Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, released on October 13, 1992, by MCA Records. The film contains a mix of pop rock music from the 1970s, intercut with dialogue from the film and a radio-style voiceover by Steven Wright.
| Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | ||||
| Released | October 13, 1992 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 30:50 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Quentin Tarantino film soundtracks chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   link |
Composition
editReservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was the first soundtrack for a Tarantino film and set the structure his later soundtracks would follow.[1] This includes the extensive use of snippets of dialogue from the film. The soundtrack has selections of songs from the 1960s to '80s. Only the group Bedlam made new recordings for the film. Reasoning that the film takes place over a weekend, Tarantino decided to set it to a fictional radio station 'K-Billy' (presumably KBLY)'s show "K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies Weekend", a themed weekend show of broadcasts of songs from the seventies. The radio station played a prominent role in the film.[2] The DJ for the radio was chosen to be Steven Wright, a comedian known for his deadpan delivery of jokes.[3]
An unusual feature of the soundtrack was the choice of songs; Tarantino has said that he feels the music to be a counterpoint to the on-screen violence and action.[4] He also stated that he wished for the film to have a 1950s feel while using '70s music.[4] A prominent instance of this is the torture scene to the tune of "Stuck in the Middle with You".[5]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "And Now Little Green Bag..." (Dialogue) | Steven Wright | 0:15 | |
| 2. | "Little Green Bag" |
| George Baker Selection | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Rock Flock of Five" (Dialogue) |
| Steven Wright | 0:11 |
| 4. | "Hooked on a Feeling" | Mark James | Blue Swede | 2:53 |
| 5. | "Bohemiath" (Dialogue) |
| Steven Wright | 0:34 |
| 6. | "I Gotcha" | Joe Tex | Joe Tex | 2:27 |
| 7. | "Magic Carpet Ride" | Bedlam | 5:10 | |
| 8. | "Madonna Speech" (Dialogue) | Quentin Tarantino | Quentin Tarantino, Edward Bunker, Lawrence Tierney, Steve Buscemi, and Harvey Keitel | 0:59 |
| 9. | "Fool for Love" |
| Sandy Rogers | 3:25 |
| 10. | "Super Sounds" (Dialogue) |
| Steven Wright | 0:19 |
| 11. | "Stuck in the Middle with You" | Stealers Wheel | 3:23 | |
| 12. | "Harvest Moon" | Jay Joyce | Bedlam | 2:38 |
| 13. | "Let's Get a Taco" (Dialogue) | Quentin Tarantino | Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth | 1:02 |
| 14. | "Keep on Truckin'" (Dialogue) |
| Steven Wright | 0:16 |
| 15. | "Coconut" | Harry Nilsson | Harry Nilsson | 3:50 |
| 16. | "Home of Rock" (Dialogue) |
| Steven Wright | 0:05 |
| Total length: | 30:50 | |||
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[6] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[7] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[8] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[9] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[10] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States | — | 863,000[11] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Stovall, Natasha (December 22, 1997). "Jackie Brown Original Soundtrack". Salon. Archived from the original on February 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ Strauss, Neil (September 29, 1994). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
- ^ Howe, Desson (October 23, 1992). "Reservoir Dogs". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Breen, Marcus (December 1996). "Woof, Woof: The real bite in Reservoir Dogs". Australian Humanities Review. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
- ^ Jardine, Dan. "The Killing Fields (on Reservoir Dogs)". The Film Journal. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Reservoir Dogs". Music Canada.
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Soundtrack – Reservoir Dogs". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. p. 936. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "British album certifications – Original Soundtrack – Reservoir Dogs". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
- ^ Donahue, Ann (September 5, 2009). "The Billboard Q&A: Quentin". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
External links
edit- Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at AllMusic
- Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at Discogs (list of releases)