Kicking off with the most prominent song from the film -- Duke Ellington's "Jeep's Blues" -- the American Hustle soundtrack is a beautiful representation of the time and place in which the film takes place.
David O. Russell's Golden Globe-winning, critically acclaimed film about the FBI's ABSCAM operation takes place in late 1970s New York and the soundtrack follows along with the story perfectly, each song not only setting the mood for the scene and the characters, but for the era itself. Amy Adams and Christian Bale's respective characters connect for the first time to "Jeep's Blues," and the music parallels the plot from there on out. From Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" to ELO's "Long Black Road," from Wings' "Live and Let Die" to Tom Jones' "Delilah," the soundtrack is what the characters would be listening to as the story plays out. Based on the quality of the songs alone, it's another excellent dimension to an already stellar film. Listen to the full soundtrack above.
Below, watch David O. Russell talk about the importance of the music in the film and the rhythmic role it plays.
The film was released December 13th, 2013 and stars Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence. American Hustle will be out on DVD and Blu-Ray March 18th, 2014. You can buy the soundtrack via Amazon.