"Sound City: Real To Reel" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Sound City: Real To Reel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What does a legendary room sound like after you move its heart to a new address? Sound City (2013) answers with a collaborative rock record cut around a single piece of gear — the Neve 8028 console — and a documentary that treats recording itself as the plot. Arrival → adaptation → rebellion → collapse: the album starts as a love letter to the vanished Van Nuys studio, then turns into a jam-forward argument that analog discipline still matters.

Sound City: Real To Reel gathers the “Sound City Players” — Dave Grohl with a revolving cast — for newly written sessions: Stevie Nicks (“You Can’t Fix This”), Paul McCartney with the surviving Nirvana members (“Cut Me Some Slack”), Trent Reznor with Josh Homme and Grohl (“Mantra”), Corey Taylor with Rick Nielsen and Scott Reeder (“From Can to Can’t”), Lee Ving fronting a raucous quintet (“Your Wife Is Calling”), and more. According to the album’s credits and trade notes, Butch Vig produced; Roswell/RCA released it on March 12, 2013, and it later took home Grammys for Best Compilation Soundtrack and Best Rock Song (“Cut Me Some Slack”).

Genres & themes in phases: riff-rock & hard-soul (arrival — the board warms up) → desert/industrial textures (adaptation — new chemistry) → punk snarl & power-pop crunch (rebellion — play louder) → elegiac/anthemic closes (collapse → legacy). Taped drums = muscle; stacked vocals = fellowship; console hiss = memory.

How It Was Made

Grohl bought Sound City’s Neve 8028 when the studio closed and installed it in Studio 606 West, then invited heroes and friends to write to the room. Sessions ran like mini-summits — a rhythm section, a hook or riff, record-to-tape, minimal comping — with Vig policing takes and feel. The documentary cross-cuts the history of Sound City (Fleetwood Mac, Petty, Nirvana) with these new pieces, so the album doubles as proof-of-concept: great rooms, great gear, great players, fast decisions.

Tracks & Scenes

Doc runtime ~108 minutes; timestamps below are approximate. “Diegetic” = heard in the world of the film/session.

“Cut Me Some Slack” — Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear
Where it plays: Mid-late reel (~01:10). Studio 606 live-room jam turns into a screaming, slide-fed boogie; McCartney grinds a cigar-box guitar while Grohl/Nuvoselic/Smear lock in. Diegetic session audio; quick punch-ins.
Why it matters: A Beatle fronting that rhythm section could’ve felt novelty; instead it’s feral and joyous — the movie’s “we still can” moment.

“You Can’t Fix This” — Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee
Where it plays: Writing-room to vocal booth (~00:54). Nicks sketches verses about a godson lost too young; the band builds a backbeat around her cadence. Diegetic, with headphone bleed and talkback chatter.
Why it matters: Grief alchemized into groove — the documentary’s most vulnerable needle-drop.

“From Can to Can’t” — Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl, Rick Nielsen, Scott Reeder
Where it plays: Early-late montage (~00:49). Taylor tracks a bruised lead over Nielsen’s jagged figures; Reeder’s bass moves like wet concrete. Diegetic; wide shots of the live room, close-ups on tape rolling.
Why it matters: A blue-collar anthem about working past empty — analog sweat as thesis.

“Mantra” — Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, Trent Reznor
Where it plays: Climactic session (~01:30). A patient build — bass pulse, drum ostinato, keys drifting — then a three-voice handoff at the mic. Diegetic performance footage with overdub passes.
Why it matters: The album’s serene crescendo; three aesthetics, one language.

“Your Wife Is Calling” — Lee Ving, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Alain Johannes, Pat Smear
Where it plays: Mid-film burst (~00:44). Punk bark and bar-band grin; camera cuts from the live room to control-room cackles. Diegetic; a single-take energy is the joke.
Why it matters: Old LA punk DNA, new tape — Sound City’s mischievous streak lives.

“The Man That Never Was” — Rick Springfield with Grohl/Hawkins/Mendel/Smear
Where it plays: Reflection-to-revenge arc (~00:37). Springfield revisits his Sound City history, then slams a new chorus like a debt paid. Diegetic tracking and plate-reverb smiles.
Why it matters: Ties the studio’s ’80s pop chapter to the 606 reboot — continuity, not cosplay.

“Time Slowing Down” — Chris Goss, Tim Commerford, Dave Grohl, Brad Wilk
Where it plays: Desert-rock huddle (~00:58). Goss murmurs a melody; Rage’s engine-room (Commerford/Wilk) turns it into a stalking shuffle. Diegetic, mic’d-room feel.
Why it matters: The tightest rhythm section on the record doing what the Neve loves: big, honest low end.

