I Am Sam Soundtrack CD

New Reditions Of Beatles Songs S.Mclachlan,B.Harper,E.Vedder,

Original score composed by John Powell.
I AM SAM was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Compilation Album For A Motion Picture Or Television..
Personnel: Craig Nicholls, Howie Day, Jakob Dylan, Rich Robinson, Ben Harper (vocals, guitar); Michael Penn (vocals, acoustic guitar, pennywhistle, snare drum); Eddie Vedder (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, electric bass, snare drum, shaker, tambourine); Marc Anthony Thompson (vocals, 12-string guitar, harmonica, keyboards); Ashwin Sood (vocals, toy piano); Sheryl Crow (vocals, omnichord, bass guitar); Aimee Mann (vocals, sound effects); Chris Robinson, Heather Nova, Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Sarah McLachlan (vocals); Rob Schnapf (guitar, sitar); Oren Bloedow (guitar, pump organ); Abe Laboriel, Jr. (guitar, keyboards, drums); Chris Feinstein (guitar, percussion); George Doering, Val McCallum, John Turnbull (guitar); Michael Lockwood (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar, autoharp, zither, keyboards, synthesizer); Marc Ribot (acoustic guitar, banjo); Jay Joyce, Sean Ashby (acoustic guitar); Lorenza Ponce, Antoine Silverman (violin); Abraham Ceferino Valiente Hernández, Conway Kuo (viola); Garo Yellin, Emily Wright , Michelle Kinney (cello); Gilad Atzmon (clarinet); Ron Blake (trumpet); Chas Jankel (piano); Eddie Harsch (keyboards, vibraphone); Greg Kurstin, Pierre Marchand, Rami Jaffee (keyboards); Norman Watt-Roy (bass guitar); Alan Bezozi (drums, percussion); Steve Gorman (drums, background vocals); Joey Waronker, Shawn Pelton, Mario Calire, Dylan Howe (drums); Tom Fills (maracas, tambourine); Leon Mobley (percussion); Forrest McDonald (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Chris Ribando; Chris Feinstein; Felix Tod; Tobi Miller; Gareth Jones ; Dana Meyers; Rick "Soldier" Will; Jason Lytle; Joe Chiccarelli; Nick Cave; Niko Bolas; Paul Westerberg; Pierre Marchand; Rich Robinson; Ryan Freeland; Trina Shoemaker; Bill Appleberry ; Jon Kaplan.
Recording information: Groovemasters, Los Angeles, CA; Home, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Sunset Sound Factory, Los Angeles, CA; The Instrument, London, England; TMF Studios, New York, NY; Westside Studios, London, England; Wisseloord, Studios, Hilversum, The Netherlands.
The soundtrack for Sean Penn's 2002 film I Am Sam was not compiled without difficulties, but the finished product ended up being very enjoyable. The filmmaker's' original plan was to use the Beatles' original versions of songs in the film, but it was stonewalled by the band's strict self-imposed policy of not licensing their music for films. Instead, the producers decided to use new recordings of the songs by contemporary artists. Further complicating the issue, the film had originally been sequenced to match the pacing of the original songs, so many of the new versions needed to match the exact tempo and length of the classic versions. Luckily, the artists involved jumped at the chance and came up with some really engaging interpretations. Aimee Mann and Michael Penn's sweet duet "Two of Us" sticks faithfully to the original, as does Sarah McLachlan's solo acoustic "Blackbird," while Ben Harper takes some psychedelic guitar liberties on his fantastic version of "Strawberry Fields Forever." Ben Folds' perfect "Golden Slumbers" becomes anthemic in its choruses (even if it is a little too short), while an intimate (if marble-mouthed) Eddie Vedder turns in a campfire rendition of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away." A handful of the songs are less successful, like the Black Crowes' dull "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Heather Nova's "We Can Work It Out," which almost sounds like she'd never heard the song before recording it. These are outshined by gems like Stereophonics' laddish "Don't Let Me Down" (which ends up sounding more like a Faces cover) and Rufus Wainwright's soaring "Across the Universe." While cynical listeners may protest the preponderance of up-and-coming VEntertainment Weekly (12/14/01, p.84) - "...These songs are like old friends...and you don't have to see the movie to enjoy it..." - Rating: B
Q (4/02, p.125) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...The right stuff..."