"I Feel You" is a song by English electronic music band
Depeche Mode, released on 15 February 1993 by
Mute as their 27th UK single and the first single from their eighth studio album, Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993). The song peaked at number eight on the
UK Singles Chart and also made number one and number three on the US BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart and the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart. It is one of the band's highest-charting singles worldwide. The accompanying music video was directed by
Anton Corbijn.
Details
"I Feel You" demonstrates a more rock-oriented sound, using more non-electronic instruments than ever before. For example,
Alan Wilder plays drums, and
Martin Gore plays the guitar, but with electronic sounds still included, like the synthesized tyre screeching intro. "I Feel You" has a
compound time signature of 6/8. The 7" version of "I Feel You" is the same as the album version. The "Throb" mix is the 12" version, but with incomplete lyrics. A part of the "Swamp" mix is used as an interlude on the Songs of Faith and Devotion album between "Get Right with Me" and "Rush"; this was also used in the intro for the live arrangements of "I Feel You" that were played during their
Devotional/
Summer tours.
The single release contained "One Caress", a track from Songs of Faith and Devotion sung by Martin Gore. In the US,
Sire/
Reprise released "One Caress" as a promotional single. One promotional copy has the original version, and the other has the version from Songs of Faith and Devotion Live. There is no remix for the song.
Critical reception
In his weekly UK chart commentary,
James Masterton wrote, "In a similar vein to "
Personal Jesus" the track may not have quite the momentum to go Top 3 and is unlikely to win them any new fans."[5]David Quantick from NME viewed it as "a song which takes
INXS's arena bluster and turns it into a dark and mean glitter stomp."[6] Sam Wood from Philadelphia Inquirer described it as "a screeching blast of hellish white noise. A claustrophobic electro-blues shackled to a two-note guitar figure, "I Feel You" trumpets the onrush of a terrifying mystical experience."[7]
Music video
The black-and-white music video for "I Feel You" was directed by Dutch photographer, film director and music video director
Anton Corbijn. The woman in the video is English actress
Lysette Anthony. There is also a music video for "One Caress", directed by
Kevin Kerslake, that was filmed during one of the off-days of the Devotional Tour in the US. It is a promotional video that was later released on The Videos 86>98. Prior to its inclusion on The Videos 86>98, the music video for "One Caress" was frequently broadcast on MTV's Alternative Rock video block 120 Minutes and Sky One. On 2 September 1993, "I Feel You" was nominated in the
MTV Video Music Awards.[8]
The "Life's Too Short" mix and the "Swamp" mix are by
Brian Eno; the "Throb" mix and the "Helmet at the Helm" mix are by
Mike Stent; the "Babylon" mix is by John Crossley and Supereal; and the "Afghan Surgery" mix is by Danny Briottet and
Renegade Soundwave.
Placebo covered the song in 1999, and was released as a single-sided cassette. It was later released on Sleeping with Ghosts for the 2 CD version, which included a covers album.
^I Feel You (UK cassette single sleeve). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1993. C Bong 21.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^I Feel You (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1993. 12 Bong 21.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^I Feel You (UK limited 12-inch single sleeve). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1993. L12 Bong 21.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^I Feel You (UK CD2 liner notes). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1993. LCD Bong 21.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^I Feel You (UK CD1 liner notes). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1993. CD Bong 21.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^I Feel You (Japanese CD single liner notes). Depeche Mode. Mute Records. 1993. ALCB-721.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^I Feel You (US maxi-cassette single sleeve). Depeche Mode. Sire Records, Reprise Records. 1993. 4-40767.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^I Feel You (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Depeche Mode. Sire Records, Reprise Records. 1993. 9 40767-2.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^I Feel You (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Depeche Mode. Sire Records, Reprise Records. 1993. 9 40784-2.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)