headlessparrot's Full Review: Almost Famous by Original Soundtrack
A funny thing occurred to me a few weeks ago while I was watching Almost Famous. All of a sudden, I just realized that I am William Miller, the film’s protagonist. I mean, not literally. I know that he doesn’t exist in real life, and I certainly wasn’t the actor that played him. But there was something about the way he approached things that reminded me of myself. Even my sister, looking over from the computer screen at some point during the film told me, “You know Brian, that is so you.” I couldn’t argue. Not only do we bear a similar physical resemblance, but I’ve got the attitude and the ideals down pat - the naivety, the innocence, the fragility - coupled at the same time with the disenfranchisement. I have those very same Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix posters decorating the walls of my bedroom. I adore music. I love to write - especially about music. The only difference is that in the film, Miller actually becomes a successful journalist for Rolling Stone, whereas I’ve been doing little but pumping out review after review for the past three years here at Epinions (and then there’s the fact that I missed rock’s glory days by about twenty years). Of course, thinking about the similarities between the character and myself raise a few questions - among them, why aren’t I writing for Rolling Stone (maybe I could make their P.O.S. publication a little more respectable again)? And since the film Almost Famous was essentially an autobiographical account from Cameron Crowe, what exactly should it tell me (if anything)? How’s that for some deep connection? There are worse people to be like, I suppose.
All that messiness aside, I’ll let you know right off the bat that I absolutely adored Almost Famous. It was, quite simply, one of the finest films I’ve ever seen. Part of that was probably because I wanted to try and relive those glory days of rock myself, and part of it was the uncanny resemblance to the young journalist, but you can’t deny that Almost Famous, at the very least, had style. It had great big gobs of style, and it knew it. It was a brilliant film that, even within the context of drugs and debauchery of the rock and roll lifestyle, managed to tell an uplifting story that tackles love, honesty, loyalty, passion, and a whole host of others. Cameron Crowe presents his audience an accurate portrayal of what it was like for him - albeit with names and likeness changed for anonymity. The band on which the film centred - Stillwater - was a mixture of the many groups that Crowe interviewed in his early days from Led Zeppelin to Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers. He knew first hand what went on, and Almost Famous is not just an intimate look at one kid, but at the entire idea of a rock tour. It’s something that many people seem to know about already, but Crowe’s insights are interesting nonetheless. But at the same time, we also get some insight into rock journalism that stands apart from those it’s about. There are so many moments in Almost Famous where I was tempted to write something down; the profundity of some of the character’s comments is only more proof that Crowe knows exactly what he’s talking about: “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool.” Almost Famous looks at rock and roll from a variety of aspects - from the worried mother and the journalists to the groupies and the bands themselves - that it stands as the greatest rock movie ever made (with Spinal Tap a close second).
All that notwithstanding, this isn’t a review of the film Almost Famous, but rather of the soundtrack to the film Almost Famous. My reason for including all those thoughts on the film are simple - more often than not, the best soundtracks are inexorably linked to the films that they share their titles with. Such is the case with Almost Famous. Many soundtracks make attempts to pander to as many audiences as possible while not having any sort of importance within the film itself, but Almost Famous is a rare exception to this, a soundtrack built almost solely on a specific genre - or rather, a specific era - in music’s robust history. One of the strongest facets of the film Almost Famous was its music, which is a rather obvious thing to say seeing as how the film was essentially about the ethos of rock and roll. Those in charge of the film chose the music wisely. Rather than feeling tacked on, each cut distinctly added something the overall atmosphere of the scene, texturing it and often providing more texture and context for the viewer (that is, if they were adept enough to pick up on some of the nuances of the song selection - something only certain people would really be able to do). It told us something about the scenes and the film in general. As Led Zeppelin’s Bro-Yr-Aur picks up as guitarist Russell Hammond exits a cab and walks towards William Miller’s front door, I was simply struck by the beauty and the hope that drives the solo guitar composition. But while doing all that, it also provided the viewer with an insight into what music was about in the 1970s. Almost Famous was very much built on music, and the music is one of the big reasons that it holds up so well.
You’d think then, that with a movie that relied so much on its music, the Almost Famous soundtrack would be a sure-fire collection of great music from some of the greatest bands of the seventies. And you’d at least be right on the first point, because Music From The Motion Picture Almost Famous is filled with great songs - surprisingly, though, in spite of the number of big name bands with songs in the film, only a few of the real heavy-hitters are on the actual compact disc. That would be a drawback for some who would maintain that the record could in no way define the era in which it’s songs are set. But it’s not a drawback, because that’s not with the compilers tried to do. Instead, they tried to use the songs that fit in with the film or had some significance within it - and they’ve succeeded on this level. The biggest problem with the Almost Famous soundtrack is hardly a problem at all. That sole drawback is the fact that so much quality material got cut. By my best count (or rather, the count of someone on a bulletin board), Almost Famous features snippets from some fifty-one different songs. Of those, only seventeen make the cut on this record, a somewhat discouraging end tally. However, even that can’t hold down what is otherwise one of the five best rock soundtracks in film history (not including film scores - that would be like trying to compare apples and oranges).
