Across The Universe [Deluxe Edition]

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Given a track record littered by misfired oddities like the Bee Gees starring in the 1978 movie version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, successfully transforming The Beatles' epochal oeuvre into film musicals has been an elusive alchemy. Yet director Julie Taymor's 1968-centered, socio-political romance is more than just a stunning visual achievement. Its soundtrack brings a crucially intimate, emotionally engaging sensibility to its rich catalog of Beatles source material. Using an approach she rightly dubbed "organic," Taymor never gets too ambitious with the original arrangements, balancing the plaintive, often stark performances of central young stars Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood with equally compelling turns by supporting players Carol Woods and Joe Anderson. The stars successfully evoke early Beatlemania via the energetic charms of Sturgess' "All My Loving" and Wood's "It Won't Be Long," then get straight to the canon's often melancholy heart on his take of "In My Life," and her gentle cover of "Blackbird." Taymor's use of star turns--the entire point of too many Beatles-rooted projects--is as sparing as it is deft. Eddie Izzard's effusive "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" is the product of several edited improvisations, while U2's Bono and Edge re-imagine "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" by way of Pink Floyd. Joe Cocker's swamp-dirge "Come Together" shows why he's long been one of the best interpreters of the Lennon-McCartney catalog, and Dana Fuchs alternately evokes the heavenly and hellish via her tender "Dear Prudence," as well as her manic, Joplin-channeling burn through "Helter Skelter." Elsewhere on the CD, Bono teams with Secret Machine for the straightforward "I Am the Walrus," while the Dallas indie rockers also take dream-pop turns on the instrumental "Flying" and George Harrison's haunting "Blue Jay Way." Remarkably, Taymor claims the bulk of the performances here were not lip-synced, but recorded live as the cameras rolled.--Jerry McCulley

Album Description
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE - MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE DELUXE - 2 DISC VERSION

A love story set in the 1960's amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock `n roll. Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides.

FEATURING SONGS FROM THE GREATEST SONGWRITERS OF ALL TIME, PERFORMED BY THE CAST INCLUDING EVAN RACHEL WOOD, JIM STURGESS, DANA FUCHS, MARTIN LUTHER McCOY, BONO, JOE COCKER AND EDDIE IZZARD

Package art will incorporate stills from pivotal scenes from the movie and a 16-page folder foldout poster with a strawberry image.

Customer Reviews: Read 207 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Beatles interpretations October 29, 2007
185 out of 188 found this review helpful

Interscope Records has released three variations of soundtrack albums from the film - a standard edition and two deluxe editions. The standard edition contains 16 tracks from the film soundtrack. The first version of the deluxe edition features 31 tracks - all of the vocal performances and one of the three instrumental tracks. This 31-track version is available solely at the Best Buy retail chain and in a digital version via iTunes. A second version of the deluxe edition is available at other retail outlets. The second version differs from the 31-track version in that it omits two tracks: "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?". The total time for these two missing tracks is 5 minutes.

If you can get the 31-track version without a lot of hassle, then do so, even though the singer of the 2 songs, Dana Fuchs, isn't considered a particularly good singer or actor and the two missing songs aren't highlights. I see no point in buying the 16-song single CD version when for $2 more you get more than 54 minutes of extra music.

The 29-track version is excellent and worth the money. Virtually every song is done in a manner very different from the original by the Beatles and yet it is very enjoyable and tasteful. Great, innovative cover versions, an amazing feat.

A final comment. Interscope Records is to be disdained for releasing 2 different Deluxe versions and causing both buyers and sellers a lot of needless decision making problems. Obviously Best Buys made some marketing arrangement with Interscope Records but it won't generate enough extra cash to compensate for all of the bad PR and angst that this will generate.

3 out of 5 stars

Great soundtrack, but... October 23, 2007
74 out of 90 found this review helpful

The original Deluxe Edition released to iTunes and Best Buy contained 31 tracks over 2 CDs. The Deluxe Edition sold here and now available at other retailers only includes 29 tracks over 2 CDs. "Why Don't We Do it in the Road?" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" are missing.

I don't know why this is, but take it into account before ordering. The soundtrack deserves 5 stars, but the unexplained removal of tracks cuts it to a 3.

4 out of 5 stars

Go to Best Buy and get the 31 song version October 25, 2007
66 out of 70 found this review helpful

This edition is 29 songs long. I found another version with 31 songs at Best Buy. The two missing songs here are: "Why Don't We Do it in the Road?" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

Otherwise, this is a great album. The original cast voices Evan Rachel Woods, Jim Sturgess, etc. are excellent, plus we get guest shots from Joe Cocker (Come Together), Bono (I am the Walrus, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds) and Eddie Izzard (Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite).

Probably my top two of this collection is Joe Cocker's rough voice on "Come Together" and the excellent surprise of Martin Luther McCoy's voice on "While my Guitar Gently Weeps."

I strongly recommend the movie and this soundtrack is one of my favorites as well.

5 out of 5 stars

Across The Generations December 29, 2007
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

I grew up with The Beatles and consider them the greatest pop/rock band. I also consider Lennon and McCartney the greatest composers of the 20th century, who were also blessed with fine voices and perfect harmony. So, when my daughter saw this movie and strongly recommended the soundtrack, I was very skeptical. I thought to myself: "Why is there yet another attempt to cover The Beatles' songs; with few exceptions, the results are abysmal."

But when I listened to these songs, reinterpreted by these talented singers, I was really impressed. Especially noteworthy are Jim Sturgess and Martin Luther McCoy; they are gifted performers. What struck me the most, however, was that all of these singers took on our generation's sacred songs (our zeitgeist) and succeeded in giving these songs vibrancy and new meaning.

Highlights:

"Girl"--Beautifully sung, but I wish he was allowed to finish the song.

"All My Loving"-- Again, Sturgess gets it right with all the youthful exuberance this song requires.

"Let It Be"--Fantastic! McCartney always intended this to by a church hymn, and I have heard gospel renditions by Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, but the choir here is superb and makes this my favorite version of the song to date.

"Come Together"--I forget who told Joe Cocker that he was the only white man with soul, but this song showcases his talents. He brings a soulful, bluesy feeling to this song.

"I Am The Walrus"--While I still prefer Lennon's psychedelic, stream of consciousness in your face version, taking aim at his overzealous song critics, Bono is able to convey this anger with great success. Bono is wonderfully manic.

"Strawberry Fields Forever"--I never thought that I would hear a better version of Lennon's defining moment of introspection and self-doubt, but Sturgess captures this mood effectively, in a haunting and mesmerizing way.

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"--This is worth the price of admission alone. McCoy even betters George Harrison (in "The "White Album" version with the hard-rocking Clapton backing and in "The Anthology" version with Harrison alone with his acoustic guitar.) McCoy starts out quiet and breathless and by the end wrings every emotion out of this song. His range and voice remind me of Seal's. This is my favorite song on the album.

"Across The Universe"--Sturgess takes a wordy, but extremely poetic Lennon song and does not stumble over the words, which is so easy to do. He is able to get at the core of the song and discover its purity. However, unlike Lennon, Sturgess sings defiantly and transforms the song into an anthem.

Shortcomings:

"Hold Me Tight"--This is the fault of the director and producer and not the performer. Lennon has admitted that this song was "filler" and far from his best. In this album, it is forgettable.

"Blue Jay Way"--Again, poor song choice. This is one of the worst songs by Harrison and on the "Magical Mystery Tour" album. It has no purpose other than droning on and on; it is no better on this album.

"Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite"--I prefer the original. Lennon is so much better than Izzard.

"Because"--This rendition is not bad; it's just not close to the original. The Beatles knew that they were breaking up on "Abbey Road," and they gave the performance of a lifetime on the album. It is reported that they painstakingly recorded many takes of this song to get the phrasing, harmony and pitch perfect. Listen to the version on "The Anthology" or "Love," since it is a cappella. It features McCartney taking the high part, Harrison the middle, and Lennon taking the bottom. Their lush three-part harmony is so tight and perfect, that it is difficult to tell who is singing what part. Their version has never been equalled.

"Revolution"--This is the only song sung by Sturgess that doesn't work for me. The original song is angry Lennon at his best, with distorted guitars augmenting his strident singing. Sturgess' version is too light and benign and seems misplaced.

"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"--In this song, Bono is banal. It's an average performance of a great song.

In sum, this is a wonderful album. The singers deserve credit for taking on the daunting task of The Beatles' canon and making it work, and more importantly, reinterpreting it so that it succeeds on its own merit. The fact that my daughter, who considers The Beatles "so last century," loves this album, and the fact that her die-hard Beatles' fan father loves it too, should speak volumes.

1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing November 26, 2007
13 out of 34 found this review helpful

I generally like tribute albums of this sort, and though this is technically not a tribute album I will lump it into that category. First of all, Bono of all people doesn't deserve to be singing Beatles music. His performances of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and I am the Walrus have a very sterile/pompous air about them. And I'm sorry, I doubt there is a human being alive that could do justice to the song Blackbird, other than Paul McCartney himself. The re-interpretations of these songs by the various performers are, in my opinion, definitely lacking with the exception of a few tracks, namely Joe Cocker's Come Together and Eddie Izzard on Mr. Kite. Most of these performers seem to have ignored or forgotten that the Beatles sang Rock & Roll. If I wanted to hear some downtempo Beatles music I would rather play one of their albums in reverse in search of some backmasking as opposed to listening to this drivel.

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