The red carpet is usually rolled out for HBO prestige shows, but they’ve had a difficult time with their troubled 1970s-set rock n’ roll series, “Vinyl,” from Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and “Boardwalk Empire” creator Terence Winter. Many critics weren’t too kind to the show (including our series review) and ratings and word of mouth got so bad the cable channel made the tough decision to part ways with its showrunner, the aforementioned Terence Winter— a move that must have proved extremely difficult given the fact that Winter has become Scorsese’s righthand-man-screenwriter of late, not to mention his longstanding creative relationship with HBO.
READ MORE: HBO Fire Terence Winter From ‘Vinyl,’ Scott Z. Burns To Replace Him As Showrunner
At the very least, the show is no slouch in terms of its music. As the season one finale nears, the soundtrack, “Vinyl: Music From the HBO Original Series – The Essentials: Best of Season 1,” hits stores today
The disc features unreleased songs by artists such as Chris Cornell (with a cover of Lorraine Ellison’s classic soul cut “Stay With Me Baby”), The Strokes‘ Julian Casablancas (doing The Velvet Underground’s “Venus In Furs”) and Charli XCX (taking on The Stooges’ “No Fun”). Additional cuts includes songs by Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, Humble Pie, Trey Songz covering David Bowie‘s "Life On Mars?" and of course a cut from The Nasty Bits — the fictional band in the movie led by James Jagger (yep, Mick’s son), the music of which was crafted by Sonic Youth‘s Lee Ranaldo with help by musicians like James McNew (of Yo La Tengo), drummer Steve Shelley (also of Sonic Youth), and guitarists Alan Licht and Don Fleming.
Take a listen to the full soundtrack below, and let us know what you think of the jams in the comments section.
“Vinyl: Music From the HBO Original Series – The Essentials: Best of Season 1” Soundtrack Tracklisting
1. “Kill the Lights,” Jess Glynne, Alex Newell, DJ Cassidy with Nile Rodgers
2. “Alright Lady (Let’s Make A Baby),” Charlie Wilson
3. “Back Stabbers,” Elvis Costello
4. “Life on Mars?,” Trey Songz
5. “I Dig Your Mind,” Iggy Pop
6. “No Fun,” Charlie XCX
7. “Strychnine,” John Doe
8. “Where Are You Now,” Royal Blood
9. “Watch Your Step,” The Arcs
10. “Stay With Me Baby,” Chris Cornell
11. “I’ve Been Wrong So Long,” Ty Taylor
12. “Woman Like You (A E I Want You),” Nasty Bits
13. “Sugar Daddy (Theme from Vinyl),” Sturgill Simpson
14. “Venus in Furs,” Julian Casablancas
15. “Love, I Want You Back,” Charlie Wilson
16. “Black Coffee,” Humble Pie
17. “I Wanna Be With You,” Nate Ruess