Just like in the film itself, everything on the soundtrack works perfectly. Not just the choice of songs (some of which may come as a tremendous surprise, if only for the sheer number of enormous bands eschewed in favour of the more obscure), but also for the track order. In Almost Famous, the music flowed. So to here, it does as well. Once or twice, a song suffers a little from the lack of a visual context with which to place it in, but these moments are few and far between. The flow with which the tracks work is especially surprising considering the two compositions written especially for Almost Famous. Both of these tracks have the same general vibe that the rest of the cuts do, a feeling that you’ve been transported back in time to when the music mattered more. And it’s also mildly interesting to note that for a film about a touring hard rock band in the same vein as Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath - the soundtrack sure does feature a lot of softer, more introspective acoustic numbers. For those expecting seventy minutes of balls to the wall hard rock will be disappointed - but that’s a good thing. This soundtrack isn’t just a companion to a film; it stands on it’s own as a viable record that conveys the idea that rock was, even if only for a few years, about the music. It’s a soundtrack too, that will broaden horizons - perhaps those hard rockers will be hit by the sheer beauty of Elton John’s Tiny Dancer or the tight acoustic harmonies of Simon & Garfunkle’s America. For some, the Almost Famous soundtrack will be a nostalgic trip down memory lane. For those of us who weren’t lucky enough to experience those years ourselves, it’s a potent reminder of the emotion and integrity that music once had. This soundtrack is intended for those people who have a passion for music; the person who is so in love with their favourite band that they’d literally do anything just to meet them once - and maybe most of all, the person who realizes the historical aspects of rock and roll. Every song here is excellent, and every song is important - both to the film and to the flow of the album itself.
Simon & Garfunkle’s America opens the record, one of the duo’s better known songs, and a fairly standard representation of what their music sounded like as a whole - gentle, almost whispered, harmonic vocals over simple acoustic guitar strumming that is gradually joined by more elaborate instrumentation as the song continues. Appearing in the opening moments of Almost Famous, America is a song that both represents the idealism of youth as young lovers explore America, but at the same time it seems to embrace the disillusionment with the American dream - a sentiment shared by an entire generation. In almost direct negation with the tranquil, melancholic beauty of America is the next track, Sparks. Written and performed by the Who, Sparks is an instrumental that appears on the band’s landmark rock opera Tommy, a song filled with elaborate overdubbing of electronic and acoustic guitars, driven to crescendo by a subtle but powerful drumbeat. It’s surprising how well the track stands up on it’s own here, especially considering it embraces and returns to many of the musical ideas that appear throughout the Tommy album.
Todd Rundgren - best known for Bang The Drum All Day, what has become a sports anthem of sorts - arrives in spectacular form, with a tender, sombre and eerily beautiful album filled with rich dramatic textures, subtle use of synths during the bridge and a steady backing ohs from Rundgren himself throughout the texture. Feel Flows by the Beach Boys is a somewhat surprising inclusion, and a definite departure for the group. Taken from one of their experimental albums, Feel Flows is filled with warbling, dense synthesizers and flute, over which Carl Wilson’s soft voice almost gets lost in the mix. It’s the next track, however, that really defines the record. Fever Dog is the swansong of sorts for Stillwater, the fictional band portrayed in Almost Famous, equal parts Led Zeppelin, the Who and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song was actually written specifically for the film (along with several other Stillwater songs not present), and sounds almost eerily like the generation that it was supposed to have been from. Beginning with a thundering bass drum a la Led Zeppelin’s When The Levee Breaks, the all-star band actually performing the tunes (which included Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready) launches into a raucous, all-out blues-rock attack with chugging guitars and dramatic vocals. It’s essential to note that the song isn’t actually that great. Slightly above average at best (and the strongest of all of the faux-band’s songs), Fever Dog seems to fit on the soundtrack for a couple of reasons. The main one is that, well, it really sounds like seventies heavy metal. But the other thing that’s important to note is that, in the film, Stillwater wasn’t a great band - Cameron Crowe made a note of pointing out that their success was just as much luck and mystique as it was talent, and the songs serve to prove that. Fever Dog is an entertaining track, if only for the novelty of picturing Jason Lee singing the vocals - and on the whole, it’s probably about par with bands like Bad Company, but Stillwater was no Led Zeppelin.
