Lennon later said: "I thought, great, because I'd never done a good version of that song myself. It's one of my favourite songs, but I didn't like my version of it." Bowie concurred, calling the Beatles' original version "very watery" and wanting to "hammer the hell out of it." Bowie's cover of "Across the Universe" has received predominantly negative reviews from music critics and biographers. Douglas Wolk of Pitchfork calls it "the album's one genuine embarrassment, Vegas-y and bathetic." Biographer Chris O'Leary agrees, calling it "one of his most utterly tasteless recordings." Author Peter Doggett similarly describes it as "bombastic", "mannered", and a "bizarre way of impressing Lennon." Despite being generally regarded as one of Bowie's low points in his "golden years", biographer Nicholas Pegg gave the recording a positive review, calling it "exquisitely beautiful". Personnel According to Chris O'Leary: David Bowie – lead and backing vocals John Lennon – acoustic guitar Carlos Alomar – rhythm guitar Earl Slick – lead guitar Emir Ksasan – bass Dennis Davis – drums Technical David Bowie – producer Harry Maslin – producer Eddie Kramer – engineer Other versions Roger Waters and Andy Fairweather Low performed "Across the Universe" for a BBC TV special "A Journey in the Life of John Lennon" in 1985. Laibach recorded a cover of "Across the Universe" as part of their covering of the Let It Be album in 1988. 10cc released a version of the song on the 1993 Alive live album. In 1998, Fiona Apple recorded and released the song as part of the Pleasantville motion picture soundtrack. Pitchfork named it Apple's best cover, highlighting how it suits the film. In 2002, Rufus Wainwright recorded a cover version for the film I Am Sam. In 2005, Velvet Revolver featuring Stevie Wonder performed it during the 47th Grammy Awards. The musicians included Billie Joe Armstrong, Bono, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Alison Krauss on fiddle, Tim McGraw, Slash playing 12-string guitar, Steven Tyler, Brian Wilson, and Stevie Wonder on lead vocals and harmonica. The performance was recorded as a tribute to the 2004 tsunami victims. It was released on 13 February 2005 and debuted at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as a digital download. In 2011, Beady Eye released a cover of "Across the Universe" as a charity single available to download through their website from 4 April 2011 until 17 April 2011. All proceeds from