Guardianes de la Galaxia Vol. 2

En en mes de agosto de 2016 ya comentamos en nuestra web que a James Gunn, director de GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, le hubiese gustado incluir algún tema de ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA en su película y cuando se espera la secuela de ésta, que será el próximo verano, se ha hecho oficial el listado de temas para la misma, que incluirá «Mr. BLUE SKY». Gunn reconoce sentirse muy contento por ello y lo dijo a través de la revista Rolling Stone:

“Siempre he dicho que si los guardianes tenían una nueva banda, sería ELO y «Mr. BLUE SKY» siendo una de mis canciones favoritas de ellos. Nos costó mucho conseguir los derechos. Tuvimos que luchar para conseguir realmente la canción, y yo personalmente hice un llamamiento a Jeff Lynne. Logré hacer una oferta que no pudo rechazar“.

Al parecer, una de las cosas por las que hicieron llegar el tema “Mr. Blue Sky”para la banda sonora fue el hecho de que Jeff Lynne previamente aprobó el uso de otra canción de ELO, pero no logró terminarlo a tiempo. Lo mejor de todo es que él fue capaz de entregar los derechos finalmente, debido a que Gunn hizo una oferta especial “el tiro más enorme y loco que he hecho nunca” y “siendo la canción perfecta para comenzar la película”.

1. «Mr. Blue Sky,» Electric Light Orchestra
«I’ve always said that if the Guardians had a house band, it would be ELO,» says Gunn, «and ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ is one of my favorite songs by them. We had a hard time getting the rights. We had to really fight to get the song, and I personally appealed to Jeff Lynne.» Lynne had previously approved a song for the first Guardians that Gunn ended up cutting, which made the process harder this time. But in the end, Gunn says, «I think we made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.»

2. «Fox on the Run,» Sweet
«Fox on the Run» is a trailer-only song that doesn’t actually appear in the film, much like «Spirit in the Sky» from the first soundtrack LP.

3. «Lake Shore Drive,» Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah
«‘Lake Shore Drive’ is a song that I grew up with,» says Gunn. «It was a regional hit and only in, like, St. Louis and Chicago, so a lot of people don’t know it, but it is truly one of the catchiest songs ever written, and I knew that there were a thousand places that I could’ve used it easily in Guardians because it’s so easy to fit into the movie.»

4. «The Chain,» Fleetwood Mac
«There are two songs that are the most deeply embedded into the fibers of the film,» says Gunn. «‘The Chain’ is one because it is about the Guardians, at least in the way we use it, and we use it a couple of times in the movie. And the other one is ‘Brandy,’ which is an incredibly important song in the movie. Both happen to be two of my favorite songs from the Seventies.»

5. «Bring it On Home to Me,» Sam Cooke
«It’s just a really beautiful song,» says Gunn. «In Quill’s mind, it’s about Quill and Gamora.»

6. «Southern Nights,» Glen Campbell
Campbell’s groovy 1977 version of Allen Toussaint’s song was a childhood favorite for Gunn: «It’s a little bit of a different flavor for the movie.»

7. «My Sweet Lord,» George Harrison
«It was one of the first songs that I picked out to try to use in the movie and it has to do a little bit with the origin of Ego,» says Gunn, referring to Peter Quill’s alien father (full name: Ego, the Living Planet), played by Kurt Russell. «And there’s this big creation myth about how he came about and it was kind of lined up with that. I’ve always been into Hindu creation myths and there’s some similarities there.»

8. «Brandy You’re a Fine Girl,» Looking Glass
Gunn has long adored this cheeseball 1972 smash («It’s always a song I’ve sort of sadly, tragically related to»), which plays a key emotional role in the new movie, appearing in the very first scene.

9. «Come a Little Bit Closer,» Jay and the Americans
This 1964 hit, one of the oldest songs on the soundtrack, scores an action scene that Gunn previewed at Comic-Con where the heroes «enjoy a little bit of ultra-violence while it’s playing and it’s really fun.»

10. «Wham Bang Shang-A-Lang,» Silver
Ever since the first film, fans and friends have been proposing Seventies songs to Gunn for the new soundtrack – and almost always, he’d heard them before. But when someone sent him this sugary pop tune, it was entirely new to him, and he loved it. «It was so weird,» says Gunn. «For a minute I wasn’t sure if I was being tricked because I had never heard the song. I wasn’t sure if was a modern band doing a retro version of a song or if it was actually an old song.»

11. «Surrender,» Cheap Trick
By including this 1978 Cheap Trick classic, Gunn repays a favor to the band, which let him use «If You Want My Love» in his 2011 indie film Super for nearly nothing.

12. «Father and Son,» Yusuf / Cat Stevens
Gunn was inspired to use this thematically appropriate 1970 ballad after hearing Howard Stern attempt to perform it on acoustic guitar on his show.

13. «Flashlight,» Parliament
It’s hard not to picture Baby Groot dancing to this one. «You’ll see,» says Gunn. «But it’s just one of my favorite funk songs.»

14. «Guardians Inferno,» The Sneepers featuring David Hasselhoff
This comedic original, co-written by Gunn and score composer Tyler Bates, is meant as a sort of Guardians take on Meco’s disco Star Wars theme. Gunn is particularly proud of a line that rhymes «procyon lotor» – i.e., «racoon,» as in Bradley Cooper’s Rocket – with «motor.» They recruited David Hasselhoff as vocalist largely because he’s supposed to be one of Peter Quill’s childhood heroes.

ELOSPAIN:

In August 2016, we reported on our website that James Gunn, the director of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, expressed his desire to include an ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA song in his film. As the sequel is expected next summer, the official tracklist has been released, featuring "Mr. BLUE SKY." Gunn expressed his joy through Rolling Stone:
"I've always said that if the Guardians had a house band, it would be ELO, and 'Mr. BLUE SKY' is one of my favorite songs by them. We had to fight to get the song, and I personally appealed to Jeff Lynne. I made a huge offer that he couldn't refuse."
Apparently, one reason they secured the song "Mr. Blue Sky" for the soundtrack was that Jeff Lynne had previously approved the use of another ELO song but couldn't finish it in time. The best part is that he eventually granted the rights, as Gunn made a special offer, "the biggest, craziest shot I've ever made," and it's "the perfect song to start the movie."