SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – ALMOST FAMOUS SOUNDTRACK (EXPANDED UBER BOX SET)

Various Artists
Almost Famous Soundtrack (Expanded Uber Box Set)
Universal Music

Involving personal experience and emotions in art can be quite a tricky proposition. You either fail miserably or you come up with something that has a timeless quality.

Cameron Crowe had enough imagination and a pile of personal experience, all of which he invested into Almost Famous, arguably one of the best films about rock music to date.

The original soundtrack for the film was always a great memento, but that always came with a nagging feeling that something is missing and should be there. Two decades after the film’s release that nagging feeling just might be gone. To make that possible, Universal decided to treat the fans and those possibly unfamiliar with the film (anybody out there?). As Crowe himself puts it, “for the first time, we’ve created a Deluxe Soundtrack that features nearly every song from the film, along with Nancy Wilson’s wonderfully evocative score. We’re also thrilled to finally preserve both versions of the film, along with a collection of rare new bonus features!”

Essentially, you have a double album version of the soundtrack which goes a long way towards bettering the original version. But then, there’s a five album/CD version that includes almost (as in famous) all the music from the film, and along with the score, there are snippets of dialogue that further enhance the experience.

In many ways, it is not just Crowe’s personal journey but a brief history of the rock music at possibly the crucial moment in its existence.

Almost Famous Links