Remember Q Magazine’s tribute album to U2’s Achtung Baby that I tipped you off to exactly a month ago today? The all-star set was compiled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Irish rockers’ landmark album, released on November 19, 1991, a milestone officially reached yesterday.

Well, after sending folks like me scrambling to snag a reasonably priced import of issue Q305, a task made much more difficult since Borders has shuttered its doors, (Ǎhk-to͝ong Bāy-Bi) Covered was released on Tuesday as an iTunes exclusive. Even better, particularly as we prep for some thanks and giving in the U.S. later this week, all proceeds from the set benefit Concern Worldwide‘s efforts to fight hunger and related diseases in east Africa. Yays all around.

While Garbage’s cover of “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” is still tops with me, like the original Achtung Baby, there much more to love on (Ǎhk-to͝ong Bāy-Bi) Covered. Like Depeche Mode doing “So Cruel,” for instance, which the veteran Brits have made even better than the real thing, as I never gave the tune much time before.

“We first heard ‘Achtung Baby’ working on ‘Songs Of Faith And Devotion’ with Flood,” says Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore. “It was the closest our bands ever got: U2 had become more electronic while Depeche Mode were working on a new rock vision. But there was never a rivalry. Bono used reverse psychology in his email [about ‘(Ǎhk-to͝ong Bāy-Bi) Covered’], saying he totally understood why we’d say no. We just thought, why not? ‘So Cruel’ is Bono at his best, words-wise. And we couldn’t tackle ‘One’ — that would be almost sacrilegious.”

And of course, The Killers’ recording of “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” mustn’t be skipped. Somehow they’ve managed to make the song sound even more like U2.

Once again, here’s the full tracklisting for (Ǎhk-to͝ong Bāy-Bi) Covered:

01 Nine Inch Nails – “Zoo Station”
02 U2 – “Even Better Than The Real Thing” (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
03 Damien Rice – “One”
04 Patti Smith – “Until The End Of The World”
05 Garbage – “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
06 Depeche Mode – “So Cruel”
07 Snow Patrol – “Mysterious Ways”
08 The Fray – “Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World”
09 Gavin Friday – “The Fly”
10 The Killers – “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”
11 Glasvegas – “Acrobat”
12 Jack White – “Love Is Blindness

Purchase (Ǎhk-to͝ong Bāy-Bi) Covered via iTunes.