Martin Scorsese doesn’t just pick songs. He builds worlds out of them. When you think about the casino movie soundtrack, you probably immediately hear that frantic, cocaine-fueled energy of the 1970s and 80s bleeding through the screen. It isn’t just background noise. Honestly, the music in Casino (1995) acts more like a Greek chorus, narrating the rise and inevitable, bloody fall of Sam "Ace" Rothstein and Nicky Santoro.
It's massive.
We are talking about a two-disc behemoth that spans everything from the high-drama operatic swells of Georges Bizet to the gritty, distorted blues of The Rolling Stones. It’s chaotic. It’s expensive. It’s perfectly Vegas. While most directors would hire a composer to write a tidy orchestral score, Scorsese and his longtime music supervisor Robbie Robertson decided to just raid the greatest jukebox in history.
The Opening Gambit: Bach, Bass, and Fire
The movie starts with a literal bang. Ace Rothstein gets into his car, turns the key, and the whole thing erupts in a fireball. But look at what’s playing. Instead of some generic action movie tension, we get "Matthäus-Passion" (St. Matthew Passion) by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Why?
Because Scorsese wanted the fall of Las Vegas to feel biblical. He wasn't just filming a mob movie; he was filming the expulsion from Eden. The contrast between the slow, mournful choral arrangement and the neon-soaked imagery of Saul Bass’s opening titles is jarring. It’s meant to be. It tells you right away that this isn’t a fun romp through the desert. It’s a tragedy.
Most people don't realize how much of the casino movie soundtrack was actually played live on set to help the actors find the rhythm of a scene. De Niro and Pesci weren't just guessing the vibe. They were moving to the beat.
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The Rolling Stones Obsession
You can't talk about a Scorsese soundtrack without mentioning The Rolling Stones. It’s basically a legal requirement at this point. In Casino, the Stones are everywhere, but "Gimme Shelter" isn't the centerpiece here like it was in Goodfellas. Instead, we get "Can't You Hear Me Knocking."
That riff.
It kicks in right as the scale of the operation becomes clear. It’s swagger. It’s the sound of people who think they are untouchable. But the soundtrack also uses "Satisfaction"—specifically the Otis Redding version and the Devo version—to show how things change. Using different covers of the same song is a subtle way of showing the passage of time and the degradation of the "old ways."
A Bizarre Mix of Genres
If you look at the tracklist, it shouldn't work. On paper, putting The Moonglows next to Muddy Waters and then jumping to Roxy Music sounds like a playlist made by a teenager with ADHD. But in the context of the casino movie soundtrack, it maps out the emotional landscape of the city.
- The Rat Pack Era: Songs like "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" by Dean Martin represent the shiny, "respectable" veneer of the Tangiers.
- The Downward Spiral: As Ginger (Sharon Stone) loses her grip, the music gets darker and more psychedelic.
- The Violence: When Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) starts cracking skulls, the music often stays upbeat or ironically jaunty.
Think about the use of "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals during the final montage. It’s a literal song about a "house in New Orleans" that’s been "the ruin of many a poor boy." Transplanted to Las Vegas, it becomes the anthem for the destruction of the old mob guard. The way the drums kick in just as the hits start happening—it’s visceral. It’s one of those moments where the music and the editing (shoutout to the legendary Thelma Schoonmaker) become a single entity.
The Ginger Problem: Using Music to Define Tragedy
Sharon Stone’s performance as Ginger McKenna is arguably the best of her career. The music follows her descent. Early on, she’s introduced to the sounds of "Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia. It’s playful. It’s flirtatious. It’s exactly how Ace sees her—as a prize to be won.
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But as her addiction takes over and her relationship with James Woods’ character, Lester Diamond, turns toxic, the music curdles. We get "The "In" Crowd" by Ramsey Lewis and "Compared to What" by Les McCann and Eddie Harris. These tracks have a frantic, nervous energy. They feel like a heartbeat that’s going too fast.
