Moon Dawg's Spaghetti Western Page
Moon Dawg is a regular contributor to Cowabunga, a mine of infromation on instrumental music and an all round nice guy. Here, he casts his eye over some spaghetti western soundtrack cd's.
Review them All and Come Back Alone:
The Moon Dawg Guide to Spaghetti Western Soundtrack CDs
key:
***** = brilliant, essential even for non-collectors of the genre
**** = highly recommended
*** = good, well worth having
** = fair, worth having for collectors
* = yawn, only if you have money to burn
(#) = # of instrumental tracks from the film included, typically 2-4
minutes long each
s = suite, i.e. medley of themes from the film, typically 5-8 minutes
long
v = vocal with lyrics
Note: Full spaghetti soundtrack albums typically contain some number of non-melodic "suspense" tracks interspersed with multiple repetitions of the main theme. Some have a few "saloon music" tracks. If you have no patience for such music, stay away from the full soundtrack albums and stick with the compilations. Coming from a grounding in surf music, I have a strong preference for hummable melodies, and I’ve rated the soundtracks accordingly.
ENNIO MORRICONE
The originator and master of the spaghetti western. In contrast to the grand, herioc scores that composers like Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, and Dmitri Tiomkin provided for grand, heroic Hollywood westerns, Morricone provided scores to match the bleak, grotesque, and often over-the-top westerns of Italian directors like Leone, Corbucci, Tessari, and Sollima. His innovative arrangements characteristically featured electric guitar (an instrument Morricone reportedly could play himself, and whose specific tones in each arrangement he carefully chose), acoustic guitar, harmonica, solo trumpet (sometimes recalling Nino Rota’s scores for Fellini, sometimes mariachi music), oboe or ocarina, and of course the incredible whistling of Alessandro Alessandroni.
The Legendary Italian
Westerns (RCA 9974-2-R) *****
[31 tracks, 73:31]
Gunfight at Red Sands (v); Guns Don’t Argue (2+v); A Fistful of Dollars (7); A Gun for Ringo [aka A Pistol for Ringo] (4); For a Few Dollars More (8); Ringo Rides Again [aka The Return of Ringo, aka Pistolero] (1); 7 Guns for the MacGregors (2); Death Rides a Horse (1); Once Upon a Time in the West (4) -- Essential. Best place to get the genre-defining scores to "Fistful" (includes everything on the original soundtrack LP except the reprise-it-all suite on side B) and "Few Dollars More," both of which are strong from start to finish. Plus you get the gorgeous title track to the pre-Leone western "Guns Don’t Argue" (later covered by late, great spaghetti-surf band Death Valley), and a sample of "Once Upon a Time in the West." Widely available at $10 or less, a real bargain. Informative liner notes are included.
Western Quintet (DRG 32907)
***
[2 CDs, 54 tracks,
156:41 --hey, how does DRG fit more than 74 minutes on each
disc?]
Il Mio Nome e’ Nessuno [My Name is Nobody] (10); Occhio all Penna [A Fist Goes West] (15); Giu’ la Testa [A Fistful of Dynamite/ Duck you Sucker] (11); Tepepa [Blood and Guns] (10); Vamos a Matar, Companeros [Companeros!] (8) -- The first three films are comedic, the last two set in Mexico, and the scores reflect this. They’re not as bleak/grotesque/compelling as the famous scores to the Eastwood-Leone trilogy, and to me not nearly as memorable, with the exception of a couple of tracks from My Name is Nobody. As with all DRG releases, and unlike the Beat releases listed below, there are informative liner notes.
Death Rides a Horse / A
Pistol for Ringo / The Return of Ringo (RCA Italy OST 107)***
[26 tracks,
56:01]
Death Rides a Horse (7+v); A Pistol for Ringo [aka A Gun for Ringo] (9+v); The Return of Ringo [aka Ringo Rides Again, aka Pistolero] (7+v) -- Death Rides a Horse is a memorable and dramatic flute-dominated score (the movie is great, too). Pistol for Ringo is okay; I can’t say much for the third one.
