Critical response

Jonah Bromwich of Pitchfork said the music was "a highlight" and an "oft-disquieting mixtape of golden-age rock n' roll, radio DJ patter, and period-specific commercials."^[14] Ben Allen of Radio Times commented, "Tarantino knows exactly how effective music can be in enhancing key scenes in his films. This is evident throughout Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."^[15] Michael Roffman of Consequence opined, "The collection is chock full of 60's selections that look strange on paper, but work effortlessly together on screen."^[16] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote, "Listening to Once Upon a Time brings that world to life. It's like switching the AM radio on to a 1960s that never faded away."^[17] It was nominated for the best compilation soundtrack album for visual media at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.^[18]

Analysis

Jon Drawbaugh analyzed the way in which Once Upon a Time in Hollywood used its music thematically. He noted that Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Hungry" is used when Manson shows up to look for Terry Melcher at the Tate/Polanski residence where Melcher once lived with one of the band's members, whom Melcher produced. Drawbaugh also pointed out how the use of "Out of Time" by The Rolling Stones coincides as "the story is coming to its finale," and "darkness is falling upon Hollywood." He referred to Joan Didion's The White Album and how it illustrated how the Tate murders marked a transition from idealism and "the free spirit hippie vibe" into something "darker and more sinister." Drawbaugh said even the use of the ads was used in step with the film. When Helena Rubinstein's Heaven Sent ad is heard during a scene in which Cliff Booth talks to "Pussycat," the line "A little bit naughty, but heavenly" is heard, which Drawbaugh saw as a hint to what Booth thought about her. Drawbaugh also stated that the use of the ads was to provide an immersive radio experience, as Tarantino had done with K-Billy (Steven Wright) in Reservoir Dogs.^[19]

Justin Martell noted that the Mamas & the Papas' "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" evokes "Manson-vibes" and is used as "Manson Family members [are] creeping up Cielo Drive [in Benedict Canyon] in their 1959 Ford." Martell states that this is a "perfect use of this song."^[20] Jason Gorber of /Film wrote how Simon & Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson is used to foreshadow "an illicit connection soon to come" by evoking another film, Mike Nichols' 1967 The Graduate, which it was originally written for. "The song plays as Cliff [Booth] (Brad Pitt) spots the (much younger) Pussycat (Margaret Qualley)," using its connection with The Graduate, in which Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) seduces the much younger Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman).^[9][21]

Ethan Warren analyzed in detail the film's use of the radio ad for Jack Smight's The Illustrated Man, which appears on the soundtrack. It appears at the beginning of Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood and Warren writes that it is used to foreshadow the rest of the film. The Illustrated Man, like Tarantino's film examines the fear of younger generations by older ones. Warren notes The two films are also about three connected stories. Where The Illustrated Man and its stories are overshadowed by the title character, Once Upon a Time's shadow is Charles Manson (Damon Herriman). When the radio ad says "Don't dare stare," Warren sees that as a comment about Manson. Warren states that Manson has become America's ideal bogeyman. He believes Tarantino takes that away in his film by not only erasing his legacy but also by not making him a threat on Spahn Ranch or in the film's finale. And so, Warren concludes that a "price is to be paid for being intrigued by a villain," and just as we should not stare at the Illustrated Man, neither should we "stare" at Manson. Warren also comments on the story "The Veldt" from The Illustrated Man and how it is about children who turn into killers based on the media they consume, and "Sadie"'s (Mikey Madison) justification in Once Upon a Time that because Rick Dalton pretends to kill people on TV he has taught her and others to kill, and so deserves to be murdered himself.^[22]

Author Ron Wilson wrote about the use of the "Lillie Langtry Theme" from John Huston's The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. The song starts playing at the end of Once Upon a Time when "the camera cranes above the gates as we watch Rick being greeted by Sharon." Roy Bean is a fantasy and myth of the Old West. It is about a time of transition in the West and was made at a time when Hollywood was transitioning away from Westerns, as Wilson sees Tarantino correlating with Once Upon a Time and it being about Hollywood transitioning away from Westerns and into a new era. Wilson says both films romanticize innocence and are shrines to a world that never existed. He states they are both symbolized by actresses. In the case of Roy Bean, by Lillie Langtry (Ava Gardner) and in the case of Once Upon a Time, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).^[23] Kim Newman pointed out how both films share a fantasy revenge element as well. In Roy Bean the title character (Paul Newman) lives much longer than the historical Roy Bean and exacts revenge against the oil companies that changed America and the Old West.^[24]

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