Mr. Farmer, written and performed by the Seeds is one of the lesser-known songs by the quartet (whose only hit was Pushin’ Too Hard), but it is truly two and a half minutes of psychedelic pop gorgeousness. Equal parts Beatles and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Mr. Farmer is built almost entirely on a single keyboard line that seems to just hover in the mix, as Sky Saxon’s nasally vocals flow with it. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man begins with a picked guitar intro that is quickly accompanied by more guitars playing the same part slightly out of phase. The drums join, and then Ronnie Van Zant’s surprisingly emotional vocal performance, rising with the crescendos and going quiet with the valleys. Continuing in the classic rock vein is a - surprise, surprise - Led Zeppelin number, one of at least five that appear in the film. What’s interesting about the inclusion of Zeppelin’s That’s The Way is that it was the first time that a Led Zeppelin song ever appeared on an official soundtrack. What’s more interesting is the inclusion of this tender ballad over some of the band’s more commercial enterprises. Filled with a beautifully intricate guitars 12-string acoustic, a mandolin and a pedal steel guitar, That’s The Way is a genuine folk ballad, filled with wistful lyrics from Robert Plant, who - thankfully - restrains his behemoth voice in favour of something more restrained and tender.
Following that is perhaps the defining moment on the soundtrack and in the film, Elton John’s Tiny Dancer. Originally a tribute to a groupie - which would have fit in well with the theme of Almost Famous regardless - Tiny Dancer is transformed into something much more powerful in the film through it’s present. At the height of Stillwater’s tension, with tempers flaring and people yelling, Tiny Dancer begins to play softly on the radio. One band member starts to sing, then, one by one, so too does everyone else - a massive outpouring of emotions that unifies the band, the groupies and the young central character. A warm ballad, Tiny Dancer benefits from both the lyrics of Bernie Taupin and Elton’s ear for arrangements and accompaniments. Based around a soft piano lick, the song gradually grows to include slashing violins and dramatic strings, a backing vocal chorus and the works. The song’s chorus is the perfect sing along, and I was surprised by just how much I actually liked the song - it stands as proof that, at one time or another, Elton John’s music was meaningful. Tiny Dancer is no doubt the climax of the soundtrack, but I would have liked to maybe have seen the actual sound clip from the film included. The way in which each occupant of the tour bus joins in is a total moment of serenity and beauty. Perhaps the compilers could have included both versions?
Nancy Wilson, wife of Cameron Crowe and member of female rock group Heart (I bristle at the thought of calling them metal), contributes the only other new track, Lucky Trumble. Simply a guitar, unaccompanied, Wilson runs through a series of licks and a solo that are simply beautiful. After that, we’re rewarded with David Bowie’s take on Lou Reed’s I’m Waiting For The Man, an excellent (if somewhat disjointed) piece. Cat Stevens’ The Wind is another soft, introspective acoustic ballad that Stevens (or should I say Islam) has always been known for. Perhaps serving only to prove Lester Bangs’ statement that some bands can say more in two minutes than Jethro Tull can in two hours, The Wind clocks in at under two minutes, but the tenderness and beautiful acoustic guitar work seem to make it stretch forever - a beautiful blend of philosophy with gorgeous pop song writing. The soundtrack’s closer, Something In The Air by Thunderclap Newman has since become better known as a Tom Petty song (I certainly thought that Petty had written it until I heard it in the film). Produced by Pete Townshend, the song moves slowly, with simple guitars and a very refrained, basic vocal approach. At just past the two-minute mark, the song abruptly descends into near madness of a percussive piano accompanied by rhythmic clapping and the occasional burst from a horn - but just as soon as the little excursion begins, it ends, returning to the simple melody and lyrics that everyone seem to know.
The Almost Famous soundtrack is easily one of the best collections of songs that I’ve heard. It rotates between hard-rocking numbers and softer, more introspective ones, occasionally throwing in something a little off-kilter to keep the listener on his or her tones. On the whole, each of these tracks contribute to an overall mood that just seems to permeate the entire collection, a decidedly confused mixture of melancholy and happiness, jubilance and sadness. The songs here are amazing, truly excellent examples of what the 1970s have to offer the world today. Any artist looking for inspiration need only listen to The Wind or America, such extraordinary songs built on such simple premises and instrumental vehicles. On some level or another, Almost Famous - and even more so the soundtrack bearing it’s name - is a reminder that, even if it’s in some twisted way, it is all about the music. The biggest question of all of this, though, is, “When’s volume two coming out?” You’d think that with such a surplus of music and the intrinsic desire of all humans to make money, there would have been even a second and third disc of songs from the film. Unfortunately, that’s not so. This is all we get.
