The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Original Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
John Murphy
ReleasedNovember 23, 2022 (2022-11-23)
StudioAbbey Road Studios
GenreFilm score
Length22:44
Label
Producer
John Murphy chronology
The Suicide Squad
(2021) 		The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
(2022) 		Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
(2023)
Marvel Cinematic Universe soundtrack chronology
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(2022) 		The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
(2022) 		Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
(2023)

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Original Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the Marvel Studios television special The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, featuring the superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy based on Marvel Comics. It was released by Hollywood Records and Marvel Music on November 23, 2022.[1][2] The album featured the original score composed by John Murphy, while also includes songs from the Old 97's who also play the fictional alien band in the special.[3][4]

Background

John Murphy wrote the score for the special simultaneously while working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.[5] As like previous Guardians of the Galaxy films, Gunn had chose music for the special "very early".[6] He wrote the lyrics to the opening song "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)" and had approached Rhett Miller of the Old 97's to help him compose it, as Gunn has been a fan of the band, since the 1990s.[7][8] "Here It Is Christmastime", an existing song of the Old 97's, was also used and re-recorded with Kevin Bacon providing vocals for the end of the special. Bacon said "[James] has got such a great ear for needle drops [...] I love this song, it's really hard to write a fresh Christmas song at this point. I started playing it, and I really was having a good time playing it and singing it."[7]

"When I got the script, [Gunn] had referenced all the tunes, so I immediately made myself a playlist just to feel the vibe of the whole thing and listen to it a lot. And it's great, and I love the Old 97s song. It's really hard to write a new Christmas song, and I think it's got a really nice combination of sweetness and sentimentality without being a corny take on Christmas. And it rocks, and I loved it."

— Kevin Bacon on contributing to the Holiday Special soundtrack, besides appearing in the film.[9]

Track listing

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Original Soundtrack)[2]
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)"Old 97's3:03
2."How Yondu Ruined Christmas" 1:34
3."Telekinesis" 1:42
4."Kevin at Home" 1:57
5."Chasing Kevin" 1:22
6."Mantis Fights Back" 1:35
7."He's an Actor!" 1:17
8."The Best Christmas Present" 2:25
9."Kraglin Explains" 1:26
10."How the Story Really Ended" 1:29
11."Mantis Reveals Her Secret" 1:28
12."Here It Is Christmastime"Kevin Bacon & Old 97's3:26
Total length:22:44

Additional music

External audio
audio icon Guardians of the Galaxy: The Official Mixtape presents all of the songs that are heard in the TV special, Spotify playlist created by James Gunn

The track list was revealed by Gunn on November 22,[10] that features the following songs apart from the other original tracks, written for the special.[11][12][13] These include:[14] "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl, "Dead by X-Mas" by Hanoi Rocks, "Christmas Treat" by Julian Casablancas, "Is This Christmas?" by the Wombats, "Just Like Christmas" by Low, "I Want an Alien for Christmas" by Fountains of Wayne, "Christmastime" by the Smashing Pumpkins, "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses, and "Mrs. Claus" by Little Jackie.[12] Unlike the previous Guardians of the Galaxy films, the selected songs were not released as an album.[4] Gunn released a Spotify playlist that consisted all the songs featured in the special and songs from the previous films.[15]

Reception

The music has been reviewed and analysed by the critics as one of the "positive aspects of the special".[16] Praising the musical tracks picked for the special, Joe George of Den of Geek said "the soundtrack is exactly what you’d expect if you asked your cooler older sibling to make a playlist for your Christmas party. It’s a pleasing mix of familiar tracks and deep cuts, effectively balancing downbeat numbers with upbeat songs to make for a good party."[17] "the special’s soundtrack is on-brand, forgoing the usual standards for a playlist".[18] Reviewing the score, Shubham Kulkarni of Koimoi wrote "The music by John Murphy combined with the vibrant visuals appropriate for Christmas celebration is such a vibe that you will immediately surrender to it."[19]

Commercial performance

The Old 97's single "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)" debuted at number 4 on Billboard Holiday Digital Song Sales,[20] number 5 on the Rock Digital Song Sales,[21] and number 15 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[22][23] The album further debuted at number 25 on Billboard Soundtracks.[24]

References

  1. ^ Brooks, Nicholas (December 2, 2022). "Why Guardians of the Galaxy Has the Best Soundtrack in the MCU". CBR. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "'The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. November 22, 2022. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  3. ^ Reul, Katie (December 1, 2022). "'The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special': Every Throwback Christmas Song in James Gunn's Marvel One-Off". Variety. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Flook, Ray (November 23, 2022). "Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Soundtrack Live; Bacon on MCU". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Flook, Ray (January 15, 2022). "James Gunn on Peacemaker E08 & Spoilers; GOTG Holiday Special Update". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  6. ^ Meyer, Joshua (November 18, 2022). "James Gunn Used Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3's Budget To Boost The Holiday Special's Production Value". /Film. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Paige, Rachel (November 23, 2022). "Unwrap the Soundtrack in 'The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special'". Marvel.com. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  8. ^ Davids, Brian (November 18, 2022). "James Gunn Talks Writing 'The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' in Just a Few Hours and the Latest on His Final 'Guardians' Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  9. ^ "Kevin Bacon Reveals How James Gunn Recruited Him for the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special". IGN India. November 25, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  10. ^ Perine, Aaron (November 22, 2022). "Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Track List Released". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  11. ^ McPherson, Christopher (November 22, 2022). "James Gunn Reveals Soundtrack for the 'Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special'". Collider. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Starkey, Adam (November 24, 2022). "Here's every song on the 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special' soundtrack". NME. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  13. ^ Weston, Christopher (November 25, 2022). "Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special soundtrack bursting with festive gems". HITC. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  14. ^ Erdmann, Kevin (November 25, 2022). "Every Song In The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special". ScreenRant. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  15. ^ James Gunn [@JamesGunn] (November 23, 2022). "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special SOUNDTRACK should be up tomorrow, including the original song "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)" & the original recording "Here It Is Christmastime" by the @Old97s & @kevinbacon. #GotGHolidaySpecial" (Tweet). Retrieved December 9, 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' is sweet, short and has 'Swole Groot'". Deseret News. November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  17. ^ George, Joe (November 25, 2022). "The Best Songs on the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Soundtrack". Den of Geek. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  18. ^ Fear, David (November 23, 2022). "'Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' Is One Goofy Season's Greetings From the MCU". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  19. ^ Kulkarni, Shubham (November 23, 2022). "Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special Movie Review: James Gunn Brings The Feel Good Hearty Content We Didn't Know We Need". Koimoi. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  20. ^ "Holiday Digital Song Sales: Week of December 3, 2022". Billboard. December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "Rock Digital Song Sales: Week of December 3, 2022". Billboard. January 3, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  22. ^ "Digital Song Sales: Week of December 3, 2022". Billboard. December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  23. ^ Zellner, Xander (December 7, 2022). "Kevin Bacon Is a Billboard-Charting Hitmaker Thanks to 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Holiday Song". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  24. ^ "Soundtracks: Week of December 3, 2022". Billboard. December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
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