Guardians of the Galaxy (Original Score)

Music plays a crucial role in Marvel’s film Guardians of the Galaxy. Its ‘70s songs are a key link to a character’s past, while composer Tyler Bates says his orchestral soundtrack serves “not only to be propulsive in the action sequences and to set up some of the comedic moments, but really to underscore the emotional depth of the characters. They’ve all survived some terrible tragedy in their life, and they try to suppress the rawness of those emotions in the scope of who they try to be.” Director James Gunn sought Bates’ input on the project from day one, with many scenes then filmed to the composer’s pre-scored music. Tracks were recorded at the fabled Abbey Road Studios with members of the London Philharmonic; Tyler says his music team toiled 100 hours a week for four months. “At least half the cues in the movie have more than 500 tracks of audio,” he says of the intricately layered mix. “It was paramount to me to make sure that the score was what [director Gunn] had dreamt it would be—like a space rock opera.”