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

It goes without saying that as far as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is concerned, Guardians Of The Galaxy is the best movie of the franchise, not only taking a bold leap head-first into the incredibly difficult territory of cosmic-focused comic lore but doing so with such comedic perfection that audiences who had previously shown little interest in comic book movies suddenly switched their tune entirely, driven to consume every subsequent movie with ravenous lust from that point onward. Movies like Iron Man were undeniable hits & the logistical skill it took to bring our favourite heroes together in The Avengers was a feat unto itself, but Guardians took things in a completely new direction that proved you could make an accessible cinematic adventure with relatively obscure characters become an overnight success so long as your casting is on-point, your cinematography is solid & the story you’re telling is one that’s compelling & relatable to the average movie-goer – Of course, whether or not the film was going to be a smash hit didn’t actually come down to the star-power of the cast or the quirkiness of the story being told, rather it was the magnificent soundtrack & its utilization in marketing materials that cemented this picture’s greatness from day one, taking a sharp left-turn from the epic symphonic rigamarole we had grown accustomed to by presenting listeners & viewers with a brilliant curation of retro hits of Classic Rock excellence, taking a huge risk for the sake of style to produce what’s easily the best Original Motion Picture Soundtrack since the superb one which accompanied Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy all the way back in the year of our comedic lord, 2004. Suddenly, once-niche tunes from artists like Elvin Bishop & Rupert Holmes were household names, delighting younger audiences who’d grown up with over-processed Pop nonsense & showing that you can have a multi-million dollar blockbuster reach the top of the charts without relying on the expensive symphonic arrangements of well-known composers such as Hans Zimmer or Jerry Goldsmith; Not that we should be diminishing the value of their masterful talents, but the game changed immeasurably with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).

The One Groove To Rule Them All

Hooked on a Feeling

Blue Swede

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Before Guardians Of The Galaxy made its theatrical debut, the anachronistic sounds of Classic Rock, Funk & Disco had essentially been reduced to a one-liner joke in the majority of popular media, typically utilized either as a tone-piece for seventies-era films or as a way of illustrating how corny & step-dad-like a – typically-Caucasian – character was in a work of comedy. As far as most people were concerned, the groovy jams of yesteryear were nothing more than a relic of the past, representing the over-sexualized drive of chauvinistic male characters in the past & conveying the sort of forced happy-go-lucky attitude people of power seemed to have back in the day amidst such crushing economic & cultural disparity back then; Because of this, it didn’t look as if such genres could ever be taken seriously again, seeing as the music industry had already moved through multiple periods of spiritualism, brooding angst, electronic jubilance & wholesome Folk sensibilities in the decades since, but Guardians somehow wiped the floor with these stereotypes & proved there was worth yet in the fun-loving compositions of the sexual revolution – Take, for instance, the first Single used in marketing materials, Blue Swede’s 1968 bop “Hooked On A Feeling:” In just a few short seconds, this tune’s satisfying melodies explain everything you need to know about both Quill & the movie itself, getting the point across that this is going to be a much less-serious film with a comedic flavour, packed to the gills with sarcasm, lightheartedness & sincerity, reveling in the joyous melodies of the track’s driving horn lines & pumping the audience up with nothing but good vibes, literally getting you hooked on the feeling of positivity this film is trying to express from beginning to end. In addition, it serves as an incredible plot device that let’s you know the history of Quill in an imaginative way, using the songs as ‘cultural reference points’ that show the person Quill was when he was first abducted form his home-planet of Earth as a child as well as conveying his deep connection to the world he came from despite being surrounded by astounding alien species & constant danger on a daily basis, allowing the audience to understand wholeheartedly how nonchalant & somewhat-aloof he is as a character; All this from little more than a throwaway song by a band nobody but your chain-smoking, pool-boy seducing, Herabalife-shucking step mother even gave a damn about – Now that’s what I call genius.

