So why is the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
While Quentin Tarantino is rightly lauded for perfecting the modern movie soundtrack with a signature blend of obscure gems and dusted off classics, Guy Ritchie is way up there himself.
Ritchie’s directorial debut, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, ushered in a new breed of crime flicks*: gritty London gangster dealings leavened with healthy doses of irony and comedy. And the film’s soundtrack plays a huge role in setting that very specific tone.
* Other great Ritchie movies in this category include Snatch and Rocknrolla. And one of those flicks also happens to have a bang up of a soundtrack, so stay tuned…
“Walk This Land” by E-Z Rollers is enough to propel any album it’s included on for best 1,000 albums ever consideration. During the movie, it’s featured in a scene where the fellas go berserk partying after they pull off what they believe to be the heist of a lifetime. Of course, things quickly go awry, but for one fleeting moment and glorious scene the boys don’t just go hard – they go crazy town hard.
The song matches the mood perfectly – it has a swanky feel yet is frantically paced, like lounge music meets high octane electronic music.
Full disclosure: ever since I saw Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels for the first time, I’ve dreamed that if or when I ever get the Payday of a Lifetime (somehow), “Walk This Land” by E-Z Rollers is gonna be the track that gets thrown on as I go berserk partying.
The soundtrack opens with “Hundred Mile High City,” by Ocean Colour Scene, a groovy, funky upbeat rocker that sets the mood perfectly for everything that’s coming. It’s also a fabulous road trip song, I’ve found.
“Police and Thieves” might be best known these days by way of The Clash’s cover version, but we find the old school, super chilled down original by Junior Murvin here.
There are also great songs on the soundtrack that I’ve covered elsewhere – most notably the fantastic “Spooky,” by Dusty Springfield – and multiple James Brown songs (“The Boss” and “The Payback”), all of which contribute to one of the best and most eclectic film soundtracks of all time.
Finally, even though Spotify has not made them available as of this writing, the dialogue tracks included on the album are really fun and add to the mood when you run the soundtrack straight through.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack
There are countless quotable lines in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but this exchange is one of my favorites, and shows off the funny/gritty tone.
Gary: Shotguns? Well, like guns that fire shots?
Barry the Baptist: Oh, you must be the brains, then. That’s right, guns that fire shots.
Some stats & info about the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Movie Soundtracks, Rock Music, R&B
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3 out of 5 stars
- When was the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack released? 1998
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #302 out of 1,000
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
So I said I’m on the roam so I need a car, and I know that I’m getting alive.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.