Steal This Movie

Audio Compact Disc

Label: Artemis Records

Style: Soul

Steal This Movie

UPC: 699675103828

Release Date: 07/25/2000

Original Release Date: 07/25/2000

Number of Discs: 2

Hal Horowitz

The movie of Abbie Hoffman's colorful life as a militant student activist/leader has generated an appropriately retro-inspired, protest-oriented soundtrack. Imaginative new versions of that decade's music from contemporary stars with their musical roots in the '60s nestle alongside a few original ringers from Country Joe & the Fish ("Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag" and the far more obscure "Superbird"), Phil Ochs ("I Ain't Marching Anymore"), and Edwin Star (the ubiquitous "War"). Among this album's most interesting tracks are its collaborations. Steve Earle and Sheryl Crow's version of the Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today" kicks off this soundtrack in rocking fashion with the pair excitedly exchanging verses. Jackson Browne and Joan Osborne emerge from where-are-they-now status (as of early 2000, neither had released any new music in over half a decade) to duet on a lovely, shimmering version of Dylan's "My Back Pages," and the unlikely combination of the Animals' Eric Burdon and Billy Preston run through a forceful cover of John Lennon's "Power to the People" with Ringo on drums to lend even more authenticity. Mary Chapin Carpenter forgoes her country roots to turn in a moody, bluesy, stark, and psychedelic "Mellow Yellow," and Ani DiFranco, as good a candidate for a millennium revolutionary spins off traditional yet emotionally charged unplugged versions of Phil Ochs' "When I'm Gone" and Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land." Ex-Eagle/Poco bassist/vocalist Timothy B. Schmit's "Carry On" sounds so similar to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Youngs's original that it's a wonder why he even bothered. But the album's highlight is Bonnie Raitt's stunning turn on Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," undoubtedly one of the most sincere and beautifully executed versions of this oft covered tune. It's the crowning touch on one of the few pop soundtracks from 2000 that actually has a vision, direction, and cohesiveness. The soundtrack's best moments really do evoke the tumultuous and eclectic musical and political canvas of the '60s, accomplishing exactly what it set out to achieve. ~ Hal Horowitz, Rovi