Across The Universe [Deluxe Edition]

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 ofSturgess' "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 PICTUREDELUXE - 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.

Disc 1:

1. Girl - Jim Sturgess
2. Hold Me Tight - Evan Rachel Wood
3. All My Loving - Jim Sturgess
4. I Want to Hold Your Hand - T.V. Carpio
5. With a Little Help from My Friends - Joe Anderson, Jim Sturgess
6. It Won't Be Long - Evan Rachel Wood
7. I've Just Seen a Face - Jim Sturgess
8. Let It Be - Timothy T. Mitchum, Carol Woods
9. Come Together - Joe Cocker
10. If I Fell - Evan Rachel Wood
11. Dear Prudence - T.V. Carpio, Dana Fuchs Band, Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood
12. Flying [Instrumental] - Secret Machines
13. Blue Jay Way - Secret Machines

Disc 2:

1. I Am the Walrus - Bono, Secret Machines
2. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite - Eddie Izzard
3. Because - Joe Anderson, T.V. Carpio, Dana Fuchs Band, Martin Luther "M.L." McCoy, Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood
4. Something - Jim Sturgess
5. Oh! Darling - Dana Fuchs Band, Martin Luther "M.L." McCoy
6. Strawberry Fields Forever - Joe Anderson, Jim Sturgess
7. Revolution - Jim Sturgess
8. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Martin Luther "M.L." McCoy
9. Across the Universe - Jim Sturgess
10. Helter Skelter - Dana Fuchs Band
11. Happiness Is a Warm Gun - Joe Anderson, , Selma Hayek
12. Blackbird - Evan Rachel Wood
13. Hey Jude - Joe Anderson
14. Don't Let Me Down - Dana Fuchs Band
15. All You Need Is Love - Dana Fuchs Band, Jim Sturgess
16. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Bono

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Customer Reviews

Rating: - well done
This soundtrack is the best I have ever heard.The production is first rate.I almost feel I can see the scenes from the movie while it is playing.
Rating: - Movie not so great, but the music is amazing!
I purchased Across the Universe after hearing the soundtrack only, had no idea of the story line, and had only seen the lead actor (Jim Sturgess) in another film (The Other Bolyn Girl.)The actors in Across the Universe are all really talented and no doubt bound for bigger and better things.Of course, it was a treat to see Eddie Izzard and Bono, not to mention cameos by Joe Cocker as well!I set aside my expectations as I watched this film (how on earth can you make a film driven by Beatles' ... Read More
Rating: - Across the Universe--DVD
In the "behind-the-scenes" section of this DVD, the last song is a bit scratchy when Sturges sings "All You Need is Love".Otherwise, everything is OK.
Rating: - Only the best movie ever!!!
This movie is my most favorite movie.It's Beatles songs with a twist in meaning and the actors pulled it off well!
MUST SEE!!!
Rating: - The Beatles are for all generations
I was very excited when this movie came out as I grew up during the sixties. I was worried about the new interpretations of the Beatles songs but what a surprise! Not only was the movie great but I loved all the songs. My 19 yr old daughter & I watched the movie together the first time & I was able to give her a lot of the background & references that she wouldn't have picked up on otherwise. Bono channeling Ken Kesey with the Merry Pranksters meeting Timothy Leary was great! Joe Cocker was amazing ... Read More