ALMOST FAMOUS won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Long before he became a world famous director, Cameron Crowe cut his teeth on the road as a teenage reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. In his fourth directorial role, Crowe uses this personal experience to create a fictional account of his real-life adventures. In co-producing the accompanying soundtrack with partner Danny Bramson, the acclaimed filmmaker loads up on '70s heavy hitters without going for obvious song choices.

Classic rock fans can salivate over The Who ("Sparks"), Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Simple Man") and Rod Stewart ("Every Picture Tells A Story") along with lesser-known names like Thunderclap Newman ("Something In The Air") and the Seeds ("Mr. Farmer"). One of Crowe's more notable feats was using a relationship with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (dating back to his teen years) to convince them to license a Led Zep song ("That's The Way") to a soundtrack for the first time ever. Other treats include a 1972 live version of David Bowie covering "I'm Waiting For The Man" and the Beach Boys' 1971 psychedelic nugget "Feel Flows." Also included is wife Nancy Wilson's Donovan-like instrumental "Mr. Trumble" and cock-rock stomper "Fever Dog" by Stillwater, the fictional band at the center of ALMOST FAMOUS.

Uncut (2/01, p.91) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[As] loveable as the movie....ALMOST FAMOUS cruises along on a well-judged, left-of-the-canon, nostalgia vibe..."