Across the Universe (Deluxe Edition)

As soundtracks to Beatles-inspired movies go, Across the Universe -- the companion piece to Julie Taymor's pseudo-psychedelic fantasmagoria extravaganza that tells the story of the '60s through the tunes of the Fab Four -- has bewilderingly gaudy moments, but it's not as appallingly tacky as Sgt. Pepper or as stuffy as All This and World War II. Still, 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 onscreen than it is on record. Dana Fuchs furiously channels Melissa Etheridge (especially on "Helter Skelter") when her performance is isolated as music, although 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, with overly earnest readings of "I Am the Walrus" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Much of the rest 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" -- while Joe Cocker steals the show with his slinky, funky, spacy version of "Come Together." And, apart from Bono and Fuchs' too-strong soulful belting, nothing is distracting -- but the biggest strength of Across the Universe may be that, when considered in its entirety, it mainly whets the appetite for the original recordings. [The deluxe version of Across the Universe is a double-disc, 29-track set containing almost all of the songs featured in Taymor's film, all presented in the order they are in the film.] Stephen Thomas Erlewine.