It’s 1998. You can’t walk into a grocery store or turn on a car radio without hearing the strained, soulful rasp of John Rzeznik asking you to "bleed just to know you're alive." Most people remember City of Angels as that somewhat polarizing remake of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, starring Nicolas Cage as a somber angel and Meg Ryan as a heart surgeon. But let's be real. The movie was fine. The soundtrack for City of Angels was a cultural juggernaut. It didn’t just sell; it lived on the Billboard 200 for basically forever, moving over five million copies in the US alone.
It was a weird time for music. Grunge was breathing its last breath, and the industry was pivoting toward this glossy, high-production "adult alternative" sound. Warner Sunset/Reprise hit the jackpot here. They managed to bottle that specific late-90s melancholy—that "staring out a rainy window in a beige sweater" vibe—and sell it to everyone.
The Goo Goo Dolls and the Song That Refused to Die
You can't talk about this album without talking about "Iris." It’s the elephant in the room. Before this, the Goo Goo Dolls were mostly known as a scrappy replacement-level punk-pop band from Buffalo. They had "Name," sure, but "Iris" changed their tax bracket permanently.
Rzeznik wrote the song specifically for the film after seeing a rough cut. It’s actually quite literal if you think about the lyrics from the perspective of an immortal being wanting to touch a human. "You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be." It stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for a record-breaking 18 weeks. 18 weeks! That’s nearly five months of the same song dominating the atmosphere. People actually got sick of it, which is the ultimate sign of a hit.
Interestingly, the song wasn't even supposed to be the lead single. The label was betting on Alanis Morissette’s "Uninvited."
Alanis Morissette’s Haunting Pivot
Morissette was coming off the nuclear success of Jagged Little Pill. Everyone expected her to keep doing the "You Oughta Know" thing—angry, jagged, rock-heavy. Instead, she turned in "Uninvited." It’s built on this creepy, hypnotic four-note piano riff that sounds like a panic attack in slow motion.
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It was a bold move. No chorus. No hook in the traditional sense. Just a massive, orchestral swell that feels like it’s going to crush the listener. It won two Grammys. It proved that the soundtrack for City of Angels wasn't just a collection of pop fluff; it had actual artistic teeth. It’s arguably one of the best things she’s ever recorded because it leans so hard into the cinematic drama of the film's premise.
A Tracklist That Doesn't Make Sense on Paper
If you look at the tracklist, it’s a mess. Honestly, it shouldn't work. You have U2, Eric Clapton, and Peter Gabriel sitting right next to Sarah McLachlan and Paula Cole. It’s a total grab bag of Gen X icons and Lilith Fair superstars.
But somehow, it flows.
U2 contributed "If God Will Send His Angels," which was a bit of a leftover from their Pop era. It’s a cynical, glitchy track that fits the "angels in Los Angeles" theme almost too perfectly. Then you have Eric Clapton’s "Slow Down Linda" (a deeper cut) and the legendary Peter Gabriel with "I Dig You Out."
Then there’s Sarah McLachlan. Her song "Angel" is now unfortunately associated with those heartbreaking SPCA commercials that make everyone change the channel immediately, but in 1998, it was the emotional backbone of this record. It captured the ethereal, tragic romance of the story. It gave the album a sense of "prestige" that most soundtracks lacked.
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The Gabriel Yared Factor
We usually ignore the score on these "Various Artists" compilations. We shouldn't. Gabriel Yared, who did the music for The English Patient, provided the actual score for City of Angels. The soundtrack includes a few of his cuts, like "Remains of the Angels."
Yared’s work is what grounds the whole thing. Without his sweeping, mournful strings, the transition from a rock song like "Iris" to a folk ballad like "Angel" would feel like whiplash. He provided the connective tissue. He understood that the movie was basically a high-budget poem about grief and sensory experience. His music sounds like how the color blue looks.
Why It Still Holds Up (And Why It Doesn't)
Nostalgia is a powerful drug. If you play "Iris" today, half the room will groan and the other half will scream every lyric. The soundtrack for City of Angels is a time capsule. It represents the peak of the "Big Movie Soundtrack" era—a time when labels would pour millions into curated albums because they knew people would actually go to a store and buy the CD.
It does feel dated in spots. The production on some of the tracks is very "studio-clean" in that late-90s way that lacks any grit. It’s very safe. It’s the kind of music designed to be played in a Starbucks before Starbucks was everywhere.
But the quality of the songwriting is undeniable.
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- "Iris" is a masterclass in dynamic building.
- "Uninvited" remains one of the most unique compositions to ever hit Top 40 radio.
- "Feelin’ Love" by Paula Cole adds a trip-hop texture that was very "of the moment" but still feels sultry and cool.
The Legacy of a Multi-Platinum Sad-Fest
A lot of soundtracks from that era—Armageddon, Godzilla, The Matrix—were trying to be loud and aggressive. City of Angels went the other way. It was soft, introspective, and deeply emotional. It gave permission for mainstream pop to be "sad" again.
It also saved the Goo Goo Dolls' career. Before "Iris," they were about to be dropped by their label. After it, they were headlining arenas. That is the power of a well-placed song in a movie. Even if the movie is just okay, the right song can live forever.
How to Revisit the Music Today
If you’re looking to dive back into this, don’t just shuffle it on Spotify. You have to listen to it in the original order to get the vibe. It starts with the intensity of U2 and Alanis, dips into the acoustic longing of the middle tracks, and ends with the orchestral weight of Yared’s score.
To get the most out of the soundtrack for City of Angels, keep these points in mind:
- Seek out the 45rpm vinyl pressings if you're an audiophile; the dynamic range on "Uninvited" is much better than the compressed digital versions.
- Watch the "Iris" music video again—it’s a trip to see Nicolas Cage's angel character reflected in the 90s cinematography styles.
- Compare it to the Wings of Desire soundtrack. If you want to see how the original German film handled music (hint: it involves Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), it provides a fascinating contrast to the Hollywood version.
- Listen for the "Uninvited" demo. There are versions floating around that are even more stripped down and haunting than the theatrical release.
The album isn't just a collection of songs; it’s a mood. It’s the sound of an industry at its peak, before Napster changed everything, and before we stopped caring about the "art" of the movie soundtrack. It remains a definitive document of 1998, for better or worse.