That said, this is unfortunately not a very good collection. The overall vibe of this album is very gentle. The Beatles excelled at virtually all styles of rock music. I don't understand why none of the artists decided to represent the rock'n'roll side of the Beatles. Everything is so mellow, to the point where uptempo tracks like "Help" or midtempo like "Nowhere Man" have been slooooowed doooown.

I'm not complaining the that above tracks were reinterpreted. In fact, I applaud the artists that did re-work the material. I only wish that more stylistic variety was found here- most everything is acoustic-based folk or ballads. Most of it lacks energy and punch.

THE BEST OF THE BUNCH= BEN HARPER: "Strawberry Fields"- fairly faithful to the sound of the original, but with a unique vocal that doesn't try to duplicate Lennon's delivery... CHOCOLATE GENIUS: "Julia"- this is a great piece of work, it sounds virtually nothing like the Beatles version (performed by Lennon solo with acoustic guitar), yet even drastically reworked it maintains the Beatles spirit... THE VINES: "I'm only Sleeping", faithful the original, but it's got more pep than most tracks here.

THE WORST OF THE BUNCH: RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: "Across the Universe", frankly this guy's voice sucks... WALLFLOWERS: "I'm Looking Through You", this should've been good given the band's talent, but this version resembles what I imagine the Monkees covering the Beatles would sound like (shudder)... PAUL WESTERBURG: "Nowhere Man", drags the song to a too-slow tempo with this solo acoustic rendition, drains the song of it's vitality... THE BLACK CROWES "Lucy in the Sky...", Man, the Crowes covering the Beatles COULD'VE been great (a better choice would've been something bluesy like 'Don't let me down'), but this song doesn't fit their style- rather than try to adapt it, they stick way too close to the original.

The ones I didn't mention are okay. There's really nothing too cringe-worthy here. Just an overall lack of inspiration. Covering the Beatles is a tough thing, and most of these people weren't up to the challenge.

Inspired me to revisit the originals
When I received this album for Christmas and popped it into the CD player, I, like many other Beatles enthusiasts, prepared to be disappointed ~ and was pleasantly surprised. First of all, how wonderful to hear the Stereophonics on the CD! (Those of you who don't know the Stereophonics, pick up "Just Enough Education to Perform" ... it's a fabulous romp through Welsh rock.) I found their cover brilliant, Mark Penn and Aimee Mann's cover of "Two of Us" enchanting, and The Vines' "I'm Only Sleeping" a wonderfully contemporary version of one of my favorites. With the exception of "Julia" (okay, I'm sorry, but I just found him oddly scary), the covers ranged from "amusing" to "toe-tapping" to "makes me stop what I'm doing and listen". It inspired me to break out my Beatles albums and listen to them again, something I haven't done for awhile. Another plus: two of my friends who are self proclaimed "Beatles Haters" (why am I friends with these people?!) listened to the albums and announced they loved the songs; they loved the range the different artists brought to the soundtrack. So there's that. Which is nice.

Beatles tunes in I am Sam: An Excellent Choice
In looking over the reviews for this album, I noticed that many of the reviews focus on the quality of the Beatles covers presented therein. This seems to me an errant methodology regardless of how one rates the covers.

"I Am Sam" is not a movie about the Beatles, it is a movie that's primary focus is on whether a mentally impaired man is able to raise his daughter. It is a movie filled with a range of emotions. I have seen the movie and listened to the soundtrack on cd on several occasions. Each time the music greatly enhanced my experience of the narrative of "I Am Sam."

The soundtrack for "I Am Sam," in my opinion should be judged by how the songs fit into the movie and not by how the songs compare to the Beatles orginal renderings. Therein lies the risk in using covers of songs in movies rather than original works or at least the original renderings of established recordings. Especially in doing covers of such acessible artists as the Beatles (in this case) or Elvis Presley (Honeymoon in Vegas).

I think however that the choice to use Beatles Songs as the soundtrack of I Am Sam was to borrower from the film's protagonist: "An Excellent Choice". The Beatles in many ways are a road map for the main character. He is able to relate the history of the band to most every aspect of his life. It feels very natural and real to have the songs of the Beatles perform as a raod map of sorts for the film.

I found the selection of the songs and their placing in the film to be extremely evocative. The Wallflowers' rendition of "I'm looking through you" for example captures the idea that Lucy is noticing for the first time the limitations of her father's intellect and ability to deal with the outside world.

Both Rufus Wainwright in "Across the Universe" and Eddie Vedder with "You've got to hide your love away" convey the brooding emotions of a family in turmoil.

To judge the quality of the music in "I Am Sam" simply by the measure of the Beatles covers would be very similar to judging Sam's ability to effectively father Lucy by the measure of his I.Q. I believe the film clearly shows that either of these judgements would be a grave mistake.

i am sam
too good for words...you just got to listen and feel the power of the album

Avoid this one if you're a Beatles Fan!
Amateurish at best, a waste of good money at worst. This movie was wonderful, touching and memorable -- not the soundtrack! If you enjoy classic Beatles tunes like Strawberry Fields for instance, you will cringe at the rendition here. Other songs are passible, if you don't know a thing about good music. So much noise and forgetable sounds that you will find yourself bored before it's half over. I see others here have applauded this cd, and they are entitled to their opinion, however, my voice is just as loud when I shout: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS SOUNDTRACK!
Jessie Nelson's poignant tale of a mentally challenged man named Sam (Sean Penn) who recruits a lawyer to help him regain custody of his young daughter leans heavily on the lead character's obsession with Beatles songs, and his innocent trust in their wisdom and emotional truth. It's an artistic gambit that shrewdly lends itself to this mostly rewarding collection of Beatles covers by a wide range of contemporary artists, many of whom no doubt leapt at the chance to record a treasured song by their own musical heroes. The renditions are by and large faithful, and inform the elemental genius of the originals by the strength and variety of the artist's voices alone. The husband-wife team of Aimee Mann and Michael Penn (Sean's brother) can't help but find resonance in "Two of Us," just as Nick Cave's latter-day, heart-on-his-sleeve crooner infatuation makes "Let It Be" all his own. It's the reinterpretations that are riskier. While Paul Westerberg's stripped-down, nasal reading of "Nowhere Man" perceptively underscores Lennon's inherent Dylan fetish and Howie Day turns "Help!" from anxious plea to desperate dirge, Grandaddy smugly alt-rocks the energy right out of "Revolution." The Beatles hardly need anyone to burnish their reputation, but this album goes a long way toward underscoring their most undersung legacy as rock's most transcendent melting pot. -Jerry McCulley