1. Precious - Sasha's Spooky Mix - Edit
2. Precious - Sasha's Gargantuan Vocal Mix - Edit
3. Precious - Michael Mayer Balearic Mix
4. Precious - Misc. Full Vocal Mix
5. Precious - Misc. Crunch Mix
6. Precious - Motor Remix
Precious (single version):
Precious (Motor remix)
"Precious" is Depeche Mode's forty-first single, and the first single from the album Playing the Angel. It was released on October 3, 2005 in the UK by Mute Records and October 11, 2005 in the US by Sire/Reprise. The single reached #4 in the UK, #71 on the Hot 100, and #23 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart.
It was the band's first single of original music in more than three years. "Precious" was released to international radio stations and as a digital download on 22 August 2005.
Although the meaning of almost all of Depeche Mode's songs are not revealed (because Martin Gore prefers people to find their own meanings for each song) he made an exception with "Precious", revealing that the song is written about his children and what they must have been going through when he was getting a divorce from their mother.
To accompany the new single and album, a program called the Depeche Mode Receiver was released. The video for "Precious" received its worldwide premiere via this program on 12 September 2005.
An early version of the video (with unfinished rendering and many sketch placeholders) was leaked to the internet long before the song was even out, so most fans were able to listen to Precious about two months ahead of the release. In fact, the Digital Download may not have even been released if not for the leak, which was widespread within days.
The music video for "Precious" features the band performing on an empty, computer-generated cruise ship, before walking out into an alien-looking (also CG) forest. The video was directed by Uwe Flade, who directed the "Enjoy the Silence 04" video. It is streamable for free on the Depeche Mode website in the archives.
"Free" is the B-side to "Precious". It's a techno beat with an old school feel. It was unavailable in the USA, aside from importing, but is now available on iTunes. It also appears as a bonus track on the Japanese version of Playing the Angel. There is no remix of the song, aside from an acoustic "Bare" version that was heard at the Touring the Angel press conference, as shown on the Playing the Angel Electronic Press Kit, however the full/stand-alone version is not available for download or purchase at this time.
"Precious" was also featured in Smallville's fifth season premiere episode. The song was also played during episodes of the TV shows Bones, Charmed and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Trance act Blank & Jones remixed the single though their production has yet to be released. However, they have played their remix out during their live DJ sets.
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