***VARIOUS ARTISTS : “Deadicated” : <i> Arista</i>

You can hear the Dead-dreaders now: “Sure these songs are OK when people like Elvis Costello and Los Lobos do ‘em, but the Dead’s still just a bunch of old hippies.”

Not so fast: Most of the cuts on this tribute to Jerry Garcia and company, including Los Lobos doing the roots-rocking “Bertha” and Costello the bitter, resigned “Ship of Fools,” are virtually identical to the Dead’s blueprints.

The point of the album (besides benefiting the rain forests) is to prove to the Deadnots what Deadheads have always maintained: In there with the legendary vibes and the hippie mystique are some really good songs--character studies and short stories that tap into the very fabric of the American myth. And you don’t have to have tie-dyed eyes to appreciate the craft.

“Ship of Fools” could be a Costello song, while “Friend of the Devil” could have come from the pen of its performer, Lyle Lovett. If that’s not quality songwriting, then what is? Even several artists that don’t really figure (e.g. Midnight Oil and Jane’s Addiction) find common ground between the Dead gestalt and their own aesthetics. Remember: There are Deadhead stickers on Cadillacs.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic).