For those interested this is one of three great and very strange CDs from partial frontman Alan Wilder for DP: The last of the Depeche Mode-era Recoil, February 23, 2004 In April 1992, this album was released, Alan Wilder's third-and as it would turn out-last Recoil release while in the band Depeche Mode. It was recorded right after the band's huge 'World Violation' tour, where they had all tasted the pinnacle of their efforts, reaching official stardom status, even though much more was still to come. In this brief lull, Wilder crafted the "Bloodline" album, utilizing guest vocalists for the first time (his previous two Recoil albums, "1+2" and "Hydrology" comprised long instrumental tracks with a haunting appeal, though they were not commercially-friendly-indeed, "Bloodline" was originally intended to be an instrumental album). The track listing goes as follows: (01) Faith Healer (5:59) (02) Electro Blues for Bukka White (8:58) (03) The Defector (8:01) (04) Edge to Life (6:08) (05) Curse (7:04) (06) Bloodline (6:48) (07) Freeze (7:28) [this track was not included on the vinyl release] The track "Faith Healer" was released as the album's only single, in March 1992, for good reason, as it is the one track that stands out in the album; sung by vocalist Doug McCarthy (of the band Nitzer Ebb), it has a catchy chorus and pulsing tone. "Edge to Life" and "Bloodline" are both sung by Toni Halliday (of the band Curve), though in hindsight, both Alan Wilder and his fans admit that her vocals were toned down a little too low, probably because, at the time, Wilder was more concerned with portraying the album's musical prowess than the contents of its vocals. "Curse" is sung, or 'rapped' by Moby, and is the album's most socially-aware-raising track. "Electro Blues" is a bluesy, electric pulse that is filled with the vocals of Booker T. Washington White (cousin of B. B. King) put through a filter and sampled into the track (an interesting remix of the song was later put on the Recoil single "Jezebel" in September 2000). Fans of Recoil's previous two albums will find solace with this LP's two instrumental tracks, "The Defector" and "Freeze," though in my humble opinion, I prefer the former track to the latter. A few Depeche Mode-era samples, from songs of theirs like "I Want You Now," "Personal Jesus," "Enjoy the Silence" and, no doubt, others, have made their way into this LP. All in all, it is a cool album, interesting not only for its musical qualities and in displaying the ever-heightening talent of Mr. Alan Wilder (and no other, except for the vocalists, of course), but also for its appearance in Depeche Mode's history, the last Recoil album churned out in this context. In 1993, the band made their album "Songs of Faith and Devotion" and undertook a draining tour soon thereafter, which frayed all of them and, upon its end, convinced Wilder that his vocation was to be found elsewhere.