earlier songs like "Blasphemous Rumors" or "Master and Servant." (Think of how the line "Pain, will you return it" leaps away from the hooky chorus of "Strangelove.") But once DM discovered a consistent knack for the pop hook, there was no holding their fortunes back.

The push/pull of a song like "Personal Jesus" drives the brilliant obsessive lyric home, to a point where even Johnny Cash could recognize the universality of the words. It, along with "Policy Of Truth," are probably the most honest of Martin Gore's songs on this double set. But even after the worldwide stardom granted them after "Violator," DM tried frequently to experiment with the sound.

"Songs Of Faith and Devotion" found the band flirting with guitar rock and gospel, and it's the crunch of "I Feel You" that opens the second half of "The Singles 86<98." Fans of the moodier keyboard driven DM may have been put off by this elaborate amount of experimentation (and by the fact that Alan Wilder's exit had left the group to carry on as a trio), but they would have missed the pleading beauty of "Walking in My Shoes." Which, given Dave Gahan's oncoming near death from a heroin addiction that kicked in during the "Violator" world tour, seems to make more sense. The music of "Ultra" even seemed to capture the aftermath (titles like "It's No Good," "Useless" and "Barrel of a Gun") as Martin Gore watched his partner's parade of madness, but it was also a major return to classic DM form. "Gun" in particular sounds like a descent through a numb fog, just the kind of depression obsession fans of "Black Celebration" had probably been missing. (The 2001 album "Exciter" came after this anthology, but is a cool minimalist CD worthy of your time.)

The remaining tracks, "Little 15" and "Everything Counts" are noteworthy but not exceptional. The single mix of "Little 15" was only released in France. The live version of "Everything Counts" ducks the issue of having been released in its original form before 1986 by taking the version from the "101" concert album and movie, and holds its status as an audience fave even before the days of superstardom.

Also, would it be too much to ask to get a full CD of DM's amazing bonus tracks and soundtrack selections? "Route 66," "Dangerous" "Sea of Sin," etc., deserve a better fate than to be bonus tracks on CD singles.

While I have a hard time telling anyone to just jump off a hits collection and get an individual DM album, it's still hard not to with bands that were making great whole sets. I'd certainly recommend anything from the period from "Some Great Reward" to the hit laden "Violator." Still, both of "The Singles" collections are fine places to either fill gaps or get some DM on a budget.

Depeche Mode's music is, in my opinion, the best of all generations because it incorporates synth pop, alternative, Brit, and deep lyric all in one style. This album is a must-have. For those who have never heard dm before, they will be hooked instantly. Even if you have every dm album except this, don't be cheap: buy it. It's more than worth the money. Plus, you can have the best songs all on 2 CDs instead of many. You'll want to listen to the album all the time. As for the songs, enjoy the silence is the best song ever made (EVER), while stripped, strangelove, never let me down again, behind the wheel, personal jesus, policy of truth, world in my eyes, i feel you (god, i can't possibly fit them all) are all magnificent. [Did you notice the newest Gap commercial? It pleases me greatly that dm is remembered so.] 5 stars just isn't enough for this, the best band of all time.

The above editorial review suggests that DM included the live version of "Everything Counts", which was originally released in 1983, to milk a cash cow, and even "fudged chronology" to do so. This isn't the case at *all*. This live version was released as a hit single in 1989 (Mute Cat# Bong16) and therefore fits perfectly into the chronology and theme established by the title.

As for this record itself, it's a fantastically put together and very historically accurate document of DM's output of hit singles during the years in question. The idea is simple and straightforward: compile the 7" versions of each of their singles between the years 1986-1998 (with a few technical exceptions that would only be noticed by the most devoted fans). It's not by any means their most consistent or best album; look to either "Violator" or "The Singles 81-85" for such an item. Never-the-less, the album itself is very, very good and an excellent place to start for anybody who wants to become acquainted with the band and hear some excellently written and produced electronic music.

My sole complaint with this album is that the singles "Little 15" and "Everything Counts Live" aren't put in their proper chronology but rather placed at the very end of the album for whatever reason.

But as for accusations of milking cash cows...that's alomst complete nonsense. This compliation was built with historical accuracy in mind and if the cash comes, it's only a result of the suberb music and production on this record. Get this along with "The Singles 81-85" for a very good introduction to this superlative pop band.

The first disc in the two disc set The Singles 86>98 effectively compiles the best songs from Black Celebration, Music for the Masses, and Violator (with a few exceptions-"Here Is the House," "But Not Tonight," "Nothing," and "Halo" are not included because they were not released as singles). The second disc covers, in my opinion, the weaker singles from DM's most recent albums: Songs of Faith & Devotion and Ultra. Oddly, "Little 15" and a live version of "Everything Counts" show up at the end of disc two on this otherwise chronologically ordered compilation. In many cases, the single versions found here are not the same as the album versions, and while most of the single versions are as good, if not better, than there corresponding album versions, the single version of "Behind the Wheel" is noticeably weaker than the version found on Music for the Masses. In addition, a couple of Depeche Mode's albums, namely Black Celebration and Violator, contain strong material throughout and I would recommend purchasing them in addition to this compilation.

The Singles 86>98 covers all the hits the popular synth-pop band Depeche Mode put out during this 12 year period. Included are the radio classics "Personal Jesus", "Enjoy the Silence" and "Policy of Truth" as well as more recent material like "Home", the exclusive track "Only When I Lose Myself" and a live version of the old single "Everything Counts." It seems as though this 2CD set was compiled mainly for the casual fans of the band, such as myself, but it still does a good job laying out all of the band's top work in chronological order. That said, it seems as though maybe 2 discs are a bit unnecessary - as several tracks from the second CD don't particularly hold up quite as well as those from the first. Still, this is an excellent package that showcases some of the finest work of Gore, Gahan and Fletcher.

Highlights: "Stripped", "A Question of Lust", "Personal Jesus", "Enjoy the Silence", "Policy of Truth", "Home", "Only When I Lose Myself."