MONDO SANGUE is a name that composers (Cristiano Sangueduro and Cristina Casereccia) go under when they create music that is for fictitious movies, it is their way of creating a homage to the sound, style and memory of the wonderful music that has adorned many Italian made movies, after the success of their music for, I’ISOLA DEI DANNATI or ISLAND OF THE DAMNED. Which was released last year, I was hoping that they would once again dip their musical toes into the varied and innovative musical waters that are the Italian film music lake. NO PLACE FOR A MAN is a western tale, with a score that is just crammed full of the musical trademarks that we as collectors and fans of the genre have become accustomed to, I listened to the album a few times and decided that a review was not really fitting, my article is more like a praising of the sound and the style that MONDO SANGUE have achieved, this could be from the 1970,s or even the mid-1960.s and when listening to the album, one’s mind begins to wander and imagine what action is taking place to this highly polished and effective musical score, after all it is a score when you think about it, even if there is no movie. NO PLACE FOR A MAN, contains just about every sound, every technique and an array of styles that all have appeared within the genre of the SPAGHETTI WESTERN at some point or another, it pays homage not only to the genre as in the movies, but it also pays a loving and dedicated tribute to many of the composers who were responsible for fashioning the sound of the ITALIAN made western. When one listens to NO PLACE FOR A MAN, one can hear, snippets of racing and energetic Nico Fidenco, classical sounds and romanticism in the style of Carlo Rustichelli, grand impressive pieces in the style of Francesco De Masi and Luis Bacalov, as well as a foundation of strong themes that at times become almost operatic and evoke memories of the classic western scores of Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai. But it is the lesser known Maestros styles that seem to shine through as the score progresses, Stelvio Cipriani, Carlo Savina, Piero Piccioni, Alessandro Alessandroni, Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, Nora Orlandi, Gianni Ferrio etc, I say lesser known, and I do not mean this in anyway disparaging. But, many people still have not heard of these composers, and when I at times throw their names into a conversation, I am met with a somewhat puzzