Soundtrack frenzy

Music inspired by the film, even if they don’t all pop up in the actual film, still seems to be the trend. Two recent film releases, The Great Gatsby and Iron Man 3, enjoy such treatments and while there are nuggets of really great music to be found on the two albums, I have to admit, they aren’t as consistent in quality and interpretation as we would like them to be. Fortunately for us, the nuggets really shine.

The Great Gatsby — Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Florence and the Machine, will.i.am, Lana del Rey, Emile Sande, Fergie, Jack White, XX and Gotye. It seems almost all musical genres are covered on the CD, and we have the added bonus of Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music throwing in a track. And given the modern classic status of the inspiration, Fitzgerald’s novel, I can say that the curious mesh of hip-hop, indie rock and jazz form the Roaring Twenties does result in music that deserves to be heard and savored. I especially loved how Emile Sande reinterprets Beyoncé’s hit Crazy in Love, giving it a flapper dance shimmer. The tracks contributed by Florence, Beyoncé and Fergie are choice selections. Be ready to be enchanted by this collection that straddles genres.

Heroes Fall: Iron Man 3. Indie rock and surf rock take center stage on the album which puts together a great host of bands who work in the genres. And while the description “Inspired by” seems to be a license to just record anything under the sun, there are a number of tracks that can make the purchase, or download of individual songs, worth it. The tracks from Neon Trees, Passion Pit and Capital Cities were my immediate favorites; while Redlight King and Walk the Moon were the pleasant surprises. Expected more from the tracks of Imagine Dragons and Rogue Wave; but still, all in all, this serves as a sampler of sorts for where indie rock music is at right now — just don’t go seeking a real connection to Iron Man or Tony Stark.