The-Soprano-2

The Sopranos soundtrack to be issued on vinyl

Confession time: The Sopranos is this editor’s all time favourite TV show. I’ve watched all 90 odd hours of it at least five times straight through, and it brings me great pleasure to finally be able to write about it on Howl & Echoes. Apologies in advance for the fangirly news.

The sprawling, dense, ahead-of-its-time series taught me about so much more than the American-Italian mafia. We got to know real people and their real lives, their emotions, their desires and sins and personal journeys. Of course, I was also taught so much about music. The soundtrack to The Sopranos is easily, objectively, one of the best in TV history.

Now for the first time, the official compilation soundtrack is set to be issued on vinyl, and it’ll feature classic winners, ranging from Cream to Dylan, Costello to Bo Diddley and more.

Here’s the full tracklist:

Side A

01. Alabama 3 – Woke Up This Morning
02. R.L. Burnside – It’s Bad You Know
03. Frank Sinatra – It Was A Very Good Year

Side B

04. Bob Dylan – Gotta Serve Somebody
05. Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul – Inside Of Me
06. Cream – I Feel Free
07. Them Featuring Van Morrison – Mystic Eyes

Side C

08. Bruce Springsteen – State Trooper
09. Bo Diddley – I’m A Man
10. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Complicated Shadows
11. Nick Lowe – The Beast In Me

Side D

12. Los Lobos – Viking
13. Wyclef Jean – Blood Is Thicker Than Water
14. Eurythmics – I’ve Tried Everything

Of course not every song can be featured, and one of the biggest missed moments is the Van Morrison cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb. It’s from a late season six episode, and is the soundtrack to my all time favourite scene of any TV show ever. I won’t spoil it for anyone reading this who hasn’t seen the show; it’s a pretty poignant moment. But we do get to enjoy the infamous Alabama 3 theme song (did I go to New Jersey once specifically to drive around listening to this? Yes, yes I did.) and other episodic classics like Sinatra’s It Was a Very Good Year and Bo Diddley’s I’m A Man…. Oh, AJ.

Anyway. The vinyl pressing is happening courtesy of Shop Radio Cast and Kevin Gray, who will be remastering the tunes for vinyl. Only 2000 copies of the 180g 12″ are being made – the first 750 on transluscent red wax, with the remaining 1250 on red vinyl with black smoke.

More details to come.