The Great Gatsby Soundtrack A Track by Track Review

No matter what you think of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby which opens this weekend and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the titular character Tobey Maguire as his makeshift biographer Nick Carraway and Carey Mulligan as Gatsby's object of affection Daisy Buchanan one thing's for certain the soundtrack is (for the most part) totally killer.

We thought it would be fun to run down the album track by track to give you an idea of which songs swing and which ones should've been kicked out of the party. Minor spoilers follow just in case you don't want to know where the songs are placed in the final film.

Loading Slideshow 1. 100$ Bill (Jay Z)

On New Year's Eve Jay Z made a cryptic tweet about contributing music to The Great Gatsby (there had been rumors for months that Luhrmann was using Jay Z and Prince songs in preliminary versions of the movie). As it turns out Mr. Beyonce was about to be anointed the executive producer of the soundtrack with one brand new song on the accompanying album (there's at least one Jay Z single and two Watch the Throne joints elsewhere in the film). Simply put 100$ Bill is awesome. It's got a thunderous skittering beat courtesy of E. Vax (one half of New York art pop duo Ratatat) snippets of dialogue from the movie intricately woven into the fabric of the song and typically killer Jay lyrics. The scene it accompanies in the movie has Leo descending into the criminal underworld. Perfect.

2. Back to Black (Beyonce Andre 3000)

Well this is unexpected Beyonce and Andre 3000 last seen together on the unstoppable Party (from Bey's flawless criminally underrated album 4 ) cover the jazzy Amy Winehouse song Back to Black slowing things considerably and turning it into a slinky swirly electo pop jam. It conveys the longing and luxury of The Great Gatsby and totally gets us going especially when Beyonce coos I'll go back to I'll go back to emblack/em Summer 2013 meet your first certifiable make out jam.

3. Bang Bang (will.i.am)

We've hit turbulence. It's hard to not kind of hate this song right off the bat probably because everything will.i.am does feels part of a horribly belabored hokey shtick. And the jazzy bit at the beginning certainly doesn't help matters. Once the actual song gets going (after will.i.am's patented talk sing) though things pick up considerably thanks largely to an unidentified female vocalist and the fact that listening to the song reminds us that it was used during one of the amazing party sequences in the film.

4. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) (Fergie Q Tip GoonRock)

The turbulence continues although if we're going to be honest this song is kind of charming and undeniably catchy. Led largely by vocals from will.i.am's Black Eyed Peas confederate Fergie this is another song that scores one of the big party sequences (so much glitter ). The giant beat actually works and the Q Tip verse is forgettable but still better than most guest vocalists (he always gets a pass from us and not just because we actuallya href http //www.youtube.com/watch v WILyWmT2A Q target _blank left our wallet in El Segundo one time/a). It's an anachronism that works surprisingly well.

5. Young and Beautiful (Lana Del Rey)

In and of itself this song by princess of the pastiche Lana Del Rey isn't horrible. It's her typical breathy throwback sweeping and drunk on both love and self loathing. The problem is that Luhrmann in his infinite wisdom decided to play the song a handful of times throughout the movie in orchestral and remixed forms too. It's just a little much. And listening to it again reminds us of the sensation of hearing it for the umpteenth time in the movie like someone had overstayed their welcome at a big beautiful party.

6. Love is the Drug (Bryan Ferry and the Bryan Ferry Orchestra)

A classic Roxy Music song covered by Bryan Ferry and the Bryan Ferry Orchestra in a swinging big band style. The new version robs the original song of much of its messy immediacy. This track challenges you to press the skip button. You should do it old sport

7. Over the Love (Florence the Machine)

What a beautiful song This is the only tune on the soundtrack whose sheer gorgeousness rivals any of the sets and costumes and camerawork of the movie itself. Florence Welch the super genius pop star turns in a stunning vocal performance and the song (co produced by Luhrmann himself) actually references the movie's plotline which makes it a kind of James Bond theme of the Great Gatsby soundtrack.

8. Where the Wind Blows (Coco O.)

This is the runner up to the Florence song in terms of period appropriate romanticism. This is a more jaunty number with a backing beat that wouldn't have been out of place in jazz era New York and vocals by the absolutely phenomena Coco O. of Danish pop band Quadron (don't worry they're the next big thing you'll be reading about them very soon). If Over the Love is all bittersweet angst this is the uplift that comes after.

9. Crazy in Love (Emeli Sande the Bryan Ferry Orchestra)

This attempt at a jazzy cover of the Beyonce cover is kind of a dud. It's an expensive dud for sure but it just kind of sits there. Plus Emeli Sande the British pop star already delivered one of the best soundtrack cuts this year in the form of her track from Trance.

10. Together (the xx)

This is another one of the album's highlights a brooding masterwork by British wunderkinds the xx. Jamie xx's vocals barely register beyond a stern whisper but they convey a whole host of emotions outrage heartbreak a kind of mournful sadness and when he's joined by band mate Romy Madley Croft things become even more ornately majestic. Together To be Together And be Romy purrs. Rarely have celebrations of doomed romance been this transfixing.

11. Hearts a Mess (Gotye)

This song is servicable but it already appeared on Gotye's album Like Drawing Blood (2006). Hell it was released as a single emin 2007./em Not exactly the stuff of such a special soundtrack.

12. Love Is Blindness (Jack White)

In a typical feat of Baz Luhrmann's cultural mash up sensibilities Jack White of White Stripes fame whose style can easily be described as bluesy Americana covers the classic Love is Blindness by Irish rockers U2. White gives it an appropriate amount of intensity with his southern drawl mutating into a guttural roar and the reverb on the guitar licks give it an otherworldly eeriness. This is some rip roaring stuff and a late in the album highlight that perfectly encapsulates the tortured (and ultimately doomed) romance at the heart of The Great Gatsby. We should also be thankful we're getting some new ish Jack White material considering he was originally tapped to produce the score for Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger but had to bail due to scheduling conflicts. Take your Jack White where you can get it people.

13. Into the Past (Nero)

Not quite sure who or what Nero is although I'm pretty sure that's the name of the bad guy Eric Bana played in the original Star Trek em Google searches Nero and finds out they're a cutting edge British electronic band that are contemporaries of Skrillex /em Oh. Well. Um. Nero is cool. And this song is okay. And now I feel old.

14. Kill and Run (Sia)

Yay It's Sia She released one of the best pop records of the past decade in the form of the jubilant We Are Born and now we have a new song from her Pop the champagne Though the song is moody it's still pretty brilliant. Kill and Run like the movie exists in the fuzzy area between opulent and overwrought but she's never sounded better (those high notes ). As far as album ending songs go this couldn't be better. Kill and Run obviously refers to a pretty pivotal plot point in the book and movie and the song manages to sound both classic and wholly modern.

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