Vinyl records have been making a comeback lately with over 5,000,000 sold in the United States alone last year. Still, they represent only a small percentage of music sales, so the American Hustle soundtrack was an interesting choice to be released on vinyl. The soundtrack was originally released on CD in 2013 and sold about 85,000 copies.

The film was a huge success, raking in over a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide and being nominated for 10 Academy Awards. The music was important to the film, but as a period piece, the songs reflect the time period. The soundtrack is essentially an oldies album of mostly well-known songs.

Any aficionado of the 1970s will enjoy the eclectic mix of tunes. “Live And Let Die” (Wings), “I Feel Love” (Donna Summer), “How Do You Mend A Broken Heart” (Bee Gees), “Horse With No Name” (America), “Delilah” (Tom Jones), and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John) evoke memories of an era.

The two disc set gets the royal treatment as the records are issued on blue and red colored 150 gram vinyl. Also included are six songs from the film that were left off the CD release. “Dirty Work” (Steely Dan), “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” (Temptations), “I Saw The Light” (Todd Rundgren), “The Jean Genie” (David Bowie), “The Coffee Song” (Frank Sinatra), and “It’s De-Lovely” (Ella Fitzgerald) are all returned to their rightful place in the soundtrack lineup.

The sound is pristine and shows that when recorded properly, issued on superior vinyl, and played on good equipment, records can sound every bit as good as CDs.

This is a soundtrack that can stand apart from the film, as much of the music is instantly recognizable. The downside of this is that the performances have been available for decades and there is no cohesive musical theme; pop, rock, rhythm & blues, and light jazz intermingle with each other on this disc.

Rating: B

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