“Sons of Anarchy,” which follows the lives of members of a motorcycle club of the same name, is something of a sleeper hit. Not unlike the increasingly popular “Breaking Bad”, the show's ratings hit their peak with its most recent sixth season. As each season brings more viewers, it also brings another carefully crafted soundtrack of "Songs of Anarchy." The show has its own house band, The Forest Rangers, who have quietly built up an arsenal of covers—and a few original songs from some other artists—that comprises the soundtrack of “Son’s.” The story of the soundtrack starts easily with the show's theme song: "This Life," performed by Curtis Stigers and The Forest Rangers. The song is bluesy southern rock, and many of the songs used on the show follow suit.
Stigers also covers a few other songs for the soundtrack, including a traditional gospel tune "John the Revelator" for the Season One finale. The song plays as the main character, Jax Teller, visits his father John Teller's grave. The show is based around Jax finding a journal of his father's, which condemns the motorcycle club of which they’re both members and inspires Jax to try and make changes to the club from within. As Jax walks around the graveyard, Stigers is almost chanting the lyrics, "Tell me who's that writin', John the Revelator." The song is an eerie reminder that Jax's father, who died under mysterious circumstances, still has a powerful hold on what's going on in the club and in Jax's life.
What makes a show about a ruthless motorcycle gang so compelling, though, is the strong familial bond the characters have, and the show's most touching moments are those that show Jax's family and the rest of the club laughing with each other. In the third season finale, the camera pans over each main character in familial bliss while the relentlessly uplifting "This Charming Life" by Joan Armatrading plays. "I wanna be with you / all the time / every day every night / you're my deja vu" Armatrading sings as Jax and his wife Tara lie in bed embracing. The song and the montage of characters at home with their significant others is a sweet treat right before a number of club members are sent to prison for 14 months.
In the next episode, as the Sons are released from 14 months in prison, Joshua James' "Coal War" plays. "I ain't open my eyes ‘till we all walk free" James repeats as the members walk to get their belongings before leaving the prison. The music swells as the six imprisoned members march out of the prison and recedes again as the member of the club serving a life sentence is shown in solitary confinement.
The music swells for a final time as the Sons drive away on their motorcycles and flip off the prison they were in for 14 months. The final iteration of the chorus "I ain't cuttin' my hair till the Good Lord comes" is almost whispered as the new sheriff in town walks out of a barber shop to find the newly released Sons taking a ride through the town square. These little details attest to the precision with which each scene is matched to its song.
Possibly the best part of the show, though, is its twisted sense of humor. And in the sixth season premiere, the club's most violent and most comedic character, Tig, throws an Iranian torture pornographer that he's murdered off a dock. As he sits on the edge of the dock watching the body sink, he begins to sing Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay." This soon transitions into Billy Valentine and house band The Forest Rangers' cover of the song, which pays homage to the original version, but is a little rougher on the edges.
The soundtrack fits so well because the songs feel exactly like what the characters themselves would choose to listen to. As much as viewers might question the morality of the Tellers and the Sons, they'll never question their music taste.