“Heaven and All” — Robert Levon Been, Dave Grohl, Peter Hayes
Where it plays: Early sessions montage (~00:22). Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s core leans into a droning, devotional churn; Grohl mans the kit. Diegetic; console meters dance.
Why it matters: A fuzz hymn that announces: this isn’t a tribute album — it’s a workshop.

Notes & Trivia

• Produced by Butch Vig; released on Roswell/RCA on March 12, 2013 (the film hit VOD February 1).
• Two Grammy wins followed: Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Rock Song (“Cut Me Some Slack”).
• “Mantra” closes the album — a near-eight-minute build by Grohl, Homme and Reznor — and became the fan-favorite live studio clip.
• Corey Taylor’s “From Can to Can’t” pairs him with Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and Kyuss/OBS bassist Scott Reeder.
• Stevie Nicks wrote “You Can’t Fix This” in memory of her godson; the Sound City Players performed it at TV/festival dates.

Music–Story Links

The doc’s first half builds mythology — Fleetwood Mac, Petty, Nirvana — then the album supplies proof. When the camera lingers on the Neve’s wood cheeks and glowing meters, “Heaven and All” and “Time Slowing Down” make the console’s headroom feel like a set piece. Nicks’ elegy turns history into present-tense grief-work; McCartney’s garage howl reframes legacy as play; “Mantra” braids three auteurs into one patient, tape-saturated arc. The songs don’t just illustrate the film — they complete its argument.

Reception & Quotes

Critics loved the film’s history lesson and argued over the album’s cohesion; fans mostly heard a victory lap for collaboration. Per major reviews and year-end tallies, the record’s peaks (“Cut Me Some Slack,” “Mantra,” “You Can’t Fix This”) carried the set, and the Grammys sealed the narrative.

“A star-studded document of process — not just product.” — album capsules

“The McCartney/Nirvana jam is feral fun; ‘Mantra’ is the keeper.” — rock press

“Being friends with Grohl isn’t a unifying principle — but the highs are undeniable.” — critical take

Interesting Facts

• Studio 606 West: All album sessions ran through the transplanted Neve 8028 console.
• Track-per-collab: Grohl is the only player on every cut; the rest rotate by song.
• Live reveals: The “Mantra” studio performance clip hit the web days before the album.
• Charting cuts: “Cut Me Some Slack” doubled as the band’s TV/benefit calling card before the LP dropped.
• Lineage: “The Man That Never Was” reconnects Rick Springfield to the very studio where he tracked ’80s hits.

Technical Info

• Title: Sound City: Real To Reel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year: 2013 (album streeted March 12, 2013)
• Type: Various-artists collaboration soundtrack (recorded for the film)
• Produced by: Butch Vig
• Label: Roswell Records / RCA
• Key sessions (selected): “Cut Me Some Slack” (McCartney + Grohl/Novoselic/Smear); “You Can’t Fix This” (Stevie Nicks + Grohl/Hawkins/Jaffee); “From Can to Can’t” (Corey Taylor + Nielsen/Reeder/Grohl); “Mantra” (Grohl/Homme/Reznor); “Your Wife Is Calling” (Lee Ving + Grohl/Hawkins/Johannes/Smear); “Time Slowing Down” (Goss + Commerford/Wilk/Grohl); “Heaven and All” (Been/Hayes + Grohl)
• Availability: Streaming/download and CD/vinyl; common digital runtime ~55:31
• Awards: Grammy — Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media; Grammy — Best Rock Song (“Cut Me Some Slack”)

Questions & Answers

Was the soundtrack recorded at the original Sound City?

No — it was tracked at Studio 606 West using Sound City’s Neve 8028 console, relocated after the Van Nuys studio closed.

Who produced the album?

Butch Vig — the same producer behind Nevermind — wrangled the sessions.

Which track won a Grammy?

“Cut Me Some Slack” — McCartney with Grohl, Novoselic and Smear — won Best Rock Song (the album also won Best Compilation Soundtrack).

Is “Mantra” the final track?

Yes. It’s the album’s slow-burn closer with Grohl, Josh Homme and Trent Reznor.

Does every track feature the same band?

No. Grohl plays on all cuts, but each song features a different “Sound City Players” lineup.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Wikipedia album page; MusicBrainz release group; Apple Music album notes; official trailer; Pitchfork/Rolling Stone coverage on “Mantra”; Grammy coverage; label press bulletins; Discogs credits.

November, 27th 2025