Fog, amphetamines and pearls
This soundtrack to I'm Not There is absolutely packed with music, featuring two CDs that are each 80 minutes long. I don't recall hearing many of these recordings in the movie itself, but that's not uncommon for a soundtrack these days. The songs were all written by Bob Dylan, as you are probably already aware. Most of these cover songs are quite good, although some are better than others. Of course, it's all a matter of personal preference, my favorites may be different from your favorites. Fittingly, Dylan himself gets the final word, with the previously unreleased title song (it was recorded at The Basement Tapes sessions). This is a fine collection of Dylan songs.

Best collection of Dylan songs I have ever heard
The best collection of Dylan covers I have ever heard. From his most popular songs like "All Along the Watchtower" by the mega-popular Pearl Jam, to the unreleased and rare "I'm not there" by the not as popular Sonic Youth (unless you belong to their cult of loyal fans). There are some very cool and different versions of his songs on this CD. Overall, this is a can't miss if you are a Dylan fan. Richie Havens does a terrific job as does the young lad..the 13 year old kid from the movie, sorry...can't remember his name. These songs make you appreciate Dylan in a different way. For me, it made me go back and dust off my Dylan Lps and Cds to listen again to the original versions. Now I hear more nuances in Dylan's songs and am more appreciative of the the meter, the rythm, the math, the lyrics, the structure, the ideas, metaphors, themes, each word, each syllable, how they are pronounced, annunciated, etc. Everything starts to become even more clear and appreciated. It also makes me try to place myself in those times and realize how artists like Dylan and Hendrix for example must have sounded like they came from Mars considering the sounds and music that existed before they came along in the mid-60s. This reminds that the 60s went through a rapid time warp in so many ways not the least of which was the huge evolution of pop art and culture that has not been matched since.

i'm not there ost
i was disappointed by this after highly anticipating it. to me, sufjan never fails and was as good as expected. liked mira bilotte's song here, as well. i like many of the other artists here, but would rather listen to dylan doing dylan than most of them doing dylan. you can have my copy of the album if you want it.

So much more than the movie's soundtrack
Let me state upfront that, while I was rather apprehensive of the movie concept as such, I ended up really liking the non-delinear interpretation of Bob Dylan's life by director Todd Haynes. The structure of the film had the potential to turn this into a (well-intended) disaster, but it turned out to be quite the enjoyable surprise. When you watch the film. you hear a lot of Dylan songs, mostly from Dylan himself, and once in a while fragments from Dylan-covers also can be heard. The "I'm Not There" is a collection of those covers.

"I'm Not There" (2 CDs, 34 tracks; 159 min.) brings 33 covers, many of which do not appear in the movie. I am generally speaking not a great fan of these types of collections (cover songs of big name artists) but must admit that it works quite well here. Among the many highlights on tis collection, my personal favorites include "Goin' to Acapulco" by Jim James & Calexico (done brilliantly in the movie), "One More Cup of Coffee" by Roger McGuinn & Calexico, Jeff Tweedy's somber take on "Simple Twist of Fate", Charlotte Gainsbourg (who stars in the film) whispering-soft version of "Just Like A Woman", a surprising appearance of the Hold Steady for their cover of "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?", an almost subdued performance of the Black Keys on "The Wicked Messinger", and a memorable "Highway 61 Revisited" from Karen O (of the Yea Yea Yeas). The very last song brings Bob Dylan himself, doing "I'm Not There", along with the Band (from the Basement Tapes-era).

Bottom line: I was very pleasantly surprised by this album, which is so much more than a soundtrack. The best proof of that is of course that you can play this and it will resonate just as well, whether you've actually seen the movie "I'm Not There" or not.

Like the movie, these covers disappoint
I looked forward to seeing the movie; but, quite frankly it sucked! More artsy-craftsy contortions than a ballerenic pretzel. And the covers of Dylan's music all turn out to be lame and lifeless just like the movie. Read Chronicles or Suze Rotolo's memoir: much, much better.A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties[[ASIN:0743244583Chronicles: Volume One (Chronicles)]][[ASIN:0825634520Bob Dylan: No Direction Home - The Soundtrack]]