Once Upon a Time in the West
***
[13 tracks,
38:23]
I have the LP; I know there’s a CD version available, but I don’t have release data. I personally don’t care much for the saccharine-strings title track, but there’s some great gnarly fuzz guitar and harmonica on the incidental tracks.
Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il
Cattivo [The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly ]/ La Resa dei Conti [The
Big Gundown] (Vivimusica VCDS 70060) ****
[24 tracks,
58:27]
Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo (10+v); La Resa dei Conti (12+v) -The title theme of the first score is, of course, definitive and indispensible. Yes, even if you got tired of the 30 seconds of it behind that Microsoft commercial about the schoolkids measuring saguaro cactuses (ironically, the movie was filmed in Spain, where unless I'm wrong there are no saguaros). The rest of the score is okay, but not up to Fistful or Few Dollars More. La Resa dei Conti has gnarly guitar work on a few tracks.
Il Mercenario [A
Professional Gun]/ Faccia a Faccia [Face to Face] (Vivimusica VCDS
7018) ***
[31 tracks, 60:54] - Il
Mercenario (15); Faccia a Faccia (16)
The first score has the most incredibly virtuosic whistling of chromatic scales; the second has a lot of nonmelodic filler "suspense" tracks.
Navajo Joe (Legend CD 21)
***
[16 tracks]
Title track is memorable; much of the rest is restatements or suspenseful "filler," but it's high-quality filler.
DOMINIC FRONTIERE: Hang ‘em
High / ENNIO MORRICONE: Guns for San Sebastian (Sony AK 47705) **
[24 tracks, 66:12] -
Hang ‘em High (10); Kelly’s Heroes (Schifrin)(1); Guns (13)
Quick, which other Morricone theme does the overture to Guns sound so much like? I do believe it’s the secondary theme ("Mucchio Selvaggio") to My Name is Nobody. Hang ‘em High sounds better here, as done by electric guitar and harmonica than in the Booker T & the MGs organ-led cover version. The pairing isn’t really so odd, even though the movie wasn’t produced in Europe, so isn’t technically a spaghetti western, because Frontiere’s work was clearly Morricone-inspired.
BRUNO NICOLAI
After Morricone, Nicolai was the most Morricone-like and my favorite of the maestri degli spaghetti. He started out as Morricone’s conductor, so the resemblance isn’t surprising.
Buon Funerale Amigos ...
paga Sartana / Gli Fumavano le Colt ... Lo Chimavano Camposanto (Beat
CDCR 39) *****
[21 tracks, 50:25] -
Buon Funerale Amigos ... paga Sartana (aka Have a Good Funeral, My
Friend) (11); Gli Fumavano le Colt ... Lo Chimavano Camposanto
(10)
All killer, no filler! These are two of the few scores that bearrepeated listening from start to finish. "Buon Funerale Amigos" (from 1970) is my single favorite spaghetti western soundtrack, Morricone notwithstanding. Great melodic theme (which has been rearranged inventively for guitars and covered by Rick Mills’ great spaghetti-western band The Hellbenders), great moody variations. "Gli Fumavano le Colt" is also very cool. Two tracks from each score appear on the compilation "My Delicious Spaghetti Western" (see below), but there’s much more to hear.
Land Raiders (Prometheus
128) ***
(Prometheus PCD 128) [14 tracks, 42:38]
Made a year earlier, this score strongly anticipates the melody and arrangements of "Buon Funerale Amigos". (Or, you could say that BFA almost recapitulates Land Raiders.) Rightly considered one of the great spaghetti soundtracks, and essential for the completist, but if you have BFA, you can pass on it. (Of course, you’reunlikely to run across it unless you are a completist looking for it.)
Il Mio Nome e' Shangai Joe /
I Giorni della Violenza **
(EMI/ Point CDCR 123) [15 tracks, 72:59] - Shagai Joe (14), I Giorni
(37:45 suite)
Made in 1973, "Shangai Joe" shamelessly recycles the main theme from BFA, but the far-eastern-sounding incidental music adds new melodies and interesting variations. "Giorni" is a forgettable Hollywoodish score.
