Across the Universe

Covering the Beatles is a lot like strutting your stuff in the center of a crowded dance floor: It’s easy to do, but you run the risk of making an ass of yourself. Here, Apple’s vocal seems to float in some netherworld between blank petulance and bored depression as woodwinds and keyboards swirl around Lennon’s haunting melody, making this seem like nothing so much as background music for a Valium commercial.