Initially, the album received mixed critical response. Benjamin Baxter of The Collegian wrote "With exceptions like these, it's a pity that the "Across the Universe" soundtrack is evenly divided with inspired covers and those that rest heavily on their lyrical laurels."[5] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote "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."[6] Sputnik Music wrote "Ambitious risks are certainly not alien to the daring Julie Taymor. However, by taking on a catalog such as that of The Beatles and attempting to revamp it into a musical film, Taymor's work falls dramatically short of expectations, sounding painfully average. For casual listeners of The Beatles work, the soundtrack for "Across The Universe" may be a joyous experience. For those that adore the classic Beatles' catalog, it may prove to be an infuriating listen."[7] Peter Hartlaub of SFGate wrote "With Taymor playing DJ, the 33-song soundtrack includes a nice mix of obscurities and surefire crowd-pleasers. And the hits are often given a fresh perspective."[8]
In a positive note, Jonathan Broxton felt that "The music in the film is generally successful because the arrangements and performances seem to be just right for each particular moment in the film (if not for the radio)." Reviewing for Goldenthal's score, he said "Goldenthal tosses out twenty minutes or so of inventive score music that ranges from wacky dissonance to guitar-heavy ambience. It's mostly smaller, ensemble-driven material that shows off Goldenthal at his most carefree and experimental. It's a shame none of it was included on the soundtrack album. Goldenthal puts most of his work into doing song arrangements, the ever-popular T. Bone Burnett works on some of these as well. Goldenthal would seem to be the last person on earth someone would think of to do pop song arrangements, but considering that he is married to director Julie Taymor (and has done all of her previous films), it makes sense. He does a fine job, too… most of the songs with flaws have vocal problems, not instrumental ones."[9]
Retrospective
Retrospective reviews were more positive. Revisiting the film after 10 years, Jami Ganz of Entertainment Weekly felt that "Though it's a bit polarizing amongst diehard Beatles fans, the film can definitely be credited with creatively reinventing the band that changed music, alongside visuals that are…incredible, to say the least."[10] Elena Nicolaou of Refinery29 also admitted "the movie's magic isn't found in historical accuracy, or the believability of its romance. It's found in the music. Think of Across the Universe as a visual album devoted to the most iconic music ever — music that has woven together three generations and counting. If Across the Universe achieves a quality of timelessness, it's because the music, written by the Beatles 60 years ago, has too."[11]
Phoebe Macrossan of The Conversation wrote that "Taymor uses The Beatles as a recognisable language. The characters take ownership of the songs' sentiments, using popular music in the way ordinary people do all the time. While Mamma Mia! completely decoupled ABBA's songs from their origin, Across The Universe involves the audience in remembering The Beatles' music, deploying these memories to make sense of the film and its reworking of the 1960s [...] the Beatles' songs allow the audience insight into young characters who struggle with identity, expression and emotional development. With glorious artistic direction and enthusiastic choreography, Taymor reworks the famous lyrics for new characters and a new narrative."[12]
Commercial response
The deluxe edition of the soundtrack topped the first position as the most downloaded album on iTunes from October 15–17, and 22–23, 2007.
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