THE GREAT GATSBY - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2013)

A soundtrack album from the visionary director Baz Luhrmann? We’ve got to lay our hands on it. The Australian filmmaker’s latest work isn’t stingy when it comes to budget, and besides the ludicrously unabashed visuals, we can tell from the names attached to this 72 minute album.

The album cover wastes no time in telling you that big names like Jay Z, will.i.am, Florence + The Machine and Lana Del Rey are some of the artistes you’d find crooning tunes on the CD. With Jay Z taking on the role of executive producer, it is no surprise the who’s who of the music industry agreed to being involved in this commercial project. But hey, what’s wrong with being in your face commercial? For the record, we are loving the music on this highly recommended album.

Leonardo Dicaprio’s Jay Gatsby whispers “My life has got to be like this. It has to keep going on.” In the opening track “100$ Bill” performed by Jay Z, setting the mood for the following cues. Beyonce and Andre 3000 collaborate on the guilty pleasure that is “Back to Black”, a cover of Amy Winehouse’s well known song. Lana Del Rey comes on next, with the emotionally heart wrenching “Young and Beautiful”, the perfect tune to play when you are drowning in self pity. An even more over the top version featuring the DH Orchestra is also included in this deluxe version.

The always perfect Jack White performs U2’s “Love is Blindness”, while Emeli Sande and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra brings on Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”. The wacky “Bang Bang” is performed by will.i.am, before Fergie leads Q Tip and Goonrock to party it out with “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody”.

We are but halfway through the album, and we feel that this album is the perfect choice to liven things up your party. Expect tunes like “Over the Love” by Florence+ The Machine, “Kill and Run” by Sia and “Together” by The xx to keep the rhythm going. This is one CD you’d want to keep on standby, in case things get a little boring at your next gathering.    

ALBUM RATING:



Recommended Track: (3) 
Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey

Review by John Li

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