Honestly, the casino movie soundtrack does more heavy lifting for Ginger’s character arc than half the dialogue in the script. You feel her desperation through the brass sections and the crashing cymbals.
Why There Is No Original Score
There is a common misconception that Casino has a traditional film score. It doesn't. Aside from the classical pieces and the licensed hits, there isn't a "Theme from Casino" written by a composer. Scorsese famously prefers using existing music because it carries "cultural baggage."
When you hear "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael, you aren't just hearing a melody; you're hearing the collective memory of 1940s and 50s romance. Scorsese leverages your own memories against you. He uses songs you already love to make you feel complicit in the glamour of the casino, only to rip it away when the violence starts.
The Logistics of a $2 Million Soundtrack
Back in 1995, the budget for the casino movie soundtrack was astronomical. Clearing the rights for over 50 songs is a legal nightmare that would break most productions today.
Robbie Robertson, who had been working with Scorsese since The Last Waltz, had to navigate the egos of rock stars and the red tape of record labels. They didn't just want any songs; they wanted specific versions. If Scorsese wanted the 1966 live recording of a track, he wouldn't settle for the 1968 studio version. This precision is why the film feels so lived-in.
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Key Tracks You Might Have Missed:
- "Contempt – Theme de Camille" by Georges Delerue: This is a deep cut. It’s actually a theme from Jean-Luc Godard's film Contempt. Scorsese used it as a tribute to European cinema, playing it during moments of peak emotional tension between Ace and Ginger. It’s lush, sweeping, and heartbreaking.
- "Working in the Coal Mine" by Lee Dorsey: Used to underscore the grind of the counting room. It turns the illegal skimming of millions of dollars into a rhythmic, blue-collar job.
- "I'm Sorry" by Brenda Lee: A perfect example of Scorsese’s irony. Using a sweet, apologetic pop song while showing the brutal reality of mob life.
The Sound of the End
By the time we reach the end of the three-hour runtime, the music has shifted entirely. The upbeat pop is gone. The heavy blues is gone. We return to the operatic and the somber.
The dream of "Old Vegas" is dead.
The soundtrack finishes by reinforcing the idea that the "corporations" took over. The mob was violent, sure, but the music suggests they had soul. The silence that follows the final notes of the movie is deafening. It leaves you sitting there, thinking about the waste of it all.
How to Experience the Soundtrack Today
If you really want to appreciate the casino movie soundtrack, you can't just shuffle it on Spotify. You have to listen to it in the context of the film’s chronology.
The official 2-CD release is good, but it doesn't even contain every song heard in the movie. To truly get the full experience, you have to watch the film with a good pair of headphones. Pay attention to how the music drops out during the "vice" scene—the scene where the guy’s head is put in a vise. There’s no music there. The silence makes the crunching sound effects ten times more horrifying. That’s a masterclass in sound design.
Actionable Next Steps for Cinephiles and Audiophiles:
- Watch for the "Sound Bridges": Notice how Scorsese often starts a song in one scene and carries it over into a completely different location. This is called a sound bridge, and Casino uses them to link the counting rooms to the high-roller tables, showing how everything is connected.
- Compare the Versions: Go find the original "Satisfaction" by the Stones and then listen to the Devo version used in the film. Think about why Scorsese chose the "mechanical" sounding Devo version for the later parts of the movie. It represents the shift from the "human" mob to the "robotic" corporate era.
- Check the Credits: Seriously, scroll through the end credits of Casino sometime. The "Music Clearances" section is longer than the cast list of most indie movies. It’s a testament to the sheer scale of what they achieved.
- Listen to the Delerue Tracks: If you like the emotional weight of the movie, look up Georges Delerue. His work provides the "prestige" feel that balances out the rock and roll.
The casino movie soundtrack isn't just a collection of hits. It is a historical document of a lost era, curated by a man who understands that a well-placed snare hit can be just as powerful as a gunshot. It remains the gold standard for how to use licensed music in cinema, proving that sometimes, the best score is the one that’s already been written.