SEASON OF THE SENSES La Stagione Dei Sensi Rockin' Morricone #33
This series is inspired by a controversy thread where someone posited the idea that besides THE MISSION and some Sergio Leone westerns Ennio Morricone hasn't written anything great. Rather than making my usual comment that most of Morricone's great scores are from Italy and trying to get Americans to listen to them is like getting them to see movies with subtitles, I decided to take another tact. Since I am at an age where I will only be able to make my case a finite number of times I decided to turn this into a series presenting each great score one at a time, sort of like recordman.
Isn't it pushing it a bit considering Morricone and rock? No. You need only have attended a Metallica concert to get a clue that Morricone has some impact, "Ecstasy of Gold" from THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY opens each concert as a build-up. But you don't need derivatives like that and Bruce Springsteen's Grammy winning ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST to make the rock connection. Morricone spent the fifties and sixties arranging and conducting albums for a whole lot of singers and a few of the Italian ones were into rock. And the number of rock pieces demanded in all kinds of films of that period is staggering. I remember even when an American video company, Sinister Cinema, used IL GIARDINO DELLE DELIZIE, one of his best, for their logo. That one was so good he did a variation of it in EXORCIST II, "Magic and Ecstasy". But I picked LA STAGIONI DEI SENSI for this category. Is this totally a rock score? No. That is more along the lines of DICIOTTENNI AL SOLE where Morricone wrote no less than four songs "Nicole,""Donna da morire,""Go-Kart" and "Twist no. 9"("Tweest, Tweest"). But I chose this one because the film is anti-youth and anti-hedonism so Ennio writes a more uncivilized, savage rock song:
...which I think is way cooler than some of the tamer rock of the period. Like all rock it ages immediately. There is an English version of one of the songs on the soundtrack that has the interjection "Sock it to me!" But there is also all kinds of psychedelic and sixties lounge and even a minuet. The film's director Massimo Franciosa was an Oscar nominated writer who dabbled in directing for awhile. He should have stayed with writing, his films are very talky. But this one has some bizarre twists probably contributed by co-writer Dario Argento.
I was blown away the first time I heard Morricone rockin' out on the QUATTRO MOSCHE DI VELLUTO GRIGIO (FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET) soundtrack. I don't think I've heard anything quite like it before or since. The vocals on this track used to annoy the heck out of me, but to be honest, they've kind of grown on me over the years (in a so-bad-it's-good sort of way). Hot damn, this is one scorchin' groove.
I was blown away the first time I heard Morricone rockin' out on the QUATTRO MOSCHE DI VELLUTO GRIGIO (FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET) soundtrack. I don't think I've heard anything quite like it before or since. The vocals on this track used to annoy the heck out of me, but to be honest, they've kind of grown on me over the years (in a so-bad-it's-good sort of way). Hot damn, this is one scorchin' groove.
Giallos are always going to be tough going even though ironically many of them have some of his best love themes.
The disc featuring this score is essential there is many great tracks and some superb moments by Edda La Stagione Dei Sensi is up and down with the the mood throughout still very enjoyable the songs are its weakest moments for me.The score for Vergogna Schifosi is light and breezy it's a trip you'll want to take again and again intoxicatingly good and intensely pleasurable.The other score on the disc Teorema is a mixed bag again two very good vocal tracks and some giallo type ones something for everyone I like it all.
Rock on, Maestro. This example continues to show us how very versatile Morricone has been over the decades. "Goovey!"
Which is funny because when I was young I didn't care for his rock stuff. Now that I am older I REALLY like a lot of it. Obviously I am not up on some of the new terms that you are , Joan. So "Goovey" to you, too!
This is another one of those that falls into the lower half (probably well-down) of my Maestro collection. The music isn't bad but it does not have that play me! pull that so many of his other scores do.
The vocals by Patrick Sampson are a definite turn-off for me ... it may not be 60's boy band style but it certainly grates!
On a technical note I find that the CD (Curci label) has sound at a much higher level than most CDs which is very annoying if I forget to adjust prior to pressing the play button. I do not know if the newer release is similarly afflicted.
I was blown away the first time I heard Morricone rockin' out on the QUATTRO MOSCHE DI VELLUTO GRIGIO (FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET) soundtrack. I don't think I've heard anything quite like it before or since. The vocals on this track used to annoy the heck out of me, but to be honest, they've kind of grown on me over the years (in a so-bad-it's-good sort of way). Hot damn, this is one scorchin' groove.
I've got to get to these Argento films, but where to start? Probably with the Bird.
On a technical note I find that the CD (Curci label) has sound at a much higher level than most CDs which is very annoying if I forget to adjust prior to pressing the play button. I do not know if the newer release is similarly afflicted.
I was going to mention those rock songs seem to be pumped up on both labels but the rest appears normal to me.
