There’s nothing quite like a good music list to stoke some healthy music debate.
We’ve seen some corkers lately, including the ‘best’ song of the millennium, the world’s best rappers, the most hated bands of the last 30 years, and now this latest turns to the world of the silver screen to look at the long-running relationship between rock and roll and the reel to reel, compiling a list of the greatest soundtracks ever.
Following on from their controversial list that named Nirvana among the worst bands of the 90s, Rolling Stone offer up a Top 25 list of the best movie soundtracks, but unlike that grunge-baiting worst bands list, they didn’t poll their readers this time.
Instead, a few editors got together to come up with their Top 25; “we included soundtrack albums built around original songs as well as expertly curated compilations, but we generally favored fresh tunes over killer mixtapes,” reads the foreword from Rolling Stone, meaning, don’t spit the dummy when you don’t see the score for Star Wars in the list, this is strictly a rock fan’s eye view of film history.
So who make’s the director’s cut? Well, there’s definitely a tendency for releases with an influential historical legacy, with most of the entries on the list taken up by releases from the past, including rock classics such as The Ramones’ Rock N’ Roll High School (at #24), Simon & Garfunkel’s dedication to ‘Mrs. Robinson’ in The Graduate (at #16), and the retro-tastic collection of artists that make up the George Lucas-directed American Graffiti (#17) and Easy Rider (#14) compilations.
The most recent entry on the list is the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation, the 10-year-old soundtrack that features French artists Air, Phoenix, and Sebastien Tellier, as well as a score from My Bloody Valentine’s (then-)recluse Kevin Shields. Interestingly, there’s no love for many other musicians-turned-film composers such as Trent Reznor, Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood, or even Nick Cave (shame, really).
Instead, the Top 25 features a lot of expertly-curated compilations from music buff film directors, including Martin Scorsese’s gangster-scored Goodfellas (at #15), Quentin Tarnatino’s widely recognised Pulp Fiction compilation (#7), and Singles (#20), the grunge-filled soundtrack from director Cameron Crowe that was arguably much better than the film it was based on. Then there’s the ace collection of Madchester favourites that makes up 24 Hour Party People, or the deathless disco collection of Saturday Night Fever.
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The top spots on Rolling Stone‘s greatest soundtrack list however, are reserved for the classics. The Beatles chart with three of their albums, including A Hard Day’s Night in the Top 5 and Help! in the #1 slot. Whether you consider them ‘pure’ soundtracks is another question, but whether its bending some unspoken rules or not, it also makes for an appearance from Prince at #2 with his blockbuster 1984 album and film of the same name, Purple Rain (another collection that’s far better than the film its scoring).
As is always the case, the full list is bound to ruffle feathers over what might be some glaring omissions (eg. ‘No The Last Waltz?!’) but it’s an interesting take on 60 years of popular music and film.
Top 25 Greatest Soundtrack Of All Time
According to Rolling Stone
1. Help! – The Beatles
2. Purple Rain – Prince & The Revolution
3. The Harder They Come – Jimmy Cliff
4. A Hard Day’s Night – The Beatles
5. Saturday Night Fever – Bee Gees
6. Supafly – Curtis Mayfield
7. Pulp Fiction – V/A
8. Rushmore – Mark Mothersbaugh & V/A
9. This Is Spinal Tap – Spinal Tap
10. O Brother, Where Art Thou? – V/A
11. Pretty In Pink – V/A
12. Wild Style – V/A
13. Trainspotting – V/A
14. Easy Rider – V/A
15. Goodfellas – V/A
16. The Graduate – Simon & Garfunkel
17. American Graffiti – V/A
18. Boogie Nights – V/A
19. Magical Mystery Tour – The Beatles
20. Singles – V/A
21. 24 Hour Party People – V/A
22. Lost In Translation – Kevin Shields & V/A
23. Juice – V/A
24. Rock N’ Roll High School – The Ramones & V/A
25. Head – The Monkees
