Lost Issue: Gary Radovich Reviews Part Two
CD Reviews By Gary Radovich (from 1996-7)
Il Grande Silenzio/Un Bellissimo Novembre **** 1/2 / *** 1/2
ENNIO MORRICONE
Beat CDCR 27
18 tracks - 48:45
Following the heels of two different Japanese CD releases of Morricone's
classic 1968 Il Grande Silenzio score (one a bootleg and the other a legitimate
pressing on King KICP 2597), Italy's Beat label has issued their own edition
and added a second Morricone score to lengthen its playing time. Much has
already been written about Il Grande Silenzio. Suffice it to say
that it is one of director Sergio Corbucci's greatest films and one of
the best spaghetti westerns ever made. Morricone's score was not composed
using the traditional Italio-western traits. Instead, he scored it using
the bleakness of the film's snowy mountainous setting and its downbeat
story. The chorus is used exceptionally well and heightens the sense of
remoteness and desolation. The 13 selections presented from Il Grande Silenzio
are complete (the additional two tracks found on the Japanese bootleg and
originating from a suspect Belgium LP compilation have never been identified
as coming from the original soundtrack sessions).
Every selection is noteworthy so I'll concentrate on those tracks of
extraordinary quality. The classic main theme is first heard in "Il Grande
Silenzio," its strong melodic line well supported by the orchestral and
choral arrangement. It will appear on several other tracks (sometimes in
only brief snippets), most notably in "Viaggio" and "Dopo Il Martirio."
A tender love theme has also been written ("E l'Amore Verra'" and "Invito
All'Amore") which is played in a melancholy manner by strings and piano.
The latter version is particularly lovely and is given a lengthy classical
style arrangement. The action compositions are never grating and utilize
an ethereal chorus to great effect ("Voci Nel Deserto" and "Passaggi nel
Tempo" are two prime examples). The sole compromise made by Morricone to
the genre is an obligatory saloon piece played by honkytonk piano on "Nel
Vecchio Saloon." Il Grande Silenzio is a landmark Italian western
score by that genre's foremost composer and it's nice to have an affordable
CD reissue available.
In order to compete with the Japanese King release (which has the same
13 selections), Beat has coupled Il Grande Silenzio with another
Morricone score, Un Bellissimo Novembre, also from 1968. This incestuous
drama is a rather odd choice for pairing with a western, but who's complaining?
However, Beat has made a grievous error by releasing Un Bellissimo Novembre
in truncated form, deleting two tracks which were included on the 1985
Intermezzo release ("La Zia e la Veglia" and "Notte Profonda"). And on
a CD whose total time is under 49 minutes, there is no excuse for this
omission.
The main theme from Un Bellissimo Novembre is entitled "Nuddu,"
and is a gorgeous melody performed by whistling, acoustic guitar and strings
in a simple but effectively poignant arrangement. There is also a nice
vocal version sung in Sicilian dialect by Fausto Cigliano (who is not credited
by Beat for some strange reason). The remaining three tracks are basically
filler and run the gamut from suspenseful and dramatic ("Sensi") to pure
suspense ("Buio Mattino") to an easy-going romantic theme with a samba
beat and electric guitar ("Ancora Piu' Dolcemente"). Morricone has fun
with the arrangements and even throws in the Jew's harp, a traditional
Sicilian instrument, on one track.
Overall, the sound is fine (Il Grande Silenzio comes off better
and Un Bellissimo Novembre contains some hiss throughout). There
are nice graphics and a description of the films' storylines is provided,
but there is no discussion of the music. And it is a real pity that Un
Bellissimo Novembre has not been made available here in a complete
form.
Lone Wolf McQuade ****
FRANCESCO DE MASI
Beat CDCR 26
24 tracks - 58:02
This is another welcome CD reissue which adds nearly 25 minutes of previously
unreleased music. This 1983 Chuck Norris action movie was scored by De
Masi in a spaghetti western style, prominently featuring two of that genre's
most famous musicians, harmonica player Franco De Gemini and whistler Alessandro
Alessandroni. De Masi, of course, is no stranger to westerns and scored
over 30 of them. De Gemini's harmonica playing in this score is evocative
of his work in 1968's Once Upon a Time in the West, and western
fans who don't already own the shorter original Citadel (U.S.) or That's
Entertainment (U.K.) McQuade albums will want to pick up this CD.
Beat has expanded the score and retitled the selections, but all the
music contained in the original LPs can also be found here. De Masi composed
a wonderful theme for the Chuck Norris character and two terrific renditions
start off the CD: "Main Title Lone Wolf McQuade" presents the great melody
played by whistling, chorus and harmonica (sounding straight out of a 1960's
Italian western), and "Observation of Jefe" is a version of the main theme
performed by electric guitar, chorus harmonica and trumpet -- also outstanding.
This main theme appears in many other tracks (9 of the 24 selections) but
never outlasts its welcome, because much of the remaining music is comprised
of brassy action cues or suspense pieces. De Masi also provides a love
theme which can be enjoyed on "Lola's Theme," "Lola and McQuade" (the best
rendition and played by acoustic guitar, strings and female voice) and
"The Final Conflict." De Masi also uses the wordless female vocalist in
an action theme, "Highway Hijack," which is interesting. The action and
suspense scoring is well done and the variety in the musical arrangement
keeps things interesting and rarely grating. This is a superior action
score with a dynamite main theme and De Masi went on to score other 1980s
action films in Italy (many recorded by Beat) that are worth checking out.
Beat's packaging is colorful (the picture disc is especially nice, utilizing
the artwork from the Citadel LP) and new liner notes have be added (written
by the film's director, Steve Carver, probably at the time of the original
release but never used).
Gli Specialisti/15 Forche per un Assassino ***
ANGELO F. LAVAGNINO/FRANCESCO DE MASI
Beat CDCR 28
22 tracks - 58:11
Lavagnino scored many westerns in his career and Gli Specialisti
has never before been available in complete form (a 1988 French CD titled
Le
Specialiste et Autres Westerns d'Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, EVB CD
101, contained only 5 selections from this 1969 score). Beat's release
has 11 tracks and the best is the melodious main title ("Gli Specialisti
- Seq. 1") which doesn't sound particularly like western music but is quite
pleasing to the ear. Unfortunately, the balance of the score fails to measure
up. There are four comic saloon compositions (tracks 4, 5, 8 and 10) which
distract from the dramatic edge of the score. The seventh selection offers
a bit of variety with its Latin flavor and nice flutes but the remaining
cuts are all suspense cues of minor interest. Gli Specialisti ,
while a welcome release for western fans, is not one of Lavagnino's better
scores.
15 Forche per un Assassino, a 1968 score, is here released for
the first time, also in 11 selections. Like the preceding score De Masi
uses a small orchestra and makes little use of the exciting main title.
In this instance, the main theme appears only in full length on the first
track, "Fifteen Gallows - Seq. 1." It is brassy and rousing features an
electric guitar passage. Some pleasant Latin music, a De Masi specialty,
is used throughout and makes good use of acoustic guitar. Harmonica is
also utilized and is best showcased in "Fifteen Gallows - Seq. 7" and "Seq.
9." And "Seq. 11" has a Latin beat with voices. Two of the suspense tracks
contain excerpts of the main theme, and it is the action and suspense music
which make up the majority of the score.
The disc's sound quality is fine and the booklet's graphics are nice,
but the lack of liner notes and no individual track titles takes away from
the overall presentation. Neither score is a classic but fans of Italian
westerns or these two composers will not hesitate to add this to their
collections. Let's hope that there are other western scores in the Neapolis
library that will be released by Beat in the future.
Un Uomo da Rispettare *** 1/2
ENNIO MORRICONE
SLCS-7264
9 tracks- 36:24
Japan's SLC continues their CBS reissue series with this overlooked
1972 drama which starred Kirk Douglas. The release duplicates the previous
Italian and French LPs and has great sound. Except for one track on a 1975
Morricone compilation, this music has not been available in any other format
since the original vinyl release. Un Uomo da Rispettare is an atmospheric
and moody score which built around the dramatic main title theme, best
developed in the lengthy first cut, "Un Uomo a Rispettare." Morricone uses
the trumpet in this theme which lends the score a jazzy feel. This primary
theme reappears on the tracks "Colpo Parallelo," "L'Incarico" (which adds
a new trumpet passage) and "Un Uomo da Rispettare" (the final track, a
shortened version of the initial cut). "Un Tempo Infinito" is an atonal
composition full of strange sounds and unnerving electronics, while "18
Pari" mixes contemporary music with light jazz via electric keyboards,
flute and percussion. The remaining three tracks feature the love theme
from the film, which is a typically romantic theme performed by strings.
The contrast between the ominous and moody main theme with the sweet
and romantic love theme is the heart and soul of this score -- a fine example
of atmospheric and dramatic music. Morricone's experimentation with electronics
is also evident as is his appreciation for jazz. It's a worthwhile score
which hasn't been widely available in many years. SLC's packaging is deluxe
and beautifully illustrated, but the generous liner notes are only printed
in Japanese -- a major annoyance for non-Japanese readers as this score
is unlikely to be reissued elsewhere.
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