Two years after releasing Exciter, quite possibly the worst Depeche Mode album ever, I can see why primary DM songwriter Martin Gore decided to release a solo album of nothing but cover songs. Counterfeit 2 is a follow-up of sorts to his late eighties Counterfeit ep, which only had six songs, and here he tries to double that output. Gore doesn't make things easy for himself with these covers either. Instead of trying to tackle everyday run of the mill covers, he tries to take on obscure tracks from the likes of John Lennon, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and others. A few of the songs, like his take on Brian Eno's "By This River" sound trite and recycled.You could almost sing the lyrics of Depeche Mode's "Somebody" right over the beat he has laid groundwork for this Eno classic. But most of this album shows that Gore can take these covers to great heights. I'm sure everyone only remembers David Essex for his one hit Rock On, but Gore proves that Essex could also write passionately, taking on one of his lesser known songs "Stardust."

The best track on the album though is Gore's interpretation of the jazz classic "Lost in the Stars" by Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill. "Stars" has been covered by a wide range of artists from Judy Garland to Tony Bennett, but Gore puts a classic spin on this lost gem. He strips away all the hi tech wizardry he's known for, and just sits at the piano and belts it out. This album is quite uneven at times, but is still an ambitious set of cover songs from a great songwriter in his own right.