Duration: 0:00

19 views

1

Enjoy the Silence › Released

1990
Enjoy the Silence" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. Recorded in 1989, it was released as the second single from their seventh studio album, Violator (1990), on 5 February 1990. The song is certified Gold in the US and Germany.[8] The song won Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1991.[9]

"Enjoy the Silence"

Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Violator
B-side
"Memphisto"
"Sibeling"
Released
5 February 1990[1]
Recorded
1989
Studio
Puk (Gjerlev)
Logic (Milan)[2]
Genre
Synth-pop[3][4]synth-rock[5]alternative rock[6][7]
Length
6:12 (album version)
4:15 (single version)
7:18 (12-inch version)
Label
Mute
Songwriter(s)
Martin Gore
Producer(s)
Depeche ModeFlood
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Personal Jesus"
(1989) "Enjoy the Silence"
(1990) "Policy of Truth"
(1990)

Music video
"Enjoy the Silence" on YouTube
"Enjoy the Silence" was re-released as a single in 2004 for the Depeche Mode remix project Remixes 81–04, and was titled "Enjoy the Silence (Reinterpreted)" or, more simply, "Enjoy the Silence 04".
the viewer.[22][23] The "official version" begins with a group shot of the band, but this time it is Martin Gore who looks to his right as the song begins. This version omits the shots of Gahan singing directly to the camera. The only verses Gahan is shown singing are "Words are very unnecessary/They can only do harm." The video ends with Gahan sitting on a deck chair in the snow while the last line, "Enjoy the silence", is sung.[24] There are also differences in the group shots of the band standing together between the two versions. The "alternate" version is similar to the "official alternative version", except it omits entirely the outdoor shots of Gahan walking through nature and includes even more group shots of the band, including one of Gahan and Fletcher breaking into laughter and smiles.

Promotional video
edit
On 2 December 1989, "Enjoy the Silence" was performed live on Peter's Pop Show in Germany.[25] On 19 December 1989, a promotional single for "Enjoy the Silence" was pressed.[26] In 1990, a promotional video for "Enjoy the Silence" was shot by French TV (for the TV Show "Champs-Élysées" with Michel Drucker) featuring Depeche Mode lip-synching the song while standing on the observation deck atop the South Tower of the original World Trade Center in New York City.[27][unreliable source?]
"Enjoy the Silence" was released as a
Critical reception
edit
In a retrospective review, Andy Healy from Albumism wrote that the song "combined much loved elements of lush synth beds, haunting melodies, and aching lyrics, which coalesced with house beats and slick guitar lines." He added, "Gahan's vocals are intimate and seductive as they draw you in, with lyrics that examine the quiet satisfaction of a relationship, those tender moments when silence fills the void and your lover is in your arms and the world ceases to exist. There was something inviting. Something powerful in those declarations. Something that you could latch on to and feel a part of."[14] AllMusic editor Tim Di Gravina stated that it is one of Depeche Mode's "greatest songs", with a "pristine and lush yet punishing musical environment", and "lyrics of violence and darkness".[15] Upon the release, Bill Coleman from Billboard called it an "engaging charmer"[16] and a "more radio-viable effort" than the group's last hit, "Personal Jesus". He noted further that the track "blends [the] quintet's recognizable techno-pop melodies with trendy house grooves."[17]

Simon Reynolds from Melody Maker wrote, "Depeche studiously keep their finger on the pulse of contemporaneity (the choral synths nod to the New Age thang, the guitars to New Order), but somehow the glum, earnest vibrato in the singer's gullet make this feel very dated: New Romanticism infected with C86 miserablism."[18] David Giles from Music Week commented, "The best Depeche Mode single in years heralds a return to the classic pop approach of their early Eighties hits like Everything Counts in contrast to the electro beat obsession of recent recordings. The song itself is heavily to the fore here, and strong enough, perhaps to furnish the band with their first number one hit."[19] A reviewer from People Magazine said the song is "enriched", "with a strong bass and percussive bottom overwhelming the band’s penchant for thin, ethereal synthesizer motifs."[20] Stephen Gore from Sputnik Music noted the juxtaposition on Violator between "Enjoy the Silence" – where the narrator wants silence from the world as words are "like violence" – and the next song "Policy of Truth", which argues that a successful relationship can only be based on lies.[21]