More Than Just A Marketing Campaign

I'm Not In Love

10cc

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One of my – & I’m sure many other viewers – biggest worries going into Guardians Of The Galaxy was that this intriguing use of retro music was nothing more than a marketing gimmick that’d exist no further than the film’s initial teaser trailers, merely a set-dressing to get you interested in the film without having any actual purpose in the film itself, thus rendering the whole experience pointless in the end. Thankfully, as I’d alluded to above, this was far from the case, as the entirety of Guardians was jam-packed with a healthy selection of seventies- & eighties-era tunes only the most faithful – & cheesy – of Classic Rock fans would know, turning the fan-service up to its limits & producing some of the most compelling scenes in recent cinematic history – I’m not joking, either: Songs like 10cc’s “I’m Not In Love” were previously the sort of tune I would’ve jokingly sung at a karaoke lounge for brownie-points amongst friends whilst inebriated out of my mind, but they found a welcome home within the movie as set-pieces that move the story along with the necessity of cumbersome exposition from the characters themselves, conveying the intense emotional connections between the crew as they zip from galaxy-quadrant to galaxy-quadrant without saying a single word, showing viewers that they’re reluctantly coming together as a family through trials & tribulations despite their initial hesitations with one-another. You’ve also got more upbeat jams like Redbone’s seminal “Come And Get Your Love” which opens film to show how idiotically-heroic Peter Quill is, the Jackson 5’s lackadaisical “I Want You Back” that closes the film out on a positive note to bring the whole production to a delightful close as Baby Groot reveals himself to us & perhaps most ridiculously The Five Stairsteps’ 1970 song of African-American perseverance “O-o-h Child” which Quill uses during a ‘dance off’ to distract Ronan The Accuser from destroying Nova Prime in the film’s climactic moment, each of which received an incredible boost in iTunes downloads & Spotify streams after being featured in Guardians – What other film in recent memory can you point to that has had such a positive effect on the consumption of classic music for modern audiences? Every one of these tracks progressed the story for Peter Quill, fleshed-out the universe of the movie & inspired listeners to comb through vintage music they otherwise wouldn’t have even touched, making Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) easily the best album to have come out in at least a decade.

The Fire That Reignited Modern Motion Picture Soundtracks

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

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When all is said & done, pretty much all of us can agree that Guardians Of The Galaxy & its subsequent album Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) are universally-beloved pieces of modern fiction & music that won the hearts of millions around the world, but less than five years later its effects are still being felt throughout the music industry in ways no one could have predicted – Just as the aforementioned Anchorman: The Legend Of Run Burgundy soundtrack marked the last time a movie tie-in soundtrack made a considerable impression on mainstream audiences, the Guardians soundtrack let producers & labels know that audiences are willing to buy & ravenously consume accompanying soundtracks so long as they push the story forward & give you another avenue through which to enjoy the movies you already love so much; From the phenomenal original compositions modern Rap visionary Kendrick Lamar created for the Oscar-winning Marvel blockbuster Black Panther to the immeasurable success of the star-studded soundtrack to Michael B. Jordan’s follow-up film Creed II, listener were finally ditching the streaming services in favour of actually picking up limited-edition physical media for the stellar curated soundtracks these films spawned, shocking industry analysts & consumers alike with how an anachronistic facet of the older music scene was suddenly flourishing in today’s illegally-downloading internet-connected generation. Though those albums certainly had their own unique draw-factors, representing the absolute best in African-American heritage & songwriting in the current era, they undoubtedly owe their very existence to the fact Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) made such an effective splash in the mainstream eye, changing the landscape forevermore – I likely don’t have to tell you to give this album & those related to its contents another listen, but whenever you get a free moment make sure to explore all the corners of the industry that touch this album you’ve never ventured to before, as the world will become a better place if we can all learn to appreciate different perspectives in music, bringing us together as one unified human race with a desire to get down to a nasty beat.