When Dave Grohl released his documentary “Sound City,” there was no surprise that a soundtrack would soon follow.

This week, “Sound City: Real to Reel” releases with a massive roster of artists contributing to the soundtrack, ranging from legendary artists like Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks to recent rockers such as Joshua Homme from Queens of the Stone Age and Corey Taylor from Slipknot and Stone Sour.

Overall, this is a great album. The talent here is varied and the selections from each artist can be surprising. For example, Rick Springfield of “Jessie’s Girl” fame joins Grohl along with Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel and Pat Smear, all of whom are members of the Foo Fighters, for “The Man That Never Was.” It is a heavier song than Springfield’s biggest hit, but welcome nevertheless.

The only problem the album has is its lyrics. They are hit or miss and nothing special, but each song here makes up for it with its talent and music.

The first half of the album is rocky — the first few tracks can leave much to be desired, but things soon pick up. The highlight of the first half is easily “You Can’t Fix This,” with Nicks as the featured vocalist. While it may not be the greatest song lyrically, it is a change of pace from the Fleetwood Mac songs and solo work that Nicks has done in the past. Following it is “The Man That Never Was,” the post-grunge Springfield song, and the punk rocker “Your Wife is Calling,” which features Lee Ving from the punk band Fear. These songs are a step down from “You Can’t Fix This,” but are still decent.

Starting with “From Can to Can’t,” the album kicks into high gear with some of its best and most varied tracks featuring Taylor, Homme, McCartney and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. It’s obvious the highlight of the second half and the entire album is “Cut Me Some Slack.” The song has a bluesy feel to it and has the best combination of talent featuring Grohl, McCartney, Smear and Krist Novoselic, essentially becoming Nirvana with McCartney on vocals. The song could have been the perfect closer, but the album continues with the Grohl-sung “If I Were Me” and “Mantra.” The last track features elements from the work of the three featured artists and is the best mix of Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails anyone could ask for. The concept sounds crazy, but it works.

As ambitious as this soundtrack is, “Sound City: Real to Reel” is rewarding and features some of the biggest names in music. While some of the songs here are hit or miss, the talent alone is a reason to check it out.

Rob Kitchen is a 19-year-old mass communication freshman from Metairie.