The Beatles

Love is yet another attempt to entice consumers into repurchasing repackaged Beatles music they already own in various formats. The 26-track disc was mashed up in a massive 5.1 mix specifically designed for the custom-built surround-sound theater at the Mirage, where it will be blasted twice nightly to Las Vegas tourists as the soundtrack to Love, Cirque du Soleil's latest production. And while there's no denying that the deft remixes by George Martin and his son Giles benefit greatly from the latter's contemporary mixing sensibilities and technological updates, or that the seamless clash of cowbells from "Drive My Car" into "The Word" and other trippy segues are amusing -- without the marriage of the music to Cirque stunts, what's the point? Still, you've gotta hand it to Apple; talk about brilliant advance marketing for the long overdue release of the remastered Beatles catalogue. Ultimately, though, except as a curiosity or a surefire Beatles-fan stocking stuffer, Love isn't all we need.