Ennio Morricone - Film Music, Vol.1

No Fistful of Ennio

Ennio Morricone wrote great soundtrack music, that's for certain. But no retrospective of his work is complete without the inclusion of more than one lone example from the three mid-60's "spaghetti westerns" he scored for Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood. Anyone familiar with the UNITED ARTISTS label LPs of "Fistful Of Dollars," "For A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" might agree with this.

As for what's here-- most of ENNIO MORRICONE * FILM MUSIC Volume 1 is forgettable incidental stuff. Except for "The Battle Of Algiers (Theme)," the opening and closing tracks are the best. They bookend what turns out to be a disappointing collection, lacking in both liner notes and the brilliance Morricone demonstrated over a 30 year span. January 31, 2007

I would call some of these pieces "newage"...

Moscow Farewell is definitely my pick of the lot. Sacco And Vanzetti was a pleasant surprise once I listened to it a couple of times. It is lively and could be played on a wedding dance floor for the whole family. This is great album to listen to while in bed! August 1, 2006

Simply a 'Must Purchase' for those with a passing interest in Morricone's work

Arguably one of the greatest (if not the greatest) Film composer of the 20th Century. Not only has he scored some of the most influential and instantly recognisable pieces of film music during his roughly 50 years of composing atmospheric film scores. Whether he's providing the spooky dramatics for a spaghetti Western" or constructing the ingenious use of classical arrangements of brooding cinematic pieces, he has (in most cases) consistently delivered contemporary music that has provided the atmospheric foil for the picture in question. And with a collection of musical influences that were as far ranging as: classical, jazz, pop, rock, electronic, avant-garde, and Italian music, he is able to deliver a variety of film scores that are as diverse as they are beautifully composed.

This compilation is collection of some of the seminal, gritty, theatrical, and dramatic film music, that would go on to define his career, via reflective orchestration and memorable motifs, ingenious use of diverse arrangements and instrumentation. There is a majority of his highlights on this disc, with the magnificently brooding "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" opening the disk. what follows is a truly sublime collection of music that is in parts truly beautiful and utterly atmospheric, so tracks such as "Once Upon A Time In The West", benefit from the haunting melodies and stirring volins, that are possibly more in tone with orchestrated music than contemporary music. Or the quiet piano introspection and melancholic arrangements that make up "Moscow Farewell", are simply deserving of being placed amongst the finest soundtrack compositions ever. "Dedicace", contains some of the most litting melodies in recent memory, impossibly sad and affecting, it is a haunting bittersweet composition that is both organic & reflective, over which the volins provide the musical backdrop. And that's without the mention of "For Love One Can Die", the autumnal orchestrated track, that pulls from Italian sweeping gangster original film scores, and makes a hushed and dissonant recording, that feels like a sublime throwback to the mafia-related shenanigans of 60's chicago via the use of restrained piano, that really is quite lovely and adds substantial weight to the composition.

If you are looking for a Ennio Morricone compilation....short of buying a boxset, you'd be hard pressed in beating this for value for money. It's a fantastic summary of his work and covers a fair amount of material. And is the perfect introduction to his work, (especially if you just want to buy one compilation of his work). This is highly recommended to fans both old and new, and is boosted by the compilers making a great job of the selection. So if you don't want to have to splash out on an expensive disk, to hear his influential work...this really is the first place you should start. September 13, 2005

ENNIO MORRICONE - FILM MUSIC, VOL. 1

HAVING HEARD EXERPTS OF THE MUSIC BEFORE, IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I
WANTED. August 16, 2005

A collection of Morricone's most popular and entertaining

Volume I of III, of this 'best of' Morricone trilogy, is the best of the three. This volume consists of music that can be listened to alone and socially, with some of the most catchy and minimalist rhythms you'll ever hear. You'll listen to this album and wonder what movie you've heard that song from before(Morricone's canon being primarily for film scores). If you're hear because you're trying to get the song from a movie, and you've never really heard of Morricone before, then you've luckily stumbled upon some of the best music I've ever heard. Or, if you're a Morricone fan and you'er looking for a good compilation, since Morricone has done too many film scores to even possibly own them all, then this is good to have. I wouldn't really reccommend Volume II and III unless you're looking or a very comprehensive collection of Morricone, since Volume I seems to me to carry his most absolute best. Definetely buy this album, it's very good. July 30, 2005

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