From Spaghetti Westerns to giallo thrillers, James Hammond introduces the 10 most important Ennio Morricone soundtracks on vinyl.
Ennio Morricone is one of the most inimitable composers in contemporary music- the trumpeter who broke with convention and mastered composition, the pop arranger who melded the wonders of non-instrumental sounds with airwave-ready song structure, the writer of concert hall symphonies, practitioner of the avant-garde, master of the melodic, and ultimately, the creator of some of the most innovative and memorable movie soundtracks of the 20th century. Recent counts suggest his works in this medium number well over the 400 mark, and whilst it’s a number which assures a number of forgettable and unrealized releases, there’s also an unusually large proportion of works which broke new ground that still retain their vivacity and oft surreal charms.
In compiling a list of these iconoclastic and key works, it’s impossible not to leave out the readily whistled masterpieces that were forged for Sergio Leone’s Italian Westerns, yet with a focus on innovation, Morricone’s work extended far beyond the Italian West, and into the inner workings of the mob, the crime riddled sleaze of the giallo thrillers, the meeting of Viennese 12 tone with the folk music of the Amazon, and striking studies in suspense and horror. The list below focuses on his original soundtrack recordings on vinyl, of which there has been several lovingly presented reissues this year, but for the uninitiated there’s also a couple of rather fine compilations out there for a more succinct glance at this vast body of work- particularly Crime and Dissonance (a selection hand picked by Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls and Sublime Frequencies), and A Fistful of Music, which presents a collection of his main themes.
You can listen to all ten records in this playlist as you read, or click on the links below to hear each track individually.
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