…deluxe 2CD with 35 songs.
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. — AMG
CD1
1. America – Simon & Garfunkel
2. Amazing Journey / Sparks (Almost Famous Version) – The Who*
3. It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference – Todd Rundgren
4. I’ve Seen All Good People: a. Your Move, b. All Good People – Yes
5. Feel Flows – The Beach Boys
6. Fever Dog – Stillwater
7. Every Picture Tells a Story – Rod Stewart
8. Mr. Farmer – The Seeds
9. One Way Out (Live) – The Allman Brothers Band
10. Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd
11. That’s the Way – Led Zeppelin
12. Tiny Dancer (Almost Famous Version) – Elton John and Cast*
13. Lucky Trumble – Nancy Wilson
14. I’m Waiting for the Man (Live) – David Bowie
15. The Wind – Cat Stevens
16. Slip Away – Clarence Carter
17. Something in the Way – Thunderclap Newman
CD2
1. The Oogum Boogum Song – Brenton Wood
2. Search and Destroy – Iggy & The Stooges
3. Teacher (U.S. Version) – Jethro Tull
4. Roundabout – Yes
5. River – Joni Mitchell
6. Small Time Blues (Acoustic) – The Hyatt Singers
7. Go All the Way – The Raspberries
8. Albert Flasher (Live) – The Guess Who
9. Future Games – Fleetwood Mac
10. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
11. Burn – Deep Purple
12. Dear Jill – Blodwyn Pig
13. Reeling in the Years (Live) – Steely Dan
14. Looking at You – MC5
15. My Cherie Amour – Stevie Wonder
16. Love Comes and Goes – Stillwater
17. Love Thing – Stillwater
18. Hour Of Need – Stillwater