Various Artists - Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture I Am Sam (2001)

German import

Here's the story on this compilation from allmusic.com:

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.

I disagree that the outcome is enjoyable. What we are treated to is mostly straight-ahead covers that have little to offer in terms of originality and creativity. Just makes me want to listen to the originals. My favorite Beatles covers, Stevie Wonder's We Can Work It Out and Earth Wind & Fire's Got To Get You Into My Life, don't face any competition here.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #20 (Feb 9, 2002)

Tracks: There are a few good tracks out of the 19 here, starting with the opening track, a cover of Two Of Us by the husband-wife team of Aimee Mann and Michael Penn. It works because their voices are so compatible and blend so well together. Other decent tracks are Sheryl Crow's cover of Mother Nature's Son in which she mixes up the instrumentation somewhat and Chocolate Genius' take on Julia. Worse tracks: Stereophonic's Don't Let Me Down, Howie Day's Help, and Nick Cave's Let It Be.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. Plus, I've never seen the movie.