On October 1st, 2021, HBO is releasing The Many Saints of Newark (A Sopranos Story), a prequel to David Chase‘s crime drama series The Sopranos.
Directed by Alan Taylor, the movie takes place during the 1960’s and 1970’s in Newark, New Jersey, using the city’s 1967 riots as a backdrop for tensions between the Italian-American and African-American communities.
Michael Gandolfini portrays the teenage Tony Soprano, the role played by his father in the series, who finds himself in the midst of a violent gang war his uncle and family are involved in.
James Gandolfini portrayed Tony Soprano for 6 seasons and 86 episodes from 1999 to 2007.
He died of a heart attack at the age of 51 in Rome on June 19th, 2013.
He was expected to travel to Sicily a few days later to receive an award at the Taormina Film Fest.
His then 14-year-old son Michael discovered him unconscious in the bathroom floor at the Boscolo Exedra Hotel.
The story of The Sopranos revolves around Tony Soprano, a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying the difficulties that he faces as he tries to balance his family life with his role as the leader of a criminal organization.
These are explored during his therapy sessions with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).
The Sopranos is credited for creating a new era in the mafia genre deviating from the traditional dramatized image of the gangster in favor of a simpler, more accurate reflection of ordinary day-to-day mob life in a suburb.
The Sopranos was a major ratings success, despite being aired on premium cable network HBO, which is available in significantly fewer American homes than regular networks.
The show frequently attracted equal or larger audiences than most popular network shows of its time.
Even today, The Sopranos is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time.
The series won a multitude of awards, including Peabody Awards for its first two seasons, 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, and five Golden Globe Awards.
It has been the subject of critical analysis, controversy, and parody, and has spawned books, a video game, soundtrack albums, podcasts and assorted merchandise.
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named The Sopranos the best-written TV series of all time, while TV Guide ranked it the best television series of all time.
In 2016, the series ranked first in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.
In 2019, The Guardian ranked the show first on its list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, stating that it “hastened TV’s transformation into a medium where intelligence, experimentation and depth were treasured” and describing it as “something to aspire to” for anyone currently making TV.
Series creator David Chase personally selected all the show’s music, with the producer Martin Bruestle and music editor Kathryn Dayak (sometimes also consulting Steven Van Zandt, who portrays Silvio Dante on the show and is also a guitarist for Bruce Springsteen‘s E Street Band).
They often selected music after completing an episode’s production and editing, but occasionally filmed sequences to match pre-selected pieces of music.
This Mixtape is dedicated to James Joseph Gandolfini, Jr. (September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013).
Requiescat in pace.
The Sopranos Mixtape | Side A
The Sopranos Mixtape | Side B
DAW : Harrison Mixbus
D/A Converter : Schiit Bifrost 2
Analog Signal Flow : McIntosh MA-6200
Cassette Deck : Nakamichi 682zx
C-90 Cassette Tape used : Sony HF 90 (1999-01) Type I
Suggested Cassette Tape : Any 80’s/early 90’s Maxell, Sony or TDK C-90 Type I or II
J-Card (.pdf)