Guitar takes the lead in the dramatic main theme from "Ringo, Il Volto Della Vendetta" (RINGO, FACE OF REVENGE, 1967). And is that an oboe alternating with the guitar? Whatever it is, it's an unusual choice for a western score.
Here's a change of pace. The main title for "Seven Pistols for a Massacre" (not to be confused with "Seven Winchesters for a Massacre") is sung by a woman--Giulia Rei. The song is The Only Girl He Loved.
There you are - told you, a better selection of italian western music would be hard to find. Thanks for the links bob! Theyre like pokemon - get one, gotta get em all!!
I spent all morning, Bob, listening to those tracks you downloaded. All of them are very good. Arizona Colt is one of my favorites.
It is interesting to see how many Americans migrated from Hollywood to Italian (maybe Spanish too) westerns. Of course there is Lee Van Cleef, Gilbert Rowland, Guy Madison, and many more. Kookie? Ed Byrnes? That’s an oldie but goodie memory. Is the reason so many Americans migrated to these movies because parts in Hollywood were dwindling? Of course, Clint Eastwood doing the Dollar Trilogy certainly helped his career.
De Masi is really good. Love his various melodies and themes. He does soft, sad, thoughtful melodies and great action music.
Yes, I’m convinced that is an oboe in Ringo II, and it works perfectly in context. Who would have thought to use an oboe in a western?
Below is a topic I did in 2004 about Italian westerns. We were toying with coming up with aspects of music that seem to be signature sounds in most Italian westerns.
This De Masi song from "Quella Sporca Storia nel West" (JOHNNY HAMLET in the U.S.) is about as sweeping and lyrical as western songs come.
That voice! He sounds like Weird Al Yankovic belting out SPY HARD. Compare:
Once you get past the title song, the score is indeed sweeping and lyrical, and also uptempo the way Joan likes them. I bought the CD but for listening purposes I cloned it and omitted the song:
Yep, I do like "tempo" in my westerns; I really do. I also enjoy listening to slower pieces. I certainly liked what Morricone could do with the slow melodies he composed for the TEN minute stand offs between two gunfighters. (We got to see very nook and cranny of their faces.)
While this is not by De Masi, here is another favorite track of mine by Morricone from 7 Pistole Per I MacGregor. It starts at 5:37 in this video.
It is interesting to see how many Americans migrated from Hollywood to Italian (maybe Spanish too) westerns. Of course there is Lee Van Cleef, Gilbert Rowland, Guy Madison, and many more. Kookie? Ed Byrnes? That’s an oldie but goodie memory. Is the reason so many Americans migrated to these movies because parts in Hollywood were dwindling? Of course, Clint Eastwood doing the Dollar Trilogy certainly helped his career.
The number of American actors that appeared in Eurowesterns is legion. Among them:
Claude Akins R.G. Armstrong Carroll Baker Martin Balsam Lex Barker Richard Basehart Anne Baxter William Berger Richard Boone Ernest Borgnine Stephen Boyd Charles Bronson Jim Brown Yul Brynner Victor Buono Edd Byrnes Rory Calhoun Rod Cameron Harry Carey, Jr. Richard Carlson James Coburn Anjanette Comer Chuck Conners Richard Conte Alex Cord Joseph Cotten Broderick Crawford Richard Crenna Arlene Dahl James Daly Mark Damon Joe De Santis Dan Duryea Clint Eastwood Jack Elam Ron Ely John Ericson Lola Falana Henry Fonda Sean Flynn Anne Francis James Garner Farley Granger Ty Hardin Brad Harris Richard Harrison Sterling Hayden Van Heflin Craig Hill Jeffrey Hunter Tab Hunter John Huston John Ireland Sam Jaffe Van Johnson Martin Landau Janet Leigh Sue Lyon Kevin McCarthy Guy Madison George Maharis John Marley Cameron Mitchell Gordon Mitchell James Mitchum George Montgomery Audie Murphy Don Murray Tony Musante Joe Namath Julie Newmar Leslie Neilsen Warren Oates Jack Palance Brock Peters James Philbrook Slim Pickens Michael J. Pollard Anthony Quinn Steve Reeves Burt Reynolds Jason Robards Gilbert Roland Telly Savalas John Saxon William Shatner Rod Steiger Stella Stevens Woody Strode Russ Tamblyn Lee Van Cleef Mamie Van Doren Eli Wallach Dennis Weaver Adam West Stuart Whitman Robert Woods
Wow, Bob, that is a huge list. Thanks for sharing it. Am I right to think that many of these stars did Eurowesterns because they weren't offered decent parts in Hollywood? One the other hand, seems like a few of these stars didn't need to do Eurowesterns. I'm thinking of Henry Fonda. Maybe he came because Leone was getting very popular in America. Any thoughts?
Thanks to Joan and Bob B and of course Bob M for all this terrific stuff. I think of myself as lukewarm to spaghetti western scores, but some of these themes are great, especially the one you started off with, Joan. (I listened to the full ost on Spotify, and found the main theme the best part of the album, but also liked better the suite Bob posted, so it's another one that benefits from editing.)
Plus the de Masi Rambo bonus - that's hilarious, loved it enough that I found it at a good price on Amazon and snapped it up.
Here's a suite from the 1968 Chuck Conners Eurowestern "Kill Them All and Come Back Alone." The best part is De Masi's muscular main title, "Gold Again." The suite contains "Gold Again" / "Challenge to the Death" / "Gold End" / "Gold" (vocal by Raoul).
I second what Mike said. Great new cues. We need Bob D. to write a book about these westerns and their score. What a wealth of amazing information!! Thanks, Bob.
Arrrrgh! So much great music, so little money to try and acquire these scores.
Thanks for posting these samples everyone. Sometimes I despair when searching websites for Italian Western scores and cannot hear samples from some of the albums. There is SO MUCH out there and one really has to choose carefully when funds are aren't unlimited. Like Joan, I like my Western scores with a great tempo or rhythm. Scores that are quieter or have a more "De Guello" feel to them are OK but not my faves.
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