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Even though the songs are warm and certifiably nice, it's pointless to heap praise on the I Am Sam soundtrack because it's been done many, many, many times before. Remember around 35 years ago when the Beatles were big? Beatlemania? Yoko Ono breaking up the group? And all the stuff that happened in between? Well, it would have been cooler and so much more contemporaneous to like this album way back then.

No, the Beatles cover songs on this album won't ignite a new craze. At best, this is a flicker of the old craze with neo-folkies and coffee shop rockers carrying the tune. They do a nice job, but that's because the Beatles did a nice job. The greater surprise would be if a Beatles cover album completely sucked, so in that sense there's nothing spectacular about this one. It's a Beatles cover that doesn't suck. Why? Because the Beatles didn't suck. These artists can't go wrong imitating the top pop act of the 20th century.

There are some emotional ballads that capture the essence of the movie, such as the plaintive choral cries in "Don't Let Me Down", sung by the Stereophonics, "Two Of Us" by Aimee Mann and Michael Penn, and "Across The Universe" by Rufus Wainwright.

Modern rockers including Eddie Vedder, Ben Folds, and Nick Cave display their vocal versatility with the soft renditions of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", "Golden Slumbers", and "Let It Be", all Beatles staples. Plus, it's a clever, topical metaphor when the Black Crowes' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" just trails off with nothing but a disjointed chorus, like a partial mental block.

The bulk of this album is "music inspired by the motion picture", so it shouldn't be considered a soundtrack. In the movie, the main character (Sam, a mentally challenged adult) makes numerous mention of the Beatles for solace in his day to day struggles. That's the connection. And apparently it's a sufficient one for a whole album, which is very opportunistic, but many of the artists deserve credit for supporting the cause anyway. It's framed as a fugue chronicling Sam's numerous challenges - social, intellectual, and spiritual. When producers say the album was drawn from "the artists' inspirations from the movie and their affection for the music," the project seems to carry many of the same heart-warming messages as the film - even if it is 'good cover' for another Beatles cover act.

- Doug Yovanovich

Part Northern Pikes and part Gin Blossoms, Adam's Rib is an independent pop-rock group that makes most of its coin touring in smalltown Canada. So perhaps it's no surprise that their latest CD, Forever Cafe, has a down-home feel, but it's not ready for critical mass. The album doesn't display much range.

Aside from metaphoric comparisons to other bands, it's difficult to define this one except to say that it plays simple, unoffensive rock. The songs on Forever Cafe rely on only three or four instruments at a time - usually guitar, drums, and bass. Vocals come from only one member of the band (guitarist Derek Lathrop), whose haunting, throaty sound trounces the pleasant music at times. It's an odd combination - a bit like Creed singing a folk song. The band openly concedes that their brand of soft guitar is not the type you'd hear on rock stations. Furthermore, it's a little too bluegrass for adult-contemporary radio and too mellow and positive for pop.

Instead, Adam's Rib is the type of band that would attract a small crowd at a cafe or a kaffeeklatsch outdoor festival in the summer. But due to their singular style, you can be forgiven for feeling deja vu part way through this album.

- Doug Yovanovich

If I could cut my thumb vertically in half and stick the side that happens to be the smallest up, that would be my thumbs up to Sensefield's fourth CD release, Tonight and Forever.

Songs like "Here Right Here", "No Longer Now" and "Weight of the World" have enough musical merit to inspire a mosh-pit of two. The rest of the songs sound uncanny and similar; it's almost like listening to one long, bland song. (Geez, should I proceed to cut the small half of the thumb in half again?)

If you're a big fan of mediocracy and tend to like bands with no particular message or direction, then this CD is for you. With a sound that's not heavy, folksy, or alternative, their music could only be classified as rock, but isn't anything special. Tie in a little pop, and some squeamish lyrics and you've got the carbon-rock sound of Sensefield.

Without a provacative lead or interesting guitar riffs to draw the listener in, it looks like Tonight and Forever could be another CD forgotten in the pile.

All in all, with a little more sense, Sensefield could easily surpass into the ranks of excellent so-so bands such as Sloan.

- Kevin Bao

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