Guardians of the Galaxy (soundtrack)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album for the Marvel Studios film of the same name. Featuring the songs present on Peter Quill's mixtape in the film,[1] the album was released by Hollywood Records on July 29, 2014. A separate film score album, composed by Tyler Bates, was also released by Hollywood Records on the same date, along with a deluxe version featuring both albums.[1] The soundtrack album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first soundtrack album in history consisting entirely of previously released songs to top the chart.

The album was the US's second best-selling soundtrack album of 2014, behind only the soundtrack to Frozen.[2] It topped the Top Soundtracks chart for 11 consecutive weeks[3] and 16 weeks in total.[4] As of January 2015, it has sold 1,003,000 copies in the United States, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.[5]

Background

In August 2013 the film's director, James Gunn, posted on his Facebook page that Tyler Bates would be composing the film's score. Gunn stated that Bates will write some of the score first so that he can film to the music, as opposed to scoring to the film.[6] In February 2014, Gunn revealed that the film would incorporate songs from the 1970s and 1980s, such as "Hooked on a Feeling", on a mixtape in Quill's Walkman, which acts as a way for him to stay connected to the Earth, home and family he lost.[7] In May 2014, Gunn added that using the songs from the 70s and 80s were "cultural reference points", saying, "It's striking the balance throughout the whole movie, through something that is very unique, but also something that is easily accessible to people at the same time. The music and the Earth stuff is one of those touchstones that we have to remind us that, yeah, [Quill] is a real person from planet Earth who's just like you and me. Except that he's in this big outer space adventure."[8]

Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released July 29, 2014
Recorded 1967–1979
Genre Rock, soul
Length 44:34
Label
Producer
Marvel Cinematic Universe soundtrack chronology
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
(2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy
(2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron
(2015)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [9]

Track listing

All songs—with the exception of "Spirit in the Sky", which is played in the trailer—are featured in the film.[10] "Magic" by Pilot and "Livin' Thing" by Electric Light Orchestra were also used during filming; however, the scenes which they were featured in were cut from the final version of the film.[11][12] "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell and "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" by Three Dog Night were also considered for the film instead of "Moonage Daydream".[12]

No. TitleArtist(s) Length
1. "Hooked on a Feeling"  Blue Swede 2:52
2. "Go All the Way"  Raspberries 3:21
3. "Spirit in the Sky"  Norman Greenbaum 4:02
4. "Moonage Daydream"  David Bowie 4:41
5. "Fooled Around and Fell in Love"  Elvin Bishop 4:35
6. "I'm Not in Love"  10cc 6:03
7. "I Want You Back"  The Jackson 5 2:58
8. "Come and Get Your Love"  Redbone 3:26
9. "Cherry Bomb"  The Runaways 2:17
10. "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)"  Rupert Holmes 4:37
11. "O-o-h Child"  Five Stairsteps 3:13
12. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"  Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell 2:29
Total length:
44:35

Charts and certifications

By August 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 had reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first soundtrack album in history consisting entirely of previously released songs to top the chart.[13][14] By September 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 was the second best-selling soundtrack album in the US (after Frozen) with 426,000 copies sold at that time.[15] The album was also the second soundtrack album released by Disney Music Group that year (also after Frozen) to reach No. 1 on the aforementioned chart.[16] The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, eight weeks after its release.[17] An exclusive vinyl LP edition of the soundtrack was also released on September 16, 2014.[17] On November 28, 2014, the soundtrack got a limited edition cassette tape release exclusive to retailers associated with Record Store Day's Black Friday event, and is the first cassette release by Disney Music Group since 2003's Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic.[18] The soundtrack became the 5th best-selling album of 2014 selling a total of 898,000 copies that year.[2] In January 2015, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA.[19] It has sold 1,003,000 total copies in the United States.[5] Worldwide, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 sold over 2.5 million copies in 2014.[20]

Charts

Charts (2014) Peak
position
scope="row" Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 2
scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 18
scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 23
Canadian Albums Chart[24][25] 1
scope="row" Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[26] 5
scope="row" Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[27] 27
scope="row" French Albums (SNEP)[28] 63
scope="row" Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[29] 11
Italian Compilation Albums Chart[30] 2
scope="row" New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 7
scope="row" Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 28
scope="row" Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 67
UK Compilation Albums Chart[34] 2
US Billboard 200[35] 1
US Billboard Top Soundtracks[36] 1
US Billboard Top Rock Albums 1
US Billboard Top Digital Albums 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
Australian Albums Chart[37] 22

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[38] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[39] Platinum 80,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] Gold 7,500^
United States (RIAA)[41] Platinum 1,003,000[5]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Guardians of the Galaxy (Original Score)

Guardians of the Galaxy (Original Score)

Guardians of the Galaxy Deluxe Edition
Film score by Tyler Bates
Released July 29, 2014
Recorded Abbey Road Studios
Genre Film score
Length 64:34
Label
Producer
Tyler Bates chronology

The Darkest Hour
(2011)
Guardians of the Galaxy
(2014)
Marvel Cinematic Universe soundtrack chronology
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
(2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy
(2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron
(2015)

Track listing

All music composed by Tyler Bates[42].

No. Title Length
1. "Morag"   1:58
2. "The Final Battle Begins"   4:21
3. "Plasma Ball"   1:18
4. "Quill's Big Retreat"   1:38
5. "To the Stars"   2:52
6. "Ronan's Theme"   2:24
7. "Everyone's an Idiot"   1:26
8. "What a Bunch of A-Holes"   2:14
9. "Busted"   1:34
10. "The New Meat"   0:36
11. "The Destroyer"   1:27
12. "Sanctuary"   2:26
13. "The Kyln Escape"   7:23
14. "Don't Mess With My Walkman"   0:44
15. "The Great Companion"   0:51
16. "The Road to Knowhere"   0:37
17. "The Collector"   3:20
18. "Ronan's Arrival"   0:56
19. "The Pod Chase"   3:56
20. "Sacrifice"   3:20
21. "We All Got Dead People"   1:46
22. "The Ballad of the Nova Corps."   1:48
23. "Groot Spores"   1:11
24. "Guardians United"   2:46
25. "The Big Blast"   3:05
26. "Groot Cocoon"   2:29
27. "Black Tears"   2:43
28. "Citizens Unite"   1:15
29. "A Nova Upgrade"   2:10
Total length:
64:34

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Hollywood Records And Marvel Set To Release Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy Deluxe Soundtrack, Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy Awesome Mix Vol. 1 And Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy Digital Score Soundtrack". Digital Journal via PR Newswire. July 9, 2014. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Caulfield, Keith (December 31, 2014). "Taylor Swift's '1989' Beats 'Frozen' As Top Selling Album of 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  3. Paul Grein (December 18, 2014). "Carrie Underwood's 'Greatest' Is Doing Great". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  4. Paul Grein (January 22, 2015). "Meghan Trainor's Debut Album Arrives at #1". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Caulfield, Keith (January 16, 2015). "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: 'Guardians' Soundtrack Surpasses 1 Million in Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  6. Schaefer, Sandy (August 2013). "James Gunn On ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Composer Tyler Bates’ Approach". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  7. Ashurst, Sam (February 19, 2014). "Guardians of the Galaxy: James Gunn's Trailer Breakdown: Star Lord's Walkman". Total Film. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
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  9. AllMusic review
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