But then, you know what, I decided that I wasn’t going to take this sitting down. I said early on that the only flaw with the Almost Famous soundtrack doesn’t lie in what is present so much as it does with what is missing. Well, you just knew it wasn’t going to end there. In my starvation for good music, and my current little fascination with Almost Famous, I started really getting into the music, and simply the soundtrack wasn’t enough. My solution was simple - I found a list of all the songs that appear (in part or in whole) throughout Almost Famous, and over a four-hour period, I hunted down a copy of each and every one of them. I ended up with, including the official soundtrack itself, over three hours of music, which had to be spread out over three discs. Granted, the second and third disc don’t have nearly the same flow as the official soundtrack, some of the songs are a little fuzzy, and some of the songs selected are more novelties than anything else, but on the whole, I felt that the whole thing worked rather well. I know for a fact that there are many people as enamoured as I was with the film, and a few seemed to be disappointed with the overall presentation of the soundtrack. It’s for those that I advise assemble the same collection of tunes. Not only have I already discovered a couple of different bands who I wouldn’t have otherwise ever heard, but I also added to my record collection and have found a good record to listen to when I try to sleep (don’t ask). For those interested, I present the list that I found. As far as I know, the following list contains all fifty-one songs that appear at different points in Almost Famous (including those already found on the soundtrack). It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen the movie in full, but I’m pretty sure that this list covers almost - if not all - of the songs.
Among the tracks included are three more Stillwater songs (none of which are remarkable, but are still notable if only because of the context of their music), several more Led Zeppelin cuts, some Neil Young and a virtual smorgasbord of different artists from Joni Mitchell to Dr. Hook. The best part is that I was able to track down each of these songs in a relatively short period of time. It only took a few hours of searching on KaZaA before I had my two extra discs of material to go along with the sound track. For those interested, the following is the track listing for each of my three compact discs (including the official compilation itself).
Disc 1 (Official Almost Famous Soundtrack):
1. America - Simon and Garfunkel
2. Sparks - The Who
3. It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference - Todd Rundgren
4. I've Seen All Good People: Your Move - 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 - The Allman Brothers Band
10. Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd
11. That's The Way - Led Zeppelin
12. Tiny Dancer - Elton John
13. Lucky Trumble - Nancy Wilson
14. I'm Waiting For The Man - David Bowie
15. The Wind - Cat Stevens
16. Slip Away - Clarence Carter
17. Something In The Air - Thunderclap Newman
Disc 2:
1. Teacher - Jethro Tull
2. Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters - Elton John
3. Tangerine - Led Zeppelin
4. Search and Destroy - Iggy Pop
5. Sweet Leaf - Black Sabbath
6. Go All the Way - Eric Carmen & The Raspberries
7. Misty Mountain Hop - Led Zeppelin
8. The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks
9. Roundabout - Yes
10. Bron-yr-aur - Led Zeppelin
11. Small Time Blues - Pete Droge
12. Hour of Need - Stillwater
13. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
14. The Rain Song - Led Zeppelin
15. Everybody knows this is nowhere - Neil Young
16. Future Games - Fleetwood Mac
Disc 3:
1. Albert Flasher - Guess Who
2. Love Thing - Stillwater
3. Burn - Deep Purple
4. You had to be there - Stillwater
5. Reeling in the Years - Steely Dan
6. Dear Jill - Blodwyn Pig
7. Love comes and goes - Stillwater
8. Voodoo Child - Jimi Hendrix
9. Wishing well - Free
10. My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
11. Looking at you - MC5
12. Cortez the Killer - Neil Young
13. The Oogum Boogum Song - Brenton Wood
14. River - Joni Mitchell
15. Easy to slip - Little Feat
16. Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly
17. Cover of the Rolling Stone - Dr. Hook
18. Colour my World - Chicago
Both discs two and three have their strong points and their weak points. Disc two is full of Led Zeppelin, which (as you can imagine) gives it a definite edge over the third disc. Of course that third disc is not without it’s charm either. The tongue-in-cheek folk-y structure of Cover of The Rolling Stone is a great tune, as is Cortez The Killer by Neil Young and Voodoo Child (Slight Return) by Hendrix. The Chipmunk Song opens the film, and it’s funny in an odd way, while Search and Destroy by Iggy Pop is a slice of pure, guttural proto-punk. The official disc is definitely superior to either of my homemade companions, but they still stand up fairly well on their own - and both contain seventy or more minutes of music, meaning you’ll get your (nonexistent) money’s worth.
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