Besides being utterly surprised at the highly prolific nature of this talented composer, Ennio Morricone’s music is of such an eclectic nature that it takes you into new dimensions. It takes you back in time across decades, high and low, all over the place. In the set displayed here on Kurrent Music, it is clear that he composes music for a wide variety of genres from highly experimental, high voltage, heart pumping music to seemingly western-sounding soundtracks. “Fistful of Dollars” is one such track that has modern and classic orchestra sounds with it, including the guitar front and center. “Un Amico” is one of the pieces that has a rock band along with the orchestra that is highly reminiscent of the 60s and 70s records that feature colorful textures and almost wall-of-sound type vision. “Ecstasy of Gold” is another western-sounding track, complete with a female voice up in the high soprano range. The soundtrack from the Sicilian Clan has almost a double 07, James Bond feel to it with the electric guitar in the middle of the texture and the harmonious strings that used to color the music of the 50s and 60s. This music is very homey in nature and the ear candy probability is awesome!
“Cinema Paradiso” is a really beautiful scale-driven passage that is mimicked on piano and violin and all throughout the strings. “Sean, Sean” is another passage with the high female vocal and the higher strings are mimicking this. A lot of this reminds me of the rose-colored lenses that the 60s seemed to promise, but didn’t deliver. It is very colorful. Whip out the tie die tee-shirts! I particularly love the colorful, suspenseful brass in The Battle of the Algiers soundtrack. I hear a chase scene going on there! The soundtrack from “My Name is Nobody” is particularly nostalgic for a number of different people who were around in the 70s. I wasn’t, but I plainly like the guitar, the rubber-band bass textures, the tingling bells and the female voice in the background.
The whole soundtrack has this sound of harkening back into the ages that are long ago and far away. It makes me want to get into a time machine and go and live in that culture and soak up all the music that came out of there. I’m betting that this composer’s soundtracks could still stand today as landmark marvels in music.
