Various – For The Masses

This is the most diabolically terrible tribute album I’ve ever heard. The A&R person for this colossal mistake should be ashamed. Forever. Unlistenable and monumentally short sited. Incomprehensibly awful and for no good reason. An absolute stain in the DM discography. Why? Just…why?

The title alone actually (and sadly) describes the nature of this very tribute album - despite the irony of the DM's classic album's title which it paraphrases.

It couldn't have chosen a better moment for release, as indie-music's rather shaky late 90s time progressed into the rise of trendy nu-metal/quasi-industrial/r'n'b mash up, while more genuine electro-pop that Depeche Mode are naturally initiators and informers of, experienced a certain downfall during that time. Furtherly, it's truly sad that Mute Records and the group themselves never considered "For the Masses" a more genuine concept affair (just look at the example of This Mortal Coil's amazing in-house approach regarding tributes), allowing the results this weak and shallow.

Depeche Mode themselves today are just as washed-down-the-drain institution that finally turned into a rock band. I always like to say that people seeing them in concert during their golden era of 101/Violator/SOFAD tours were the happiest girls and boys witnessing true qualities of this band. The progress DM made with 'Faith and Devotion" onwards, is perfectly reasonable, according to their career circumstances, equally exploring new trends of the era. Still, while they helped making trends and despite their omnipresence stayed fairly aside, DM became aware of how enslaved at the same time their music became by others emulating these trends.

I wish there isn't that much frustration with a DM tribute album, because at a single mention the idea sounds truly promising. However, instead of giving DM a deserved credit and more personal respect, most artists here truly sound like a waste of time. The Cure, Meat Beat Manifesto, Apollo 440 - even Gus Gus (who - despite their interestingly perverse rendition of "Monument" and Daniel Agust's beautiful vocals - managed to stretch their selection into a spineless, over-the-top "Polydistortion-esque" leftover), and not to mention examples like Hooverphonic, Veruca Salt (this is the ultimate death of "Somebody"), Rabbit in the Moon, God Lives Underwater, Monster Magnet (theirs is definitely "black" but no "celebration" at all) or Dishwalla among the chosen "lucky ones", all doing an utterly boring, pointless reminder's job.

But of course my personal listener's dislike, above all, goes towards the work of Rammstein alone, as their established industrial macho-travesty mercilessly devours "Stripped" like a bunch of rednecks, becoming the tasteless norm of it all (the worst result of this is their version is far more popular in clubs these days than the original). In a way, the decision that the very Rammstein were going to force their cliches onto this very song, was as predictable as the evolution of goth culture towards Eurodance.

Covers, let alone this one, should be done with more gut feeling (and here, the only light at the end of a 60-something minute long dreadful tunnel belongs to Smashing Pumpkins ("Never Let Me Down Again") and Locust with their Gainsborroughesque-bossa-nova style rendition of "Master And Servant" and this was years before Nouvelle Vague), than that of simple "target groups" practice. While even the earlier attempt ("I Sometimes Wish I was Famous" anyone?) failed to give a more consistent concept tribute to DM, "For the Masses" sums up one thing most people dislike regarding the original group with a reason - the pretentiousness of their horde of lousy imitators. Luckily for Depeche Mode, years later, Johnny Cash singlehandedly washed off these ugly stains in a true legend style, paying an honest, deserved tribute to the group (a "Personal Jesus" worth believing in - even though Depeche did an acoustic version themselves back in the day).

As much as I typically dislike tribute records this one is actually quite good. The tracks by God Lives Underwater, Failure, Dishwalla (surprisingly enough), Hooverphonic, Rabbit In The Moon, and Apollo Four Forty are excellent. The remaining tracks are all listenable with the exception of Rammstein's cover of "Stripped," which is definitely--to put it nicely--subpar.