Customer Reviews

I Am Sam - Music From and Inspired By the Motion Picture

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(62)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

This is the kind of album you want to take the time to listen to all the way through while wearing really great headphones - it's tender, personal and packed with details that might get overlooked if you were driving or otherwise engaged.

I've been a Beatles fan forever, so I was intrigued but prepared to be disappointed by covers. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a beautifully conceived and delivered album. Nearly every performer (except maybe Grandaddy with a tepid "Revolution") manages to stay true to the Beatles' original while still adding a little something of themselves to the song, a testament to the strength of both the songwriters and the performers.

The album features an eclectic bunch, from the Black Crowes (with a trippy "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds") to Paul Westerberg (lending new depth to "Nowhere Man" with his seen-it-all-but-still-hopeful time-worn voice). It's especially nice to see lesser-known performers like Heather Nova and the Vines getting space here as well. The common thread seems to be a genuine passion for the music - the inside cover of the CD jacket says simply "all you need is love," and this album really does feel like a labor of love. Most of the songs have a mellow, dreamy quality; listening is sort of like being wrapped up in a warm blanket.

Michael Penn (brother of "I am Sam" star Sean Penn) and his wife Aimee Mann start things off with a tender, Simon-and-Garfunkle-esque duet of "Two of Us." Sarah McLachlan's "Blackbird" is pretty but doesn't add much to the original, which is probably a good thing. Rufus Wainright's "Across the Universe" - with its timely refrain of "Nothing's gonna change my world" - is passionate and plaintive.

My favorite is the Wallflower's rendition of "I'm Looking Through You," one of the more lively songs on the album, with jangly guitars and those familiar Beatles harmonies.

Other standouts include Eddie Vedder bleeding his soul into a growling "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and Nick Cave closing out the album with a slightly darker take on "Let It Be."

Overall, this album gave me a renewed appreciation for the Beatles' song-craft and the timeless ability of this deceptively simple music to reach deep into the soul. It's also a chance to hear from some of today's top artists as well as brush up on some other great musicians who don't get as much mainstream exposure.

This is one of the best albums of Beatle cover versions I have ever heard, but several of the songs on the album are also the worst I've ever heard. The gems make up for the failures, however. I have never heard a better version of 'Across the Universe', outside of the Beatles original, than the version by the very-talented Rufus Wainwright. Eddie Vedder sings a soulful and unforgettable version of 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away'. Ben Harper's cover of 'Strawberry Fields Forever' is absolutely beautiful. The husband and wife team of Aimee Mann and Michael Penn bring a fresh charm to 'Two of Us'. Ben Folds' 'Golden Slumbers' is memorable, and Sarah McLachlan is a fine choice for 'Blackbird'.

The first three quarters of this album are fantastic, but there are three versions I find downright unlistenable. Chocolate Genius completely destroys the soul and spirit of 'Julia'. And, although John Lennon originally wanted 'Revolution' to be a slow song, the version by Grandaddy completely misses the point. Nick Cave's version of Let It Be, which finishes off the album, completely spoils the song.

Every other song on the album is either very good or pretty close to a gem. I choose to skip the three songs I couldn't bear to listen to, and enjoy the album for its good points.

I had fallen away from the Beatles music, but this soundtrack drew me back in. Although I had spent some time listening to other genres and styles of music, this soundtrack reminded me of how much I really did love the Beatles... And still do. I must say that among these renditions of the great Beatles hits the Eddie Vedder (Hide Your Love Away), Black Crowes (Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds), Sarah McLaughlan (Blackbird), Sheryl Crow (Mother Nature's Son), and suprisingly Aimee Mann and Michael Penn's (Two of Us) performances were AMAZING. Although nothing will ever be as good as the original, once you've seen the movie you gain a very deep appreciation for this soundtrack. Once you've seen the movie you really learn to love Rufus Wainwright's version of "Across the Universe" you can even hear in the back of your head Lucy trying to convince herself that "nothing's gonna change my world." And also, in the tender moment with Lucy and Sam on the bus, when Lucy is running away from the social worker, "Strawberry Fields" (One of my favorite Beatles songs by far) by Ben Harper adds a very soft sound to that moment. This is overall a great soundtrack. Don't let any of these negative criticisms on here deter you from buying this one. It's a keeper.

It will always be incredibly challenging to match the artistic talent that The Beatles possessed. Nevertheless, this set of songs by the artists on this CD is as good as it gets to achieving a proper, respectful tribute to The Beatles with thoughtful and passionate cover songs.

The CD has a whopping 17 tracks for almost an hour of music from the movie (or inspired by the movie) I Am Sam. The music was beautifully woven into the movie; but even with just this CD you'll be blown away! It's a must-have for fans of The Beatles, the artists here, and fans of great rock everywhere.

The CD starts off strong with a rendition of "Two Of Us" by Aimee Mann and Michael Penn. I think their personal relationship helped make them harmonize so well for this song. The Black Crowes do an excellent job with the musical arrangement for "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds;" the drums are first-class! Sheryl Crow injects a great country music accent to "Mother Nature's Son." Sarah McLachlan performs a very sensitive rendition of "Blackbird;" and the CD ends beautifully with one of my very favorite Beatles songs, "Let It Be" performed by Nick Cave with Chaz Jankel on piano. Awesome!

Amazon writes that some of the "reinterpretations (on this album)...are riskier." I don't agree. While risks were taken, you won't know it! For example, Grandaddy does a great job of adding their own spice to "Revolution" and Paul Westerberg's voice was rather pleasing to my ear on "Nowhere Man."

The quality of the sound is excellent; and all of the musical arrangements are very thoughtfully produced. The liner notes come with a few color pictures from the motion picture I Am Sam; and you also get the song credits.

Overall, this CD is the product of an exceptionally talented group of artists who perform a noticeably sensitive suite of covers of great Beatles songs. This album will touch a nerve in you and leave you wondering why they couldn't have recorded even more. The singers expressed even the finest of nuances in the meanings of every word in every song; and I treasure this album as one of my preferred CDs. If this were a vinyl album I would have worn the grooves off of it long ago.

When given the Beatles' vast and almost uniformly brilliant catalog of songs, the comparative skill of any contemporary artist or group covering just one of those songs becomes immediately apparent. This is the case on the soundtrack to the film "I Am Sam", which showcases seventeen radio-friendly and largely successful homages by a handful of recognizable musicians.

By and large, the most successful tracks here are Eddie Vedder's "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", Aimee Mann & Michael Penn's leadoff track "Two of Us", and The Wallflower's "I'm Looking Through You" - the songs performed by those inherently talented and respectful, yet with nothing to prove. For the most part, this is the case, and even those who experiment with the tone of the original, such as Grandaddy's arhythmic, blip-spotted "Revolution" or Howie Day's slowed-down, acoustic "Help!" are worth a listen. Had the album been trimmed down to only fourteen or fifteen tracks, it would have been the better for it, however: Heather Nova's "We Can Work It Out", compared to the original, sounds strained and out of key, and Chocolate Genius' slow-jam-fettered "Julia" just sounds wrong on so many levels.

Finally, props must be given to Nick Cave's "Let It Be", which, like Eddie Vedder's track here, captures not only the essential sound of the original song, but the entire emotional and artistic thrust of the stage in the Beatles' career said song came out of: Cave sounds weary, like he always does, but it's an entirely appropriate tone for the Beatles' swan-song single, and the piano playing is magnificent.

It's astonishing that, in the glut of covers records on the market lately, there hasn't been a Beatles tribute album to this magnitude released until now, and now that it has been, it's an immense relief that it was done right. It may trip up occasionally, when V2 feels the need to plug one of their own, but for the most part the sheer talent present here more than makes up for it.

Unable to use the Beatles' original recordings for legal reasons, the producers of "I Am Sam" enlisted a stellar lineup of contemporary artists to cover them instead. That inauspicious start resulted in one of the best soundtracks in recent memory, and perhaps the finest tribute album ever recorded.

The real strength of this album - as might be expected - is the song selection. While the Lennon/McCartney library is one of the best in pop and rock, "I Am Sam" includes only those Beatle tunes that are truly timeless and intelligent songwriting, and whose strength is intrinsic to the song itself (lyrics, melody, structure), rather than the Beatles' performance or George Martin's studio wizardry. (The only exceptions are "Strawberry Fields Forever" by Ben Harper and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Black Crowes, which sound out of place.) As a result, the covers of "Two of Us," "Across the Universe," "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," and "Julia" are almost as strong as the originals.

Furthermore, the performances here are careful to be largely faithful to the originals. As a result, these versions breathe new life into the Beatles' classics, while still reverently retaining their original beauty.

"I Am Sam" is a musical triumph.

I am a huge Beatles fan, and - unlike some - I love to hear their music interpreted by other artists.

The key word here is INTERPRET. If we wanted to listen to an EXACT COPY - we could just put on the original Beatles records now couldn't we?

I adored this soundtrack. Every song, save one, was great in it's own way. I loved The Two of Us, We Can Work it Out, and Blackbird the most - but they were all just lovely interpretations.

All but Revolution. I didn't enjoy that at all - and wouldn't even if it wasn't a Beatles cover. Not sure what the artist was thinking...... wow, really out there - - it's a wonderful powerful song - he just turned it into mush.

Also, this is a SOUNDTRACK folks...... it's not people trying to copy or upstage the Beatles....jeez louise. As a soundtrack it does a top notch job. I listen to it - and am brought right back to the movie (great great great movie) - not all soundtracks capture their movies' theme so well.

Overall - I would disagree with many here - it's an outstanding soundtrack, most all the songs are inspiring (some even rival the originals - OH MY GAWD! - did I just say that? - may the Beatle police lock me up and throw away the key!)

First, a warning: if you're the kind of person who holds Beatles music sacrosanct, and believes nobody but the Beatles should be playing Beatles songs, you'll probably dislike this album intensely. Stay away from it.

For the rest of us (those of us who prefer that our music not be trapped in amber): if you like to hear good songs thoughtfully reinterpreted, this is the album for you. Some covers will probably appeal more than others, according to taste, but don't let your preconceptions stand in the way of liking a song on its merits - for instance, I'm not any kind of fan of Eddie Vedder or the Stereophonics in other contexts, but their respective cover versions here are favorites of mine.

So, once again: if you don't believe any popular music recorded since 1970 is worthy of your attention, don't buy this album. Everyone else: open your mind and your ears, and give it a spin.

Being a huge Beatles fan, it didn't take me much to buy this album. The artists and bands recruited for this stunning soundtrack were well picked. Considering how wonderful this album is, it might as well be an unofficial tribute album to The Beatles. Not only did the artists do a faithful rendition of their version of a Beatles song but they also were able to recapture the spirit of The Beatles in the song. Even my least favorite vocalist Eddie Vedder did a bang up job on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away". Perhaps that was because he was uncumbered by the distorted guitars of his band Pearl Jam that allowed Vedder to show the listener what he is truly capable of as an artist. I absolutely adored Rufus Wainwright's beautiful cover of "Across the Universe" along with Sarah McLachlan's "Blackbird". However my very personal favorite track on this entire album is Nick Cave's breathtaking "Let It Be". Nick Cave is my very favorite male vocalist and his deep, rich baritone voice made the song even more amazing. I loved every track on the album. Not a single dud on here which surprises me since i am not a fan of Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder and The Stereophonics. This collection of Beatles covers is a must-have for Beatles fans. I don't think they will be disappointed in it at all.

I have to admit I have never seen the 2001 movie from which this soundtrack is based, nor do I know the significance of the Beatles music to the characters. However, once I heard Rufus Wainwright's acoustic cover of "Across the Universe", a touching performance that puts his yearning, mournful voice to good use, I was curious what other surprises could be in store on this disc. I later found out the reason these musicians were recruited for the recording was a matter of economics. Producer Andy Gershon wanted to use the original Beatles recordings, but apparently, Michael Jackson, who owned the rights to the Lennon-McCartney catalogue, was charging $300K for each song they recorded. As it turns out, the resulting disc is pretty solid, offering a great variety of reinterpretations of familiar songs - some quite wonderful, others less so but none too painfully.

Husband-and-wife folk rockers Aimee Mann and Michael Penn kick things off with a pleasing version of the optimistic "Two of Us". Pleasing also describes Sarah McLachlan's take on "Blackbird", which is greatly aided by Sean Ashby's delicate strumming. The pace picks up with the Wallflowers' jaunty "I'm Looking Through You" complete with Rami Jaffee's Austin Powers-sounding keyboards and Jackson Browne providing harmony vocals. Eddie Vedder's uniquely scratchy vocal delivery is well served by "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" where he accompanies himself ably on guitar and harmonica. Ben Harper gets into an appropriately psychedelic mood for "Strawberry Fields Forever" with particularly lush strings and fulsome horns, though he gets carried away with the bombastic ending.

Things start to fluctuate at this point in the disc. Sheryl Crow sounds somnambulant and rather constricted on a country-twanged "Mother Nature's Son", a sub-par choice for her slick performing style; and the plaintive Ben Folds barely registers on the too-brief "Golden Slumbers". In the one track that sounds like a Fab Four impersonation (or more accurately, a Beatlemania facsimile), the Vines cover "I'm Only Sleeping" in a comparatively generic manner. The Stereophonics make "Don't Let Me Down" sound like a mid-1970's Rod Stewart pop-rocker, while the Black Crowes put their familiar blues-oriented stamp on the most psychedelic of Beatles songs, "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds".

Chocolate Genius, led by Marc Anthony Thompson, refashions John Lennon's touching paean to his mother, "Julia", into a hazy dirge that actually brings a surprising resonance to the song. However, sounding a bit too much like MacLachlan, singer-songwriter Heather Nova lends little distinction to her version of "We Can Work It Out", granted one of the most lightweight songs in the Lennon-McCartney canon. Howie Day effectively slows down "Help!" into an atmospheric, almost halting plea of quiet desperation. Dylan sound-alike Paul Westerberg croaks through "Nowhere Man" with little flair; and in perhaps the biggest departure from the original, the now-defunct indie band Grandaddy turns "Revolution" into a chugging slow-poke rocker. On the final track, Aussie musician Nick Cave lends his recognizably barren style to a somewhat desultory "Let It Be". It's a mixed bag for sure, but what really comes across is the unbeatable craftsmanship and magical yin-and-yang perfection of Lennon and McCartney.