Soundtrack tribute to Beatles
starts a ‘Revolution’:It’s great
Well, it’s a new year,
people. Happy 2002!
Guess what? It’s
winter term, which
means that I’ve been writing for
the Emerald for a year now. I got
my start as a freelancer, writing a
CD review each week for Pulse.
One year later, I am a freelancer
yet again. It makes sense, then, for
me to devote this week’s column to
reviewing what is, hands-down,
the best CD released in 2002.
So far.
Released just this week: The
soundtrack to the upcoming
movie “I Am Sam.” Normally, I
don’t get too excited about sound
tracks (or compilations in gener
al), but this one is quite an affair:
17 Beatles songs, recorded by con
temporary artists.
I’d been pretty stoked about this
album since I heard about it a few
months ago, but I wasn’t expecting
greatness or anything. After all,
how can you take the best songs
ever written and make them better?
Boy, was I in for a shock this
morning when I purchased this
amazing little piece of plastic. As I
listened to the CD during the sev
en-minute walk to the Emerald of
fice, the tracks reduced me to a
blubbering, awestruck fool who
just had his brain turned inside out.
Reviewing an album like this is
different from the normal process
because most people alive are inti
mately familiar with all of the songs.
So I guess a better method would be
to describe what the individual per
formers bring to each song.
Aimee Mann and Michael Penn
turn in a poignant version of “Two
Dave
Depper
In Stereo
of Us” that takes on a whole new
meaning when sung by these real
life lovers.
One of my personal Beatles fa
vorites, “Across the Universe,” is
sung by Rufus Wainwright with
such gor
geous, aching
melancholy
that I find my
self dealing
with a crisis of
the soul: Do I
actually prefer
his new ver
sion to the
original John
Lennon mas
terpiece?
The ever-re
liable Eddie
Vedder tackles
“You’ve Got
To Hide Your
Love Away” with his trademark
mumbled baritone, and the re
sults are impressive, especially
when he replaces the original
flute solo with surprisingly skill
ful harmonica playing.
Many of the greatest surprises
on “I Am Sam” occur when some
of the artists make a complete de
parture from their usual sound.
Ben Harper is backed up by a
string section for his excellent
take on “ Strawberry Fields Forev
er.” Jakob Dylan sounds positive
ly giddy during the Wallflowers’
version of the peppy “I’m Looking
Through You. ” And hearing Nick
Cave bringing his mournful voice
to the uplifting “Let It Be” is an
unassailable delight.
It’s also a pleasure to hear some
Beatles classics of the past re
arranged and reinterpreted.
“Nowhere Man” used to be a tour
de force of three-part harmony; in
Paul Westerberg’s hands it becomes
a spare, acoustic piece. One of the
hardest-rocking Beatles songs of all
time, “Don’t Let Me Down,” is
transformed by Stereophonies into
a subdued, sublime meditation on
love and commitment.
Best of all, Grandaddy some
how manage to turn “Revolution”
into a low-fi piece of indie rock
that could have come straight out
of the Pacific Northwest.
Of the 17 performances, only
one doesn’t live up to its poten
tial. I greatly looked forward to
hearing Chocolate Genius cover
ing “Julia,” possibly the most ten
der of all Beatles songs. Unfortu
nately, the Genius’ up-tempo,
amplified effort manages to
squeeze most of the intimacy and
charm out of the original version.
But seriously, making a com
plaint like that is splitting angel
hairs. “I Am Sam” succeeds be
cause it is readily apparent that all
17 artists (even Chocolate Genius)
put a great deal of feeling and rever
ence into each song. It’s like hear
ing a group of truly inspired holy
men reading from the a sacred reli
gious text.
Transcendent, beautiful and
heartfelt, the “I Am Sam” sound
track is a must-have for anybody
with even a passing interest in the
Beatles.
Email columnist Dave Depperat
ddepper@dailyemerald.com. His opinions do
not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald.
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