So why is the RocknRolla soundtrack on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
As I mentioned recently in the best 1,000 albums ever piece on the Lock, As I mentioned recently in the best 1,000 albums ever piece on the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack (#302), Guy Ritchie is one of the best in the biz at crafting dynamite film soundtracks to match his hyper-stylized cinematic visions.
Whereas with Lock Stock it’s a case of a dazzling directorial film debut with a soundtrack to match, with RocknRolla, it’s a case of a pretty good movie with an actually unbelievably good soundtrack* that goes with it.
* It’s not quite a one-to-one comparison, but in the early 1990s, the soundtrack for the movie Judgment Night had an impact far outpacing the misadventures of Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Denis Leary and crew.
Beyond including great songs and setting a unique mood, the best film soundtracks include music that it’s highly unlikely you’d come across in some other way. Case in point: my favorite song on the Rocknrolla soundtrack, “Rock & Roll Queen,” by The Subways, knocks it out of the park on that score.
“Rock & Roll Queen” is a sublime mix of garage punk and power pop, and I find it endlessly listenable.
“The Trip,” by Kim Fowley, is an incredible pull of an ancient song out of some dusty record bin (it’s also featured on King of the Creeps: Lost Treasures from the Vaults 1959-1969, Vol. 3). It’s a weirdo, hipster, psychedelic… well, trip is the best word for it. It’s also a magical bizarro gem of a track.
I do believe that the RocknRolla soundtrack turned me onto the old school garage rock stylings of The Sonics. “Have Love Will Travel” is one of their best, as close to punk rock as you could have stumbled across circa 1965.
Lou Reed’s “The Gun,” off of The Blue Mask, is a dark, quiet, and dreamy stunner.
“Mirror in the Bathroom” by The English Beat is probably the best-known song for anyone new to the soundtrack, and one of the band’s best, of course. I’m more partial to the soundtrack’s quirky corners, however, such as The Clash’s oddball, tripped out “Bankrobber.”
Some stats & info about the RocknRolla soundtrack
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Punk Rock, Garage Rock, Film Soundtracks, Compilations
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 2.5 out of 5 stars (!?)
- When was the RocknRolla soundtrack released? 2008
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #295 out of 1,000
The RocknRolla soundtrack on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from the RocknRolla soundtrack that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Be my, be my, be my little rock and roll queen.
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.