Un Uomo Chiamato Apocalisse
Joe / Lo Chiamavano Tresette ****
(Beat CDCR 45) [31 tracks, 76:57] - Apocalisse Joe (17); Tresette
(14)
The stars are almost entirely for the first score, which is melodic, compelling, listenable all the way through, and - best of all - heavy on the fuzz guitar. The 17 tracks move back and forth nicely between varied statements of a moody theme (featuring fuzz guitar, harpsichord, some kind of flute or ocarina, and oboe) and a galloping theme (guitar, brass, and strings). The second is a lighthearted orchestral score with bluegrass (banjo and fiddle) and honky-tonk passages.
100,000 Dollari per Ringo
(Pan CDS 2501) **
[16 tracks,
41:20]
A couple of guitar-led pieces are good, but the rest is moreorchestral and Hollywoodish than Nicolai’s better scores.
FRANCESCO DE MASI
The most prolific spaghetti maestro after Morricone, De Masi had one foot in the camp of pre-spaghetti (Hollywood) westerns and one foot in the Morricone camp.
Western Soundtracks (Beat
CDCR 22) ***
[28 tracks, 69:42] - Vado ... L'ammazzo e Torno (8+v); Sartana non
Perdona (5+2v); Ammazzali Tutti e Torna Solo (7+2v); Ben &
Charlie (3)
The best all-around De Masi collection. The most melodic tracks are also on the compilation "My Delicious Spaghetti Western," but the remainder is also listenable.
L'Uomo Della Valle Maledetta
/ La Sfida dei MacKenna / ...E Venne il Tempo di Uccidere (Beat CDCR
47) ***
[33 tracks, 70:42] -
L'Uomo Della Valle Maledetta (15); La Sfida dei MacKenna (10); ...E
Venne il Tempo di Uccidere (8)
The first score is ho-hum in a pre-spaghetti style; the second is one of De Masi’s best, very much in the Morricone vein; the third is pretty good.
Il Segno del Coyote / C'e
Sartana ... Vendi la Pistola e Comprati la Bara (Beat CDCR 40)
**
[21 tracks, 49:21] - Il Segno (13); C’e Sartana [aka Fistful of Lead]
(7); bonus jingle track
Il Segno was a Zorro-clone movie, and the score is forgettable. C'e Sartana is a great movie, but after the cool main theme (comped on MDSW), there's not much added by the rest.
Il Ranch degli Spietati /
Una Bara per lo Sceriffo (Beat CDCR 44) **
[25 tracks, 47:10] -
Una Bara per lo Sceriffo (7+v); Il Ranch degli Spietati [aka Oklahoma
John] (16+v)
Un Bara varies between (a) melancholy harmonica over acoustic strumming, and (b) grand brass and strings over reverbed guitar and snare drum providing hoofbeat rhythms. Il Ranch continues the same formula.
Lone Wolf McQuade (Beat CDCR
26) **
(24 tracks,
58:00)
Okay, the movie (set in the present, made for US television) isn’t technically a spaghetti western, but the soundtrack is in that style (with Alessandroni’s whistling and de Gemini’s harmonica), "updated"with synthesized keyboards. Good main title, but inconsistently interesting after that.
7 Dollari sul Rosso / Quella
Sporca Storia nel West (CAM CSE 800-124)***
[33 tracks, 71:15] - 7 Dollari (13+v); Storia (18+v)
Not only lotsa minutes on the CD, but two very hummable scores.
DE MASI: Ringo il Caviliere
Solitario / GIAN PIERO REVERBERI: Una Colt in Pugno al Diavolo /
BRUNO NICOLAI: L’Ultimo Mercenario (Beat CDCR 32) **
[19 tracks, 57:49] -
Ringo il Caviliere Solitario (7); Una Colt in Pugno al Diavolo (4);
L’Ultimo Mercenario (8)
Odd combination. De Masi’s score is very good. The few tracks from Reverberi’s (what a great name!) are even better. But Nicolai’s doesn’t belong here, as it goes to a WWII movie, so you don’t get all that much spaghetti per dollar spent. I don’t know why Beat didn’t instead include De Masi’s "15 Forche" (see next).
ANGELO FRANCESCO LAVAGINO:
Gli Specialisti / FRANCESCO DE MASI: 15 Forche per un Assassino (Beat
CDCR 28) **
[22 tracks, 58:08] - Gli Specialisti (11); 15 Forche per un Assassino
(11)
A bit of fuzz guitar on one incidental track of "Gli Specialisti," otherwise pleasant but nothing special. "15 Forche" has a catchy title track and some lively Mexicana incidental tracks.
LUIS BACALOV
Bacalov’s incidental tracks tend toward less melody, more dissonance than Morricone’s.
The Italian Western of Luis
Bacalov (Vivimusica 7014) ***
[28 tracks, 73:10] -
Django (5+v); Quien Sabe [aka A Bullet for the General] (5); La Piu
Grande Rapina del West (5); L’Oro dei Bravados (4); Si Puo Fare
...Amigo (s+v); Sugar Colt (6)
A good-value-for-money sampler of Bacalov’s work.
Il Grande Duello / Si Puo'
Fare ... Amigo (EMI/ Point PRCD 120) ***
[24 tracks, 57:11] - Il Grande Duello (10); Si Puo’ Fare ... Amigo
(13+v)
The main theme to the first movie is one of the great spaghetti melodies, arranged for lonesome harmonica, woodwinds, and moody whistling. It is inventively restated and varied throughout the score. The second movie is a comedy, but the score is less lightweight than you might expect. The arrangements are an interesting mix of harmonica, woodwinds, and strings, with occasional glockenspiel and fuzz guitar.
La Piu Grande Rapina del
West / L'Oro dei Bravados (EMI GDM 2008) **
[22 tracks, 62:00] - La Piu Grande Rapina (13); L'Oro (9)
The first score is lightweight. The second offers three versions of a simple title theme, masterfully arranged for acoustic and fuzz guitars, harmonica, harspichord, jew’s harp, whistling, and clarinet. The incidental tracks are unusually varied and listenable.
Django (Alhambra A 8930)
***
[15+3v tracks, 41:12]
A fine main theme (interestingly placed as track 9) and Mexicana incidental music.
A Man Called Noon (Alhambra
A 8935) *
[13 tracks, 31:02]
The main theme is kinda saccharine; the rest is fairly bland (perhaps appropriately, given that Richard Crenna was the star of the movie - although the movie is pretty good).
PIERO PICCIONI
...Si Incontri Sartana Prega
per la tua Morte (EMI/ Point PRCD 124) **
[27 tracks, 58:16]
The organ-led main theme ("Sycamore Trails") and reprises sound almost like Booker T. doing a spaghetti western (except for the additional harpsichord), which is cool enough. The rest is mostly piano-dominated background music.
PICCIONI: Quel Caldo
Maledetto Giorno di Fuoco / Attento Gringo ... E’ Tornato Sabata /
MANUEL DE SICA: Lo Chiamavano Verita (Beat CDCR 31) *
[19 tracks, 45:21] - Quel Caldo (12); Attento Gringo (3); Verita
(4)
The jazzy, organ-led main theme for Quel Caldo (you also get 5 reprises, plus a bunch of virtually tuneless "suspense" tracks) foreshadows Piccioni’s later work on Italian soft-core films (check out the comps Beat at Cinecitta, vols. 1&2), though there is spaghetti-ish harmonica on some tracks. Nothing special in the other two scores.
STELVIO CIPRIANI
The Bounty Killer / Un Uomo,
Un Cavallo, Una Pistola / Nevada (CAM CSE 800-147) ***
[27 tracks, 62:22] -
Bounty Killer (9); Uomo (11); Nevada (6+v)
The first two scores are very Morricone-like and catchy.
LALLO GORI
Buckaroo [Il Winchester che
non Perdona] ***
(Beat CDCR 42) [19+v tracks, 46:05]
Good galloping main theme with trumpet; the best incidental tracks feature acoustic guitars, electric bass, and the great harmonica of Franco de Gemini.
BENEDETTO GHIGLIA
Adios Gringo / Un Dollaro
tra i Denti [A Stranger in Town] (CAM 1CSE800-119) **
[25 tracks, 56:13] -Adios (16); Dollaro (9)
The title theme to the first movie is good, but do you really need 10(!!) versions, arranged for different instruments? And 4 versions ofthe secondary theme? The second score is almost as repetitive, but features cool guitar tones.
DANIELE PATUCCHI
Los Amigos (CAM CSE 075)
*
[9 tracks, 26:54]
The mellow trumpets and flutes make this sound more like music for a ‘70s British TV show than for a spaghetti western. Maybe it’s merciful that it’s so short.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
KOJUCHAROV & MANCUSO:
Una Lunga Fila di Croci / RUSTICHELLI: Tutti per uno Botte per Tutti
/ MIGLIARDI: Prega il Morto e Ammazza il Vivo (Beat CDCR 35)
***
[31 tracks, 74:50] - Una Lunga Fila (6+2v); Tutti per Uno (13); Prega
il Morto (8+2v)
This disc starts slowly but gets better. Two tracks made it on to the MDSW comp, but it’s all pretty good. The first score is fairly standard; the second is a curious mix of Mexicana and Orientalia, with a little bit of Circus thrown in. The third - for a Chuck Connors vehicle - is dark, dissonant, and percussive, in interesting ways.
My Delicious Spaghetti
Western (Dago Red 102-2) *****
[16 tracks,
41:25]
DE MASI: C’e Sartana ... Vendi la Pistola e Comprati la Bara [aka Fistful of Lead] (1); Vado ... L’Ammazzo e Torno (3+v); Ammazzali Tutti e Torna Solo (v); Sartana non Perdona (1); Il Segno del Coyote (1); NICOLAI: Buon Funerale Amigos ... Paga Sartana [aka Have a Good Funeral, My Friend] (2); Gli Fumavano le Colt ... Lo Chiamavano Camposanto (2); GORI: Buckaroo (2); MIGLIARDI: Prega il Morto ed Ammazza il Vivo (1); KOJUCHAROV - MANCUSO: Una Lunga Fila di Croci (1) - If you’re looking for an introduction to the greatest spaghetti composers after Morricone, this is the perfect place to start. If you’re already prepared to take a big plunge, you could skip this disc and just buy the Nicolai, De Masi, Gori, and Kojucharov-Mancuso soundtracks on the Beat label that are excerpted here.
The Fantastic World of
Spaghetti Western (Vivimusica 7016) ***
[30 tracks,
64:14]
MORRICONE: Vamos a Matar Companeros (v), Tepepa (v), I Crudeli [aka The Hellbenders] (4), Che C’entriamo noi con la Rivoluzione? (1); ORTOLANI: Una Ragione per Vivere e Una per Morire (4); PICCIONI: Se Incontri Sartana Prega per la tua Morte (4); Trovaioli: I Lunchi Giorni della Vendetta (5); DE MASI: [Sette] Winchester per un Massacro (3+v); ABRIL: Texas, Addio (5+v)
Only place I know to get four tracks from Morricone’s percussive cool-jazz-spaghetti score to "The Hellbenders", plus some other good stuff.
Wanted Dead or Alive (CAM
900-020) ***
[20 tracks, 68:25]
MORRICONE: Duello nel Texas (s), La Banda J&S - Cronaca Criminale del Far West (2); LAVAGNINO: 5,000 Dollari sull’Asso (1); PICCIONI: Minnesota Clay (2); FERRIO: Un Dollaro Bucato (1); Vivi or Preferibilimente Morti (v); GHIGLIA: Adios Gringo (1); CIPRIANI: The Bounty Killer (s); Un Uomo, Un Cavallo, Una Pistola (1); DE MASI: Arizona Colt (v); Quella Sporca Storia nel West (v); RUSTICHELLI: Dio Perdona ... Io No (s); NICOLAI: Corri, Uomo Corri (2); COLAROSSI: All’Ultimo Sangue (1); BACALOV: Il Prezzo del Potere (1); PATUCCHI: Los Amigos (2)
Good compilation of highlights from soundtracks available on the CAM label.
Spaghetti Westerns vol. 1
(DRG 32905) *****
[2 discs, 77 tracks,
152:06]
DI STEFANO: Shango [aka The Invincible Gun] (3); DE MASI: Quanto Costa Morire (2+v); DONAGGIO: Amore Piombe e Furore (2); BIXIO: Ed Ora Raccomana L’anima a Dio [aka And Now Recommend Your Soul to God] (1+v); IGANTE, NADIN, & BASCERANO: Wanted Johnny Texas (3), Prega Dio e Scavati la Fossa [aka Pray to God and Dig your Grave] (3); FERRIO: Quei Disperati che Puzzano di Sudore e di Morte [aka Los Desperados] (4), Amico Stammi Lontano Almeno un Palmo [aka Ben and Charlie](6); SIMONETTI: Kid il Monello del West (1); PREGADIO: Deserto di Fuoco (2+v); BIXIO, FRIZZI, & TEMPERA: Carambola (3), Carambola Filotto Tutti in Buca (2); MORRICONE: Giu’ la Testa [aka Duck you Sucker, aka A Fistful of Dynamite](1); LAVAGNINO: Uno Straniero a Paso Bravo (2+v), Requium per un Gringo (4); Johnny West il Mancino (3+v); ORTOLANI: La Notte dei Serpenti (5+v); RUSTICHELLI: Vado Vedo e Sparo (2); UMILIANI: Roy Colt & Winchester Jack (s); MARTELLI: Sartana nella Valle degli Avvoltoi (3), Ancora Dollari per i McGregors (1)
Essential. Where else are you going to hear themes to so many obscure spaghetti westerns? Some of the composers are equally obscure, but here you get just the high points of their Morricone-style film work.
Spaghetti Westerns vol. 2
(DRG 32909) ****
[2 discs, 63 tracks,
150:49]
NICOLAI: 100,000 Dollari per Ringo (1); SAVINA: I Due Gringos del Texas (3); PREGADIO & RIZZATI: Django, L’Ultimo Killer (4); BACALOV: Si Puo’ Fare ... Amigo (2+v), La Piu’ Grande Rapina del West (1), L’Oro dei Bravados (1), Il Grande Duello (2), Quien Sabe? [aka A Bullet for the General] (1), Sugar Colt (1), I Quattro del Pater Noster (3), Monta in Sella, Figlio di ... (4), Lo Chiamavano King [aka His Name was King] (1+s), La Morte Sull’Alta Collina (2), Partirono Preti e Tornarono Curati (2+v), Django (v); Lo Chiamavano Mezzogiorno [aka A Man Called Noon] (1); MORRICONE: Tepepa (1), Vamos a Matar, Companeros (1), I Crudeli [aka The Hellbenders] (1), Che C’Entriamo noi con la Rivoluzione? (1), Il Mio Nome e’ Nessuno [aka My Name is Nobody]; ORTOLANI: Una Ragione per Vivere e Una per Morire [aka A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die](1); PICCIONI: Io non Perdona ... Uccido (3), Nel Nome del Padre, del Figlio e della Colt (2), Una Colt in Mano al Diavolo (2), Se Incontri Sartana, Prega per la tua Morte (2); TALLINO: Killer, Adios! (4); TROVAIOLI: I Lunghi Giorni della Vendetta (1); ABRIL: Texas Addio (v); DE MASI: Sette Winchester per un Massacro (1); PES: Professionisti per un Massacro (s); PREGADIO: Un Buco in Fronte (7)
One fewer star than vol. 1 because more of these tracks are available elsewhere.
A note on web CD sellers: I found the following sources reliable - they filled my entire order promptly, or consulted me before shipping when they couldn’t:
CAM Soundtracks Italy ($15 per disc, s&h included)
Qualiton (only source for many of the Beat (Italy) discs, $17 each, 10% off for 10 or more)