Guardians of the Galaxy fans wanting to listen to Awesome Mix Vol. 2 in more retro style than digital download are in luck. Marvel’s movie season is almost upon us, with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 only two weeks away. The follow up to the huge surprise success of 2014, Vol. 2 brings with it many of the same things that fans loved in the original. The same team members are back, the trailers have the same wacky space adventure vibe, it’s packed with jokes, and of course, it has a killer soundtrack.

The original film featured the Awesome Mix Vol. 1, packed with songs from Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) time on Earth. Then, at the very end of the movie, Quill opened a long-wrapped gift from his mother to find a second cassette: Awesome Mix Vol 2. The tracklisting for the second soundtrack was released earlier this week, and now director James Gunn has revealed a little bit more about the upcoming mixtape.

Earlier today, Gunn tweeted about the soundtrack, saying that it will be released on both vinyl and cassette (as well as the standard digital and CD formats).

For those of you asking - there WILL be both a cassette and a vinyl LP of the #GotGVol2 soundtrack, but neither will be out for a while.— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 21, 2017

In addition, he posted to Facebook, praising the score and composer Tyler Bates. Gunn also revealed that the score is written before the film is shot and that he then plays the soundtrack on set to let the actors know how it will sound in the final film:

The original soundtrack, Awesome Mix Vol 1, was also released on vinyl and cassette, mimicking the way that Peter Quill (and his mother) would have listened to the songs themselves. While few people still listen to cassette tapes, vinyl has also made something of a comeback, with many fans preferring the softer sound that it gives an album.

“As many of you know, Tyler creates the score BEFORE we shoot the movie. He writes the music from the script, and we play the music on set while we shoot so the actors and camera crew know exactly the tone we’re setting, and so that the music is an organic aspect of the film. The actors often wear ear buds, as do I, so we can record dialogue while the music is playing.”

Audiophiles and nostalgia-lovers will be thrilled with this confirmation that the new soundtrack will also be available in less common formats, and anyone who picked up the first cassette tape will be able to have the full Star-Lord set. However, Gunn did confirm that the soundtrack will not be released in these formats for ‘some time’, so fans will have to be patient for a few months before getting their hands on a copy. In the meantime, the tracklisting can be used to put together your own digital copy, if you just can’t wait.

The mixtape won’t just include classic songs. David Hasselhoff has recorded a special song for the album, “Guardians Inferno”, which was released online recently.

Source: James Gunn

Next: Will Guardians of The Galaxy 2 Break the Global Box Office Opening Record?

  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release Date: 2017-05-05