Across the Universe (Music from the Motion Picture) [Deluxe Edition]

iTunes Review

Director Julie Taymor is no stranger to ambitious risk-taking, as her Broadway adaptation of Disney’s Lion King and Oscar-lauded Frida ably attest. But turning the Beatles’ epochal catalog of songs into a viable cinematic vehicle tempted a fate that’s seen decades of similar projects either fail outright or fade into deserved obscurity. The success of Taymor’s soundtrack relies on keeping the musical performances as intimately scaled and emotionally centered – “organic” is the word she uses – as her imagery is imaginatively expansive. This deluxe edition contains nearly every musical performance in the film, contrasting the often elegantly plaintive performances of central young stars Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood (and secondary performers Joe Anderson and Carol Woods) against well-placed star turns that on a less artistically driven effort might have become the main event. Eddie Izzard’s delightful “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite” was edited from a number of effusive improvised takes, vet Bono collaborates with U2 bandmate Edge on a Floydian cover of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and also collaborates on a surprisingly direct “I Am the Walrus” with Secret Machines. The Dallas indie-rockers also turn in band versions of the instrumental “Flying” and George Harrison’s haunting “Blue Jay Way.” Elsewhere, Joe Cocker shows why he’s long been one of the best Beatles’ interpreters by turning “Come Together” into spooky Delta dirge, while Dana Fuchs’ willfully channels the spirit of Joplin into a manic cover of “Helter Skelter” that’s as hellish as her turn on “Dear Prudence” is cherubic. Even more remarkable, Taymor claims 90% of the performances her were recorded live on film, not lip synced.