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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
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This is the kind of album you want to take the time to listen to all the way through while wearing really great headphones – it’s tender, personal and packed with details that might get overlooked if you were driving or otherwise engaged.
I’ve been a Beatles fan forever, so I was intrigued but prepared to be disappointed by covers. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a beautifully conceived and delivered album. Nearly every performer (except maybe Grandaddy with a tepid “Revolution”) manages to stay true to the Beatles’ original while still adding a little something of themselves to the song, a testament to the strength of both the songwriters and the performers.
The album features an eclectic bunch, from the Black Crowes (with a trippy “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”) to Paul Westerberg (lending new depth to “Nowhere Man” with his seen-it-all-but-still-hopeful time-worn voice). It’s especially nice to see lesser-known performers like Heather Nova and the Vines getting space here as well. The common thread seems to be a genuine passion for the music – the inside cover of the CD jacket says simply “all you need is love,” and this album really does feel like a labor of love. Most of the songs have a mellow, dreamy quality; listening is sort of like being wrapped up in a warm blanket.
Michael Penn (brother of “I am Sam” star Sean Penn) and his wife Aimee Mann start things off with a tender, Simon-and-Garfunkle-esque duet of “Two of Us.” Sarah McLachlan’s “Blackbird” is pretty but doesn’t add much to the original, which is probably a good thing. Rufus Wainright’s “Across the Universe” – with its timely refrain of “Nothing’s gonna change my world” – is passionate and plaintive.
My favorite is the Wallflower’s rendition of “I’m Looking Through You,” one of the more lively songs on the album, with jangly guitars and those familiar Beatles harmonies.
Other standouts include Eddie Vedder bleeding his soul into a growling “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” and Nick Cave closing out the album with a slightly darker take on “Let It Be.”
Overall, this album gave me a renewed appreciation for the Beatles’ song-craft and the timeless ability of this deceptively simple music to reach deep into the soul. It’s also a chance to hear from some of today’s top artists as well as brush up on some other great musicians who don’t get as much mainstream exposure.
December 27th, 2009