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Tune in to the XPN Morning Show each Monday to hear, Host, Mike Vasilikos, review XPN's Featured Album of the Week. This week's album is....

Various Artists - I'm Not There - Original Soundtrack (Columbia)

For the soundtrack for Todd Haynes' strange Bob Dylan biopic, the producers have assembled a very interesting cast of important, talented, mostly left-of-the-dial performers. The results are - well - strange but satisfying overall.

I like this collection quite a bit, with two caveats: 1) I'm just about Dylan-ed out... with the recent extensive PBS biography and yet another greatest hits collection out, I'm pretty saturated, even as I recognize his genius and consider myself a big fan, and 2) they probably could have cut this collection down from two discs to just one and have been just as effective.

All that being said, there's a certain amount of A&R genius at work here, as artists like Stephen Malkmus, Cat Power, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Yo La Tengo, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens and many more interpret Dylan's songs. The refreshing thing is that many of the tracks are obscure tunes. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that Dylan's songs may leave themself open to more creative interpertation than any other songwriter ever, and this collection is even further testament to that belief.

Written by Dan Reed

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