For the Masses released August 4, 1998! It is a tribute album to Depeche Mode. The opening track is The Smashing Pumpkins cover of "Never Let Me Down Again", which was originally released as a B-side on the "Rocket" single. It was also released on the Siamese Singles box set, and on the 2011 deluxe reissue of Siamese Dream.
This cover was by request of bassist D'arcy Wretzky who is a long-time Depeche Mode fan. It was recorded at BBC Radio One on September 12, 1993 – the same session where "Landslide" was recorded, and Billy Corgan finished writing "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". "Never Let Me Down Again" was perhaps recorded in one take.
"Never Let Me Down Again" was occasionally performed live by The Pumpkins during 1994's Rock Invasion tour, and at the Double Door charity shows in February 1995. In 1998 following the release of For the Masses, Corgan joined Depeche Mode to perform it at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show. The song wouldn't be performed again until twenty years later at The Smashing Pumpkins' 30th Anniversary Series shows in late 2018.
For the Masses peaked at #69 on the Billboard 200 and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all time. It received mixed critical reviews, but The Smashing Pumpkins' cover was noted as a highlight. AllMusic wrote that Depeche Mode songs are "difficult to cover without replicating the original arrangements" and that only a few bands succeeded in making the songs their own, singling out The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, GusGus, and Rammstein. NME similarly states that this tribute album is "not about investigating Depeche Mode's legacy, but massaging swollen egos". The Smashing Pumpkins and The Cure are commended for attempting something different while the rest of the entries fail in adding their own twist to the songs and are hoping for "some controversy-free exposure".
https://spcodex.wiki/For_the_Masses
For the Masses released August 4, 1998! It is a tribute album to Depeche Mode. The opening track is The Smashing Pumpkins cover of "Never Let Me Down Again", which was originally released as a B-side on the "Rocket" single. It was also released on the Siamese Singles box set, and on the 2011 deluxe reissue of Siamese Dream.
This cover was by request of bassist D'arcy Wretzky who is a long-time Depeche Mode fan. It was recorded at BBC Radio One on September 12, 1993 – the same session where "Landslide" was recorded, and Billy Corgan finished writing "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". "Never Let Me Down Again" was perhaps recorded in one take.
"Never Let Me Down Again" was occasionally performed live by The Pumpkins during 1994's Rock Invasion tour, and at the Double Door charity shows in February 1995. In 1998 following the release of For the Masses, Corgan joined Depeche Mode to perform it at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show. The song wouldn't be performed again until twenty years later at The Smashing Pumpkins' 30th Anniversary Series shows in late 2018.
For the Masses peaked at #69 on the Billboard 200 and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all time. It received mixed critical reviews, but The Smashing Pumpkins' cover was noted as a highlight. AllMusic wrote that Depeche Mode songs are "difficult to cover without replicating the original arrangements" and that only a few bands succeeded in making the songs their own, singling out The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, GusGus, and Rammstein. NME similarly states that this tribute album is "not about investigating Depeche Mode's legacy, but massaging swollen egos". The Smashing Pumpkins and The Cure are commended for attempting something different while the rest of the entries fail in adding their own twist to the songs and are hoping for "some controversy-free exposure".
https://spcodex.wiki/For_the_Masses
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