Ennio Morricone Albums (186)
'Il Maestro & Margherita'
Release Date 1/1/2008
Tracks 11
Label GDM Music
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'Ruba al Prossimo Tuo'
Release Date 1/1/2008
Tracks 17
Label Digitmovies
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What The Critics Say
The "giallo" genre of film is a certain kind of Italian thriller, and although it's not the sort of thing that Ennio Morricone is most known for scoring, he did do quite a few soundtracks for giallo movies. The 73-minute Morricone Giallo CD compilation has 22 excerpts from almost a dozen such soundtracks, all but three of the cuts taken from 1970-1972 movies (with one from a 1975 film and a couple from a 1983 film). As the liner notes point out, though the giallo soundtracks included a lot of bossa nova and Euro-lounge type sounds, this particular disc "focuses on the darker cues that Morricone spattered throughout his giallo soundtracks." So these recordings are very light on melodies and motifs, and instead heavy on noirish suspense and ambience. Morricone's work is so wide-ranging and versatile that it's impossible to say what a "typical" or "characteristic" effort by the composer is, but this collection is, perhaps, some of his more atypical stuff, if such a thing exists. There's little to hum or engage the listener tune-wise; the emphasis is on spooky orchestral swells, rattles, clattering drum patterns, occasional shivering gasps, ominous throbs and sprinkles of notes, atonal near free jazz, discordant bell-like tones, and such. It's usually not out-and-out horror movie material, but certainly maximizes edgy aural atmospherics that don't let you relax or let down your guard. As such, it's not recommended for the usual Morricone listener (again, if there is such a thing); it's more challenging, less entertaining, and less eclectic than the vast majority of Morricone compilations on the market. For those serious fans of the composer looking to investigate one of the less celebrated corners of his oeuvre, however, it's worthwhile and well assembled, though the liner notes are heavier on details of the actual movie plots than their scores. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'Morricone in the Brain'
Release Date 2/20/2007
Tracks 27
Label Cherry Red
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What The Critics Say
The theme of this compilation isn't obvious, other than to gather music from some of Ennio Morricone's more obscure films into one package. It does cover a lot of ground, the 27 tracks sampling from the soundtracks of no less than 17 movies the composer scored between 1965 and 1981. It's also less strange than the title and some of the annotation might lead you to expect, emphasizing his more gentle, placid, even -- dare we say -- sentimental side. Yes, there's some weirdness here and there -- the gothic choral voices of "Requiem Per Un Operaio," for instance, or the way "Recreazione Divertita" glides from easy listening to go-go organ psychedelia to football chants and soothing classical passages. But there are also high, winding wordless female vocals; slightly mushy, dainty orchestration; spare, lilting piano riffs; music box tinkles; and jaunty whistling, such elements sometimes combining within the same piece. There are relatively few of the twangy guitars or ominous chant-singing and off-the-wall instrumentation that count among the most distinguished trademarks of his work from this era, though these do surface occasionally via tracks such as "Slalom (Titoli Versione Film)." Just to keep you on your toes, though, there are jarring items verging on dissonance, like "Gli Intoccabili," the cheesy music hall synthetics of "Rag Nuziale (Primo Matrimonio)," and the funhouse jungle sounds of "La Scoperta Dell' America (Esotica)." Like some other Morricone anthologies on the Cherry Red group of labels, this collection performs a valuable service for serious fans of the composer, as it assembles a wealth of material from soundtracks that would be both hard to find and expensive to buy as a group. However, it's neither among his best material from the mid-'60s through the early '80s, nor fully representative of the scope of his work from that era. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'Il Il Trio Infernale'
Release Date 11/7/2006
Tracks 14
Label Dagored
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