Based on arguably the greatest American novel of all time, Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby may wobble in certain places—like in some of its casting or its overuse of CGI—but its soundtrack is virtually impeccable. With the help of an onslaught of A-listers, Luhrmann blends contemporary musical covers with the visual and auditory aesthetics of the roaring 20s.
48%
55
7.2
Leonardo DiCaprio
Tobey Maguire
Carey Mulligan
Joel Edgerton
Elizabeth Debicki
Isla Fisher
Jason Clarke
Amitabh Bachchan
Callan McAuliffe
Adelaide Clemens
Steve Bisley
Richard Carter
"No Church in the Wild" - Jay-Z, Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean + "Empire Start of Mind (Part II)" - Alicia Keys
After the eye-rolling prelude where Tobey Maguire’s Nick Carraway decides to write a novel to help cope with his time at Jay Gatsby’s mansion, the movie flashes back to an incredible, CGI-stuffed shot of 1920s Manhattan. It is truly breathtaking, even if it’s all fake. Just before “No Church in the Wild” takes off by Jay-Z, if you listen closely, you’ll hear a hint of Alicia Keys’s “Empire State of Mind (Part II).”
"Bang Bang" - will.i.am + "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" - Fergie
This is perhaps the music moment of the entire movie. Nick Carraway receives a personal invitation to one of Gatsby’s famous parties. Only thing is, no one gets a personal invite. No one. So when Nick shows up to find the whole of New York raging to “Bang Bang” by will.i.am and “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” by Fergie, he finds himself engrossed in a bacchanal unlike anything he’s ever seen.
If you ever have a wild house party, make sure to put these tracks on the SONOS. Despite the contemporary finish on the music, Luhrmann’s choice to use the will.i.am and Fergie (as well as Q-Tip and GoonRock) help to capture the essence of a pre-depression party from over a hundred years ago. Luhrmann gives it to us aplenty, juxtaposing contradictory sounds and images that highlight how different (and similar) Fitzgerald’s world was to our own.
"Over the Love" - Florence + the Machine
At the end of Gatsby’s party, Nick’s new friend Jordan (a socialite and golfer) approaches the bond tradesman and tells him, “It all makes sense now!” When Nick asks what makes sense, Jordan replies that she’s sorry but, “I promised not to tell!” As Jordan rolls away in a packed car, the evening winds down to Florence + the Machine’s “Over the Love.” It’s a slow, depressing song that initially makes you feel like you’re about to be hungover but eventually grows into one of the songstress’s epic ballads.
"100$ Bill" - Jay-Z
This is both a great music moment and a weird one. Gatsby introduces Nick to one of his business partners, a man named Wolfsheim, who reveals that he has a human molar pinned to his tie. The scene transpires in an underground gentleman’s club, where Jay-Z’s “100$ Bill” blares diegetically with a band and dancers in the background. It’s a neat look at the underbelly of the 20s, stealing a little peek at the world that had to be hidden from broad daylight.
"Young & Beautiful" - Lana Del Rey
Even though the best music moment goes to Fergie and will.i.am, the best song on the entire soundtrack goes to Lana Del Rey. I mean, come on. Who doesn’t like “Young and Beautiful”? It’s so tragic, so symphonic, so endlessly haunting and enchanting. It demands that the listener feel something, even if they don’t want to. There are many different versions of it, too, such as an orchestral track that was released to coincide with the movie and an instrumental version from the Bryan Ferry Orchestra. The central theme of the song is also embedded into several tracks of the film’s score by Craig Armstrong, including “Hotel Sayre” and “Magic Tree and I Let Myself Go.”
In the film, the original version of the song plays as Gatsby gives Daisy and Nick a tour of his mansion. They golf, swim, play with an orange juice maker, and dance beneath an organ in an alcove above the ballroom. During this brief moment, as Daisy spins around the dance floor, a choir infiltrates the song, taking over the lyrics: Lord when I get to heaven / Please let me bring my man. The scene ends with Gatsby throwing dozens of his shirts down to Daisy like snowflakes from a balcony in his bedroom, initially sending her into a fit of laughter. But the giggles quickly morph into something else, for it becomes apparent that Daisy is crying. When Gatsby asks what’s the matter, she refuses to mention anything about her abusive, cheating husband or the fact that she’s still in love with Gatsby. So, instead, she simply says she’s never seen such beautiful shirts before.
"Back to Black" - Beyoncé ft. Andre 3000
Beyoncé’s cover of Amy Winehouse’s brilliant “Back to Black” makes an appearance during the montage in which Nick tells the audience of Gatsby’s rise to fame and fortune. He explains that he started as a young boy of modest means, but he had a grand vision for his life that would turn him into the legitimate business kingpin of West Egg. It’s a song about reverting, going back in time to who, or what, you really are. In fact, the track holds a mirror up to perhaps the film’s most famous line of dialogue. “You can’t repeat the past,” Nick tells Gatsby. “But of course you can, ol’ sport,” Gatsby replies. “Of course you can.”
"Together" - The xx
The xx song “Together” makes an appearance as Gatsby and Daisy begin to meet up in secret. It’s a quiet little track, one that makes you feel like you’re sneaking out in the middle of the night, which is exactly what our main characters are up to. The song serves another purpose, too; its quiet altitude doubles as a sort of “calm before the storm,” for the events that dominate the latter portion of the movie are profoundly allegorical – and, therefore, entirely tragic.
"Into the Past" - Nero
Another incredible music moment in The Great Gatsby comes in the form of the title character’s final hour. While swimming at the pool of his mansion, which appears completely abandoned in the middle of autumn, Gatsby orders his butler to place a phone nearby in case Daisy calls. The phone rings, of course, and Gatsby gets out of the pool to answer it. Smiling happily, thinking the caller to be Daisy, the scene is interrupted by the pop of a gunshot. As Gatsby falls back into the pool, his gaze fixed on the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, “Into the Past” by Nero soars as DiCaprio (and his killer) both take their final plunge.
"Kill and Run" - Sia
Obviously, an allusion to the death of Myrtle earlier in the movie, “Kill and Run” by Sia, echoes menacingly in the background as the end titles roll. For those who don’t know, Myrtle is the name of Daisy’s husband’s mistress. There are many interpretations of the scene where Daisy strikes and kills Myrtle with Gatsby’s car. Some fiction experts say she did it on purpose, others by accident, but regardless, Daisy (and Gatsby) reacted by doing the same thing – simply fleeing the scene.
Check out the full The Great Gatsby soundtrack here.