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Home > News> Talking Point > ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is back, and with it a new Awesome Mix

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is back, and with it a new Awesome Mix

Get into the groove for the Marvel film with these country, rock, soul and funk tunes

Chris Pratt who plays the role of Star-Lord at the European Gala screening of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ in London on 24 April, 2017. Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP
Chris Pratt who plays the role of Star-Lord at the European Gala screening of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ in London on 24 April, 2017. Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

After the box-office success of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, everyone’s favourite band of heroic misfits is back on the silver screen once again on 5 May. The first instalment in this series saw Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) become a manic team. In the sequel, returning writer-director James Gunn has maintained the chaotic charm of the first film, while adding depth and bringing in themes of family and identity.

One of the things which made Guardians of the Galaxy such an enjoyable watch was the soundtrack. Star-Lord’s mix-tape cassette (which surprisingly survives all his intergalactic adventures) yields a steady supply of hits from the 1970s like David Bowie’s Moonage Daydream and Redbone’s Come and Get Your Love, peppy pop songs like the Jackson 5’s I Want You Back, and rock from The Runaways (Cherry Bomb) and Raspberries (Go All the Way).

The cassette, labelled ‘Awesome Mix Vol 1’, is of great importance to Star-Lord; to him, it’s not just music, but a symbol of his life on Earth and of his late mother, Meredith—a compilation of her favourite music from the ’70s. At the end of the first movie, Star-Lord opens his last gift from his mother, which turns out to be a mix-tape entitled ‘Awesome Mix Vol 2’—thus teasing a similarly infectious soundtrack for the sequel.

In an interview with Rolling Stone , Gunn says the sequel’s music is a way to learn more about Meredith Quill. “She’s a music lover, but she’s completely not elitist," he says. “If it’s something that’s thought of as goofy and pop, she likes it. If it’s cool or funk, she likes it. She just likes hooks and melodies. She’s a very quirky, young girl who fell in love with, you know, as it ends up, an alien. She’s an oddball, like her son."

A still from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’.

Marvel released an official track list for the new film last month. Like the first film’s soundtrack, this one features a selection of well-worn classics—including Cat Stevens’ Father and Son, George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord and Cheap Trick’s Surrender—with some unlikelier numbers.

With a higher budget this time around, Gunn and the film’s music director Tyler Bates were able to include music by the likes of Harrison and Fleetwood Mac as well as music by less popular bands such as Jay and the Americans and Silver. “One of the most exciting things was knowing I would be making bands that may have been forgotten suddenly be a topic of conversation," he told Rolling Stone.

Track list for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

1."Mr. Blue Sky," Electric Light Orchestra

2."Fox on the Run," Sweet

3."Lake Shore Drive," Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah

4."The Chain," Fleetwood Mac

5."Bring it On Home to Me," Sam Cooke

6."Southern Nights," Glen Campbell

7."My Sweet Lord," George Harrison

8."Brandy You’re a Fine Girl," Looking Glass

9."Come a Little Bit Closer," Jay and the Americans

10."Wham Bang Shang-A-Lang," Silver

11."Surrender," Cheap Trick

12."Father and Son," Yusuf / Cat Stevens

13."Flashlight," Parliament

14."Guardians Inferno," The Sneepers featuring David Hasselhoff

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