Warning: The following article contains links to some material that may contain strong language. Reader’s discretion is advised.

Yes, I’m back again to talk about what I’ve done to take what I’ve previously described as one of the worst soundtracks to video games, and somehow improve it with a bit of fun. In doing so, I hope to bring clarity on the tone, and enhance some characters. However, following parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and now the 5th, I think it is time to wrap it up and move on. As I’ll roughly repeat in a minute, I’d added a sum of about 150-songs to the Watch Dogs: Legion soundtrack, and we should have covered about 55 of those by the end of today. The trouble with most of them seems to be, they are obvious additions.

Once again, I’m going to state that we’re using Spotify rather than anything else, mostly due to ease of use. If you do enjoy anything from this playlist and end up exploring more of some artists, support them. Spotify is dreadful for royalty payments, so if you can buy t-shirts or something, do so. The touring industry is in the ditch right now, with royalties in many respects for platforms, such as this being some that are missing revenue from elsewhere. That said, here is the link to the entire playlist of the official soundtrack and my lengthy additions, accumulating to over 17-hours of music.

I wanted to make an honorable mention, mostly because it crawled into my Discovery Weekly playlist this week. It also fits the game so well, in my opinion, for what could be such a colorful and fantastic world beyond the dystopian nightmare. The colors and feeling of London are just perfect for Joey Ramone’s cover of “What a Wonderful World.” A strange and wonderfully punk-infused version of the pop classic by Louis Armstrong.

Iron Maiden – “The Trooper.”

While bassist Steve Harris wrote the song, arguably one of the biggest staples is Nicko McBrain’s pounding drums as if a running force is bearing down on you. Based on the 1854 Crimean War, and more precisely the Lord Tennyson poem by the name “Charge of the Light Brigade,” it is the sound of the impending battle. Legion attempts to ramp up this sound with lukewarm success, never really bringing anything to give the real feeling of taking the fight to Albion with a great crescendo.

Bob Marley & The Wailers – “Get Up, Stand Up”

A rather religious song and protest anthem at once, “Get Up, Stand Up” is an altogether strange song when only paying attention to one half. On one hand, you have Marley talking about the Mr. Jesús, preachers, and god in the verses, with the other being found in the second line of the chorus: “stand up for your right!” Finally clicking once the first verse is complete, it tells you to not wait for the preacher or gods to take action on your behalf, you need to stand up for your right. All built around a relaxing reggae backing that almost lulls you into a relaxed state of mind.

Craig David – “7 Days”

Part of me doesn’t know why I’d bothered to include this. It has nothing to do with the game and it isn’t anything more than an R&B song about being quite quick about getting someone to bed. Yet, I can’t for the life of me find a reason to delete it from the playlist. It is just that sound of the early 2000s that is blending a nice acoustic guitar, a fantastic groove that gets you moving. David’s smooth vocals painting that picture of his several days with a woman.

Ian Dury – “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”

I’ll talk about it in a minute, but Ian Dury’s music of this time was based around simple phrases, which Suggs of Madness tried to emulate with some of his own work. “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” is very much about that, with Dury’s quite rough (like that of a smoker of 40-years) yet soft vocal giving the riddle-laden lyrics great depth. It always hints at a greater life beyond that of the likes of Walter Mitty and puts a bit of Frank-N-Furter in there to blur the lines.

Led Zeppelin – “Immigrant Song”

Officially based around Norse mythology following a tour in Iceland, the song’s title links back to the song before this. In-game, The Oval, of which Dury had a flat overlooking the cricket ground, is the place mass immigration detention takes place. One mission takes place there as you sneak around. A big segment of the game’s rather meek message is how bad an immigrant experience can be. However, for some reason, I’ve always thought of this as more of a pro-immigrant song for all that it might be. I might just be projecting a greater meaning on something to make it work, but I needed some decent rock in this soundtrack somewhere.

Madness – “Baggy Trousers”

When Suggs spoke of “Baggy Trousers” he noted two artists you’ll find here: Ian Dury and Pink Floyd. Being rather an antithesis of “Another Brick in the Wall,” it shows the loose and relaxed nature of which comprehensive schools were in direct opposition to the strict and rigid public schools (a fee-charging school). That is a bit of an arty-farty long way about saying: “Baggy Trousers” is the boisterous and unruly school life a majority of us are used to. It is a very Madness-style of song, for which ska/2-tone is built on to make you feel happy and move.

Dead or Alive – “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”

Most people my age or slightly younger would know Pete Burns as a plastic-faced angry man that bent the strict ideas of gender rules and sexuality while shouting at people in the celebrity version of Big Brother. However, according to Burns, the label (Epic) wasn’t excited about Dead or Alive’s biggest hit. That would ultimately be the reason Burns would be put into the reality TV bubble in later years. The story of Burns would sequentially be a bit of a sad one, as he died only a few years ago at 57. Still, he voiced one of the mid-80s biggest synth-pop hits.

Scooter – “Back in the U.K.”

As part of the backbone of the Happy Hardcore sound of the early 90s, Scooter is everything you could want when you want to bring energy. While “Back in the U.K.” isn’t their biggest hit, I didn’t want to go for the obvious in that vein. Instead, I wanted to go for something a bit more cheesy and fun. What better way to do that than a German techno group headed by the ever so energetic and never-aging Baxxter? You simply can’t listen to “Back in the U.K.” without smiling, especially with the idea of returning to the game and suddenly that start blasting out some speakers.

Pink Floyd – “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt.2”

Well, I spoiled that this one was coming up. However, I think it needs to be here as the type of school Waters is talking about is that type for which two-third of cabinet ministers of the UK came from. These are schools for which a majority of the population don’t attend. Of course, with Legion‘s setting being that for which the ruling class is so divided from the public we’re in a dystopian nightmare future, it only made sense. What use is a rigid education, one for which you aren’t allowed to be a kid in, when you aren’t going to lord it over someone?

Linton Kwesi Johnson – “Inglan Is A B**ch”

Ok, I’ve not gone mad, but Linton Kwesi Johnson’s dub-poetry telling the story of a Jamaican immigrant is something I just couldn’t leave out. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, so much of London’s culture has been improved by immigrants from Jamaica. While the story and Johnson’s actual timeline don’t line up, it highlights a somewhat desperate desire to get a decent job and not hate being thrown to the bottom of the pile, simply based on race/being an immigrant. It ends with the sad reality that the protagonist in the story is laid off, simply for his age of 55, even with plenty of work to be done that he could do.

The Cranberries – “Zombie”

Let’s end on a light topic, the Troubles that killed three and a half thousand people over many years with tens of thousands being injured in clashes between the IRA and British forces. Ok, that is not a light topic, I guess. This is a desperately heart-wrenching story pleading for an end to what was a never-ending series of attacks and counter-attacks. Dolores O’Riordan’s vocal, making a clear break between chest and head register in the chorus, makes it all the more powerful. No matter how many times I hear it, no matter how many times I visualize the images painted by the lyrics, it is always as powerful as the last time.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!