Once upon a time, there was a band called Depeche Mode that was named after a French fashion magazine, although the members were, in fact, British. They had songs that managed to be both as catchy as a summer cold and as gloomy as a teenage mood-swing. Presciently, they relied on synthesizers and electronics the way some bands leaned on guitar licks and drum solos. They were a smash from the very start, with songs like "`Just Can't Get Enough'' and "Everything Counts'' burning up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Seventeen years and 35 million records later, the devil is giving the band their due. Maybe not Beelzebub himself, but the next best thing: a gaggle of alternative (ish) types who've contributed to this tribute to the pioneers of bouncy dirges. Among the best of the bunch is the opening track, Smashing Pumpkins' spooky interpretation of "Never Let Me Down Again.'' Billy Corgan half-whispers the lyrics, building ominously while a dreamy guitar keeps languid pace until the song breaks loose with the incongruous line about keeping best friends, "as long as I remember who's wearing the trousers.'' Failure's version of "Enjoy the Silence'' is another sonic treat, with blasting guitar layers punctuating the near-sappy sentiment, "All I ever wanted, all I ever needed, is here in my arms.''

Hooverphonic's "Shake the Disease'' is stuffed with synth effects, managing to evoke the precise moment when the song was at its freshest and adding a new layer of eerie female vocals that make it current again. Meat Beat Manifesto's limply rendered rendition of "Everything Counts" is as relentlessly infectious as the original, with a chorus that echoes in the brain long after the last note fades. Less successful are The Cure's messy interpretation of "World In My Eyes'' and Deftones' self-indulgent wanking away at "To Have And To Hold.'' But on the whole, "For the Masses'' manages to be the rare recorded accolade that actually honors the group that inspired the project in the first place.
By Julene Snyder