Everybody must get this album

After the Bob Dylan show at IU, my friends and I discussed Dylan's new arrangements of his classics. As an artist known for reworking his songs, Dylan's reinterpretations have been hit-or-miss. However, this is almost never the case on I'm Not There, the soundtrack to Todd Haynes' Dylan biopic.\nThe soundtrack boasts rock 'n' roll's finest covering Dylan in their own ways. It is a double disc packed with 34 songs total, including covers from every Dylan era. \nThe covers range from faithful to obscure, yet the album feels cohesive thanks to two great house bands in Calexico and the Million Dollar Bashers -- a supergroup made for this project that consists of Steve Shelley and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Wilco's Nels Cline, guitarist Smokey Hormel, keyboardist John Medeski and Dylan's own bassist Tony Garnier. Calexico is also perfect for the project, aiding on five tracks, including Willie Nelson's incredible cover of "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)" and Jim James of My Morning Jacket's heartfelt rendition of "Goin' to Acapulco." The Million Dollar Bashers adds the psychedelic element to breathe new life into Tom Verlaine of Television's take on "Cold Irons Bound" and performs as a rollicking rock band on Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' quirky cover of "Highway 61 Revisited."\nSome of the best covers come from indie's finest. Cat Power's take on "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" is simply a blast. Pavement's Stephen Malkmus comes forth with three of I'm Not There's best covers, the greatest being his rendition of "Ballad of a Thin Man." Yo La Tengo shows two very different sides of Dylan, with Georgia Hubley doing the wistful "Fourth Time Around" and Ira Kaplan singing the relentless "I Wanna Be Your Lover."\nHowever, a few of the covers simply don't work. Eddie Vedder's take on the often covered "All Along the Watchtower" is uninspired and Sufjan Steven's reinvention of "Ring Them Bells" is disposable. But even with a few misfires, this is one of the best tribute albums and one of the best soundtracks of all time.