As soundtracks to misguided Beatles-inspired movies go, Across the Universe -- the companion piece to Julie Taymor's pseudo-psychedelic fantasmagoria extravaganza, telling the story of the '60s through the tunes of the Fab Four -- isn't too embarrassing. Certainly, it lacks the appalling tackiness of Sgt. Pepper and it's not as stuffy as All This and World War II, but avoiding these two traps isn't a very high bar to meet, and Across the Universe winds up having its own bewildering gaudy moments. Taymor's overly designed fantasia is at once too tasteful and too garish, which is an odd combination for an odd movie -- and something that may be more gripping on screen than it is on record, where the flaws of the casting tend to be harder to ignore, at least in musical terms. Curiously enough, that's as true of the actors as it is the pro singers. It may be expected that Evan Rachel Wood is as charmless on record as she is on screen, but it's hard to ignore how Dana Fuchs furiously channels Melissa Etheridge (especially on "Helter Skelter") to no avail when her performance is isolated as music, but the biggest surprise is that Bono not only looks like a dead ringer for Robin Williams in the film, but he sounds a bit like him too, as he gracelessly slaughters "I Am the Walrus" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" with his dogged, overly earnest readings. Bono may have no ear for whimsy, but his brave literalism in the face of nonsense fits Taymor's literal interpretations of the Beatles catalog yet it provides the soundtrack with its only fleeting moments of camp -- although TV Carpio's lesbian longing on "I Want to Hold Your Hand" comes close, due to its hazy, soft symphonic makeover -- as most of this slides by agreeably enough. Jim Sturgess has the same plainspoken delivery as Ewan MacGregor in Moulin Rouge, which helps in love songs from "All My Loving" to "Something" -- and he does a credible job on the rockabilly revamp of "I've Just Seen a Face" -- and Joe Cocker steals the show with his slinky, funky, spacey version of "Come Together." And, apart from Bono and Fuchs' too-strong soulful belting, nothing is distracting -- but nothing is particularly memorable as music, either, which is odd because the movie itself is certainly memorable, whether you like it or not. But that just means that Across the Universe falls prey to the curse of jukebox musicals on Broadway -- no matter how good or how bad the music is, it ultimately only whets the appetite for the original recordings, which is certainly the case here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Across the Universe (Original Soundtrack)
09/14/2007 | Interscope Records
All Music Guide Review
Track Listing
Credits
- Olivia McClurkin
- Choir Conductor
- Stephen McLaughlin
- Engineer
- Marcus Rojas
- Musician
- Jonathan Sheffer
- Conductor
- Patrick Warren
- Musician
- Bruce Williamson
- Musician
- Elliot Goldenthal
- Producer, Musician, Orchestration
- Jay Bellerose
- Musician
- Antoine Silverman
- Music Contractor, Musician
- Ivy Skoff
- Music Contractor
- Curtis Roush
- Supervising Editor
- Gavin Lurssen
- Mastering
- Mike Piersante
- Engineer, Mixing
- Marc Mann
- Musician
- Paul Bogaev
- Vocal Supervision
- Mike Elizondo
- Musician
- Denise Luiso
- Executive in Charge of Music
- Lia Vollack
- Executive in Charge of Music
- Robert Elhai
- Orchestration
- Michael Roth
- Musician
- Pancho Navarro
- Musician
- Jackie Presti
- Music Contractor
- Lawrence Manchester
- Engineer
- Liam Ward
- Creative Assistance
- Julie Taymor
- Soundtrack Executive Producer
- Brandon Mason
- Engineer, Mixing
- Rick Martinez
- Musician
- Josh Garza
- Producer, Musician
- Brandon Curtis
- Producer, Musician
- Brian John Mitchell
- Musician
- T-Bone Wolk
- Musician
- Halsey Quemere
- Engineer
- Andrew Van Meter
- Production Coordination
- Jason Wormer
- Engineer
- Mark Baechle
- Music Preparation
- Anja Wood
- Musician
- Ghian Wright
- Engineer
- Stacy Parrish
- Engineer
- Yohei Goto
- Engineer
- Emile Kelman
- Engineer
- Angie Teo
- Music Coordinator
- Martin Luther "M.L." McCoy
- Musician
- Justin "Bumper" Reeve
- Soundtrack Coordination
- Sheldon Yellowhair
- Engineer
- Missy Webb
- Engineer
- Vanessa Parr
- Engineer
- Kerry Hickey
- A&R
- Tony Seyler
- Soundtrack Executive Producer
- Adam Haggar
- Engineer
- Bryan Pugh
- Engineer
- Julia Betley
- A&R Assistance
- Benjamin Curtis
- Producer, Musician
- Juan Mantilla
- Music Preparation
- Steve Sherr
- Marketing
- Jim Keltner
- Musician
- The Edge
- Vocals (Background)
- Carla Azar
- Musician
- Louis Bellafatto
- Vocal Supervision
- Christopher S. Brooks
- Music Editor
- Stephen Bruton
- Musician
- T Bone Burnett
- Producer, Musician
- Peter Calo
- Musician
- Robert Carlisle
- Musician
- Keith Ciancia
- Musician
- Caroline Dale
- Musician
- Charley Drayton
- Musician
- Frank Filipetti
- Engineer
- Teese Gohl
- Producer, Musician
- Page Hamilton
- Musician
- Dan Higgins
- Musician
- Jimmy Iovine
- Soundtrack Executive Producer
- Joel Iwataki
- Engineer, Mixing
- Richard King
- Musician
- Howard Levy
- Musician
- Mark Stewart
- Musician
- Bernie Worrell
- Musician
- Ronnie Cuber
- Musician
- Gil Goldstein
- Musician
Notes
About the movie: 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 --
all my loving • i want to hold your hand • it won’t be long
i’ve just seen a face • let it be • come together • something
i am the walrus • oh! darling • across the universe • helter skelter
strawberry fields forever • happiness is a warm gun • blackbird
hey jude • lucy in the sky with the diamonds
Packaging:
Art will incorporate stills from pivotal scenes from the movie jewel case, 14 songs, 16-page folder foldout poster with a strawberry image










