Playing the Angel was the first Depeche Mode album with writing from Dave Gahan: Suffer Well, I Want It All, and Nothing's Impossible are his, after years in which Martin Gore handled the songwriting alone. The eleventh studio album, originally from 2005, was also the first collaboration with producer Ben Hillier, who let the synthesizers sound rougher and more distorted than on earlier records. Precious was the opening single and reached the UK top 5; A Pain That I'm Used To and John the Revelator are the harshest moments. The sleeve carries the line 'Pain and suffering in various tempos', which the band used as the album's motto. This edition is a 2LP.