I Am Sam

1	Two of Us / Aimee Mann & Michael Penn
2	Blackbird / Sarah McLachlan
3	Across the Universe / Rufus Wainright
4	I'm Looking Through You / The Wallflowers
5	You've Got to Hide Your Love Away / Eddie Vedder
6	Strawberry Fields / Ben Harper
7	Mother Nature's Son / Sheryl Crow
8	Golden Slumbers / Ben Folds
9	I'm Only Sleeping / The Vines
10	Don't Let Me Down / Stereophonics
11	Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds / The Black Crowes
12	Julia / Chocolate Genius
13	We Can Work It Out / Heather Nova
14	Help / Howie Day
15	Nowhere Man / Paul Westerberg
16	Revolution / Grandaddy
17	Let It Be / Nick Cave

Barnes & Noble

Sam, the mentally challenged title character of I Am Sam, played by Sean Penn, loves the songs of the Beatles -- just like the rest of the civilized world. But Sam takes his devotion a bit further than most, using the wisdom in the Beatles’ music to guide him throughout the movie. Unable to obtain the original Fab Four recordings, the film's producers saw a golden opportunity and took it: commissioning a spate of covers from rock luminaries as well as lesser-known popsters, all of whom display their own love of Beatles songs by interpreting the classics, not imitating them. Tackling such revered material can be a daunting task, but the results here are refreshing. The covers range from the expected ("Strawberry Fields Forever," which Ben Harper drapes in myriad layers of psychedelia) to the obscure ("Two of Us," given a warm, loving reading by Aimee Mann and Sean’s brother, Michael Penn). A passel of big names turn up, and most take the opportunity to break character, as evidenced by the Black Crowes' lolling "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Eddie Vedder's straightforward, angst-free take on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away." Just as interestingly, some of the set's more low-profile acts go out of their way to put decidedly personal spins on the songs they were handed: Critical favorite Grandaddy's doleful, spooky version of "Revolution" resounds like an admonition, rather than a call to arms, while the enigmatic Chocolate Genius infuses "Julia" with a through-the-looking-glass sense of wistful wonder. In taking the road less traveled, these 17 artists affirm the timelessness of the Beatles' music. David Sprague

All Music Guide

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 V2 (Richard Branson's record label) artists, there are far more winners than losers on this collection. Zac Johnson