Sylvain Chauveau & Ensemble Nocturne - Down To The Bone: An Acoustic Tribute To Depeche Mode [Ici D'Ailleurs Promo]

Recently re-issued via Ici D'Ailleurs on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its original release is Sylvain Chauveau's "Down To To The Bone: An Acoustic Tribute To Depeche Mode" which is... well, the title says it all. Eleven takes and variations on the greatest SynthPop band of all time, executed acousticly and romanticly with piano, strings and vocals including hits like "Stripped", "Policy Of Truth", "In Your Room" and "Never Let Me Down Again" amongst others are to be found here, but - not only for Depeche Mode being one of the earliest musical influences and amongst the most favorite band for the author of these lines - the bar seems to be set too high so the cover / tribute versions are falling short of impact; too familiar are the original songs, too bound to Dave Gahan's lead vocals and the original SynthPop instrumentation. Fans - and not-fans as well - will immediately hear and compare the genre defining, anthemic original versions in their heads whenever one of Sylvain Chauveau interpretations starts to play and it'll be surely hard for them to appreciate the artists tribute for what it is, with the well-performed, scenic and beautiful "In Your Room" being the exception from the norm.  But other than that, die-hard Depeche Mode fans like us will not be impressed.