I Am Sam: Penn Pals.

I Am Sam opens in cinemas on June 13. The soundtrack is in stores now.

Picture this: against your better judgement and well-qualified business instincts, you agree to put together the soundtrack for a film starring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer. You, and two of your most capable underlings must sit in a New York office compiling endless wish lists of artists who possess the desired commercial and critical sensibilities to perform on the album – and who are likely to do so for at least half their normal fee. You must then personally call 60 or 70 of the most respected musicians on the planet and entice at least 16 of them into recording their interpretations of songs written and performed by the most revered and famous band in the history of the world. And by the way… you’ve got less than three weeks to do it.

Andy Gershon, the head of V2 records in the US, found himself in this very predicament less than 12 months ago.

I Am Sam is the story of an intellectually impaired man, (played with startling humility by the Oscar nominated Sean Penn), who enlists the pro bono services of an insensitive, strung out lawyer (Michelle Pfeiffer) to defend his right to remain the primary care taker of his seven year old daughter, (the mesmerising Dakota Fanning). Sam’s neighbour and friend (Dianne Wiest), is a former musician and rabid Beatles fan who has passed on her exhaustive love and knowledge of the Beatles to Sam. Just as Sam’s constant Beatles analogies are used to define the major emotional turning points of the film, so are the Beatles songs specifically and carefully utilised as a vital story telling device.

“The original songs were almost a little distracting in the film just because they are so familiar. We knew it would be critical to get the right combination of artists to perform the songs in a way that was both respected and respectful. We just got on the damn phone – quickly,” admits Gershon.

The first two artists called were Aimee Mann, the singer/songwriter solely responsible for the Oscar nominated Magnolia soundtrack and her equally talented husband - Michael Penn. Mann admits that she and Penn, who is a huge Beatles fan, were initially cautious about committing to the project.

“Part of you is thinking – why interpret a Beatles song? If you make it too different, everyone is annoyed because it’s not like the original but if you make it too the same why would anyone listen to yours when they can listen to the Beatles, who are, quite frankly, much better than you!”

Meanwhile, back in New York, Sean Penn had managed to encourage his good friend and surfing buddy Eddie Vedder into the studio to record You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away. Andy Gershon describes that event as the project’s major turning point. “Once we had Eddie Vedder on board, I think it was much easier for other artists to commit.”

And commit they did. In less than three weeks, 18 artists had completed their recordings in studios across the US and the world. The final list also included The Stereophonics (Don’t Let me Down), Ben Folds (Golden Slumbers), Sheryl Crow (Mother Natures Son), Rufus Wainright, (Across the Universe), The Black Crowes (Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds), Ben Harper (Strawberry Fields), Sarah Mclaclan (Blackbird) and the frantically rising LA Based Australian band, The Vines (I’m Only Sleeping). Each artist manages to retain the original sensibilities of the songs while respectfully incorporating their individual vocal and musical textures. Wainwright’s interpretation is certainly one of the album’s standout performances and actually features the uncredited guitar playing of Sean Lennon. Adding to the nostalgic potency of the experience, the song was recorded on the shared birthday of Sean and John Lennon. Andy Gershon recalls the exhilaration of hearing this track and others for the first time.

“The thing about this project was that nobody had time to over think. You just had to go with your gut instinct. We really weren’t doing it to make money – we were doing it to contribute to a beautiful film. But when I heard some of the mixes – like Ben’s Strawberry Fields and Rufus Wainwright’s Across The Universe, I thought ‘Holy Shit – we might actually sell some serious records’.”

“We were fortunate to be working on a great film with a director who really understood what she wanted musically but who was also highly collaborative. Music and movies will always have a kind of synergy that, for some reason, very rarely works. But when it does – it can be magic.”

In the end, love is all that was needed to make I Am Sam, one of the most significant soundtracks of the modern era. The love of New York, of a heart rendering story, of the inspiring acting performances and ultimately the love of some of the greatest songs in popular music history.