I listened to the La-La Land edition of BANDOLERO this weekend to see if my opinion might have changed. It still is a great Goldsmith score with some wonderful highlights, but I do still find it too moody and sparse towards the back half. It's main theme is incredibly versatile and memorable, plus it has elements of the awesome acoustic experimentation Goldsmith was showcasing in the 60's. I turned to HOUR OF THE GUN and ONE LITTLE INDIAN afterwards, however, and found that these two Western scores play better as extended listens, maybe due to more emotional content they display.
Mouth harp plus whistling = displeasure for me. I think it's his weakest, most self-referential Western, as if he was going through the motions more here than elsewhere. It's probably my least-listened to Goldsmith Western, and I have everything available.
But it's a Goldsmith Western, so I listen to it more often than anything else with either whistling or mouth harp. And I love El Jefe, and weirdly, the saloon tack piano and harmonium version of theme, so go figure.
BANDOLERO! is one of the last, late sixties family audience (despite the violence) drive-in movies, the top half of a double bill. Those that don't like the score should try listening to it in mono coming from a tinny speaker hanging on your car's drive-side window.
It also makes for a good home video double-feature with 5 CARD STUD on a hot summer afternoon with some burritos and beer.
