The World's End (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2013 film of the same name directed by Edgar Wright. The soundtrack was released on 5 August 2013 in the United Kingdom and 20 August in the United States.[1] Published by ABKCO Records, the album featured several rock numbers of various subgenres such as alternative, indie, psychedelic as well as electronica, Madchester and Britpop ranging from the time period of late-1980s and early 1990s to reflect the character's adolescence.[2] [3]
The album consisted numerous songs that have been selected from the time of the character's adolescence and also from Wright's;[4] [5] as most of them had been chosen while writing the film. He also compiled the playlist containing the selected songs for the crew to listen, which Pegg described as a "blast" with him and Wright delving into the music collection.[6]
Wright recalled that in his early days, he used to discover the songs in chart lists in NME, UK Top 40 and The Chart Show to listen to the indie rock numbers. He recalled that a number of songs in the film "struck hard" during their adolescence, while some of the tracks are remembered: "Loaded" by Primal Scream, "I'm Free" by the Soup Dragons, "Step On" by the Happy Mondays, while the rest were "deserved to be rediscovered". In the film, Gary (Pegg) had a mixtape of the selections as "his character is still living by those rules. It's like he decided to take 'Loaded' and 'I'm Free' to heart and thinks the party's never going to end".
During this process, The Doors' version of "Alabama Song" was quite expensive, according to Nick Angel (the music supervisor) who licensed most of the tracks. Wright had to change two of the tracks to make room for the song. He recalled that he wanted to have "Stormy Weather" by Pixies but dropped down as the song was too expensive getting it.[7]
As with the previous instalments in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy: Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), Wright listened to horror and action scores, suiting the mood of the film, whereas in case of The World's End, he listened to the selected tracks that suited as the instrumentals and served a "structural importance" to the film. The film marked the maiden collaboration of Steven Price,[8] who was known for scoring Attack the Block (2011) with Wright, who would later work with him in Baby Driver (2017) and Last Night in Soho (2021).[9]
Heather Phares of AllMusic reviewed "World's End isn't just more entertaining than your average soundtrack, it's also a lot more fun than most compilations of '90s music, making it a worthwhile listen for those who haven't seen the movie but love the sounds of that time."[10] Ryan Leas of Stereogum wrote "The World’s End deploys all its aged pop gems for a purpose. They help further what turns out to be a sober meditation on approaching middle age and facing change (or lack thereof), on how your high school friends and town always seem frozen in the year you left them, and how disorienting it can be to return to them to realize that isn’t the case at all."[11]
| The World's End: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Artist: | Various Artists |
| Genre: | Alternative rock, indie rock, Madchester, alternative dance, Britpop, psychedelic rock, electronica |
| Length: | 74:59 |
| Label: | ABKCO Records |
| Chronology: | Edgar Wright film soundtrack |
| Prev Title: | Scott Pilgrim vs. The World |
| Prev Year: | 2010 |
| Next Title: | Baby Driver |
| Next Year: | 2017 |
The soundtrack to the film consisting of songs and dialogue snippets, was released by ABKCO Records on 5 August 2013 in the United Kingdom, and 20 August 2013 in the United States.[12] While the initial release had 18 tracks, the deluxe edition of the soundtrack, which unveiled on 19 August 2013 had ten additional tracks that were not part of the original release.
In addition to the following the tracks, the film also featured music not included in the album:
| Chart (2013) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| UK Compilation Albums (OCC)[13] | 52 | |
| UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[14] | 7 | |
| US Top Soundtracks (Billboard)[15] | 18 |
| The World's End (Original Motion Picture Score) | |
| Type: | film |
| Artist: | Steven Price |
| Released: | 20 August 2013 |
| Genre: | Film score |
| Length: | 63:14 |
| Label: | Back Lot Music |
| Producer: | Steven Price |