Customer Reviews

Once Upon a Time in the West

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For Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West", Ennio Morricone wrote what is, arguably, his best film score. It's virtually a tone poem written for voice, harmonica, guitar, brass, percussion and orchestra. Once you've heard this score, it sticks with you. Hauntingly beautiful, at times abstract and sometimes jarring, always memorable. The music readily evokes the moods and feelings underlying the film's story, characters and drama. Dellorso's voice is simply beautiful. And that harmonica! There's nothing written for harmonica that remotely resembles its use here. This is a marvelous, marvelous, brilliant score! And though the term is often overused, this is, quite simply, a classic.

There are several releases of this score available on CD. I own three. The standard US release with the terrible graphic that evokes the film not at all and sounds a bit harsh (BMG/RCA 4736-2-R; 13 tracks, previous 12). The BMG International release with the great cover based on the film poster and to my ears, better sonics (BMG International; 13 tracks). And this English release with excellent toned down graphics and superior sound (RCA/BMG 828765899826; 20 tracks).

This must be the 24-bit remaster that was used as part of the German deluxe DVD-CD-Harmonica wood box set -- why that set wasn't released in the US remains a mystery.

Amazon lists this CD as a French release. I ordered it through an Amazon affiliate and received an English CD. It's a single fold digipak with the best graphic design of the lot. No booklet or liner notes. However, the primary thing is the sound and it is terrific. This disc has seven tracks (*) previously unreleased. The package is copyright 2004.

If you want the extra tracks and/or superior sound, this is the disc to buy. For Morricone fans, film score afficianados or anyone who appreciates good music -- this is an absolute must!

1 Once Upon A Time In The West
2 As A Judgement
3 Cheyenne *
4 The Transgression
5 Harmonica *
6 The First Tavern
7 The Second Tavern
8 The Third Tavern *
9 Jill *
10 Man With A Harmonica
11 A Dimly Lit Room
12 Frank *
13 Bad Orchestra
14 Morton *
15 Jill's America
16 The Man
17 Epilogue *
18 Death Rattle
19 Farewell To Cheyenne
20 Finale

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2011feb28: I have been informed there is a 27 track import available! If you can't find it on Amazon, try Screen Entertainment.

When speaking about soundtracks,There is only one true master and his name is Ennio Morricone. The "Once Upon A Time In The West", the Import version, is a true gem. It took me 37 years to find this soundtrack and it will always be a treasure. One of the features of the Import version are the 7 bonus tracks. It is hard to imagine owning this soundtrack, without hearing "Morton".For those who remember the movie, know all the main charaters had their own specific tune. I wish Morton's tune could have been longer. Who can forget the hypnotic harpsichord, associated with Jill in the movie, on the opening title track. This soundtrack is truly a masterpiece and Ennio Morricone's best.

John Williams gets a lot of the credit for the revival of the motion picture film score, mainly on the strength of his work for "Jaws" and "Star Wars." I can remember reading the linear notes for the double-album of the later which explained how each character had a theme and how Williams wove these all together. That was all impressive, and "Star Wars" is certainly on my list of Top 10 soundtracks of all time, but I saw "Once Upon A Time In The West" a decade earlier and so I know that Ennio Morricone had already done that. For me in the decade of the Sixties the only other comparable film scores for an epic film are what Maurice Jarre did for "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago." Still, I will maintain that no film score in that decade was as important to the story being told as Morricone's score for "C'era una volta il West."

Pertinent Aside: There is much to be said for composers who work with particular directors to great success. This would obviously include John Williams and Steven Spielberg, Maurice Jarre and David Lean, Bernard Hermann and Alfred Hitchcock, and Ennio Morricone and Sergio Leone. For that last pair, "C'era una volta il West" represents each at their peak. No wonder this Spaghetti Western is a mythic representation of the Old West.

I am still fascinated by how Morricone employs variations of his themes. The main title theme sounds like a classical composition, with the soaring voices of the Modern Singers of Allessandroni, but then comes back as a simple violin piece for "A Dimly Lit Room." "As a Judgment" uses the fuzz of an electric guitar to establish the movie's "showdown" theme, while "Farewell to Cheyenne" weaves together whistling and the rhythm of a horse clopping along the trail. Morricone strips down the latter to be "The First Tavern." "Man With a Harmonica" has the wailing of the title instrument but with the underlying theme of "As a Judgment" working through it until we finally find out at the point of dying why Harmonica wants Frank dead. But the composer also strips the underlying music down farther in "The Man," while the harmonica becomes totally distorted in "Death Rattle." Morricone even anticipates the "Star Wars" music for the Cantina band with his old "Bad Orchestra."

Of course, now that I have listened to the score again I have to follow up by watching the movie, which remains my favorite western (and the first classic in the genre I actually got to see in a movie theater as opposed to discovering on television decades later). But I have to do that because ultimately it is a grave disservice to divorce the soundtrack from the movie, because there are so many key sequences where Morricone's music replaces the dialogue. This is especially true of the climatic duel between Harmonica (Charles Bronson) and Frank (Henry Fonda), and the entire end title sequence where Jill (Claudia Cardinale) brings out the water to the men working on the railroad. In fact, I think I can make a very good case that no other film score in movie history is as important to the story and as prominent in the overall equation of the film as what Morricone composed for "C'era una volta il West."

Of course, you can only come to this score through the film, and once you have seen the film there is no need to convince you of either the effectiveness or the importance of this score. Finally, I want to contend what we have here is the best film score not to be nominated for an Oscar and in case you were wondering the best film score to be nominated but not win is Randy Newman's one for "The Natural." Both are among the film scores nominated for consideration in the American Film Institute's 100 Years of Film Scores (which is, apparently, simply going to be a concert at the Hollywood Bowl on September 23, 2005 and not a list like AFI has put out for the Top 100 Movies, Songs, Quotes, etc. Morricone's scores for "The Mission," "Once Upon a Time in America," and "The Untouchables" have been nominated as well, but this one is still the best of the bunch by far.

Ennio Morricone's score for THE GOOD,THE BAD AND THE UGLY is probably more recognizable to most people but I think this is some of the most stirring and majestic music ever created for a film; Morricone uses a symphony augemented by other instruments and the result: the best mix of harmonica, orchestral instruments and electric guitar and banjo ever. Once you hear it you will never forget it. Beautiful stuff.

Once Apon a Time in The West...have you seen the movie? Have you ever heard of this movie? If you are a 'western' freak, a spaggetti western tragic, a serious film student or immersed in popular cultural history it is hard to imagine how powerfull Sergio Leone's westerns would have been without the creative magic of Morricone's musical soundtracks.
Putting an accurate finger on the pulse of these gems is not easy.If you are connected to where music can take you......go along for this ride.I've seen recently that Morricone is touring...performing these tracks.Catch him while you can.

Such nerve-pinching intensity in this music, particularly in THE MAN WITH THE HARMONICA track. Never before have I ever heard a cry of agony and a thirst for revenge expressed so eloquently in music. Morricone is the undisputed master of this. This is my favorite Morricone soundtrack. Up there with A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY.

This music is the best I have ever heard in any western. I highly recommend it! If you haven't seen the movie, you should.

Really nice sound quality. I love the movie, and I love the musical score.

Thanks RCA, for producing this remastered version.

Ennio Morricone is the greatest soundtrack writer of all time and Once Upon A Time In The West is just another which confirms his genius which spills over from Italian Westerns to hundreds of other titles.
There are some lovely striking guitar sounds amongst all the atmospheric music which others have tried to copy, normally with limited success.
At about 50 minutes this edition is good value and the quality shines through from start to finish.

If you're a fan of Once Upon a Time in the West, you need this CD.

20 tracks of unbelievable music.