(Apple/EMI) 3.5 stars

For better or worse, sampling and cut-and-paste techniques are a recording fixture: e.g. the recent posthumous “teaming’’ of Ray Charles with the current Count Basie Band on `Ray Sings, Basie Swings’.

So the clever makeover by producer George Martin and son Giles of pop archetypes the Beatles should come as no surprise on `LOVE’ – a Cirque de Soleil soundtrack project initiated by the late George Harrison.

I strongly recommend the CD/DVD-Audio package, if you have access to a 5.1 audio system, as the audio-only DVD features the superior surround mix for the $US100m-plus arena show (it’s still running in Las Vegas).

Don’t expect unearthed rarities or a radical remix of the Beatles catalogue, however.

Instead, the Martins have juxtaposed arrangements, effects and alternate versions of the original recordings – sometimes linking three different songs – with restraint and taste.

`LOVE’ does provide an enjoyable, if ephemeral listening experience, but the fact remains this is the soundtrack of a show.

– Mike Daly