Almost Famous

1	America / Simon & Garfunkel 3:37
2	Sparks / The Who 3:48
3	It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference / Todd Rundgren 3:51
4	I've Seen All Good People: Your Move / Yes 3:33
5	Feel Flows / The Beach Boys 4:44
6	Fever Dog / Stillwater 3:10
7	Every Picture Tells a Story / Rod Stewart 5:55
8	Mr. Farmer / The Seeds 2:51
9	One Way Out 4:59
10	Simple Man / Lynyrd Skynyrd 5:56
11	That's the Way / Led Zeppelin 5:37
12	Tiny Dancer / Elton John 6:15
13	Lucky Trumble / Nancy Wilson 2:42
14	I'm Waiting for the Man / David Bowie 5:43
15	The Wind / Cat Stevens 1:40
16	Slip Away / Clarence Carter 2:32
17	Something in the Air / Thunderclap Newman 3:54

Barnes & Noble

In his film Almost Famous, director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Singles) explores a subject near and dear to his heart: the rock 'n' roll of the '70s and the journalists who covered it. Crowe, a onetime rock journalist, has also assembled a soundtrack boasting an astonishing array of heavy hitters, including the Who ("Sparks"), Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Simple Man"), and Yes ("I've Seen All Good People"). Apparently Crowe was able to secure the Led Zeppelin track "That's the Way" -- quite a coup, as it's Zep's first soundtrack appearance ever -- by drawing on his own deep roots in the music industry. Even though the track listing features all big names, Crowe's known passion for music compelled him to dig deeper for material, so he treats listeners to David Bowie's live cover of the Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man" and the Beach Boys' 1971 psychedelic nugget "Feel Flows." Also included is a Donovan-like instrumental from former Heart member -- and Crowe's wife -- Nancy Wilson ("Mr. Trumble") and "Fever Dog," a cock-rock stomper by Stillwater, the fictional band at the center of Almost Famous. With this soundtrack, Crowe once again merges his love for rock and the big screen into a seamless work that honors the past while adding to its legacy. Dave Gil de Rubio

Barnes & Noble

In his film Almost Famous, director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Singles) explores a subject near and dear to his heart: the rock 'n' roll of the '70s and the journalists who covered it. Crowe, a onetime rock journalist, has also assembled a soundtrack boasting an astonishing array of heavy hitters, including the Who ("Sparks"), Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Simple Man"), and Yes ("I've Seen All Good People"). Apparently Crowe was able to secure the Led Zeppelin track "That's the Way" -- quite a coup, as it's Zep's first soundtrack appearance ever -- by drawing on his own deep roots in the music industry. Even though the track listing features all big names, Crowe's known passion for music compelled him to dig deeper for material, so he treats listeners to David Bowie's live cover of the Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man" and the Beach Boys' 1971 psychedelic nugget "Feel Flows." Also included is a Donovan-like instrumental from former Heart member -- and Crowe's wife -- Nancy Wilson ("Mr. Trumble") and "Fever Dog," a cock-rock stomper by Stillwater, the fictional band at the center of Almost Famous. With this soundtrack, Crowe once again merges his love for rock and the big screen into a seamless work that honors the past while adding to its legacy.

All Music Guide

Although it's been pronounced dead more often than Mark Twain, the life expectancy of rock & roll was surely looking faint at the end of the '60s. Few people realize that it wasn't all bad. As Almost Famous' central character slowly realizes, it's much less important what history may mean to music journalists 30 years from now than what it means to actually experience it right then and there. Maybe it was a hard lesson to learn. Because while the counterculture and its music started to become everything it hated (and too soon before punk came to remind everybody what the revolution was really about) rock's "lurch" still promised much for those that paid attention.

Indeed, it would take a concentrated effort to ignore this soundtrack's refreshing outlook. Simon & Garfunkel and the Who are pitted right against Yes and Elton John. The Beach Boys against Cat Stevens. There's a sense of heady nostalgia here -- but one more deliberately adolescent and tender than the schlock-infested oldies radio station trends of most soundtracks of this ilk. The Seeds are represented by one of their most psychedelic pop gems ("Mr. Farmer") while Thunderclap Newman sounds almost prophetic with their playfully carny-piano mini-marathon ("Something in the Air"). Even the two new fictionalized compositions both manage to evoke the feeling of a waning era with just the right amount of reminiscence.

This is surely not a definitive collection of post-'60s music and it's proud not to be. Like all great soundtracks, the one for Almost Famous works both as an instant reminder of the film's highs as well as a personal, startling perspective into the very "last gasps" of rock & roll. And like all great soundtracks, music journalists will probably hate it. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide

Entertainment Weekly

The sequencing stumbles at times, but serious music fans will be proud to have this one on the shelf. Josh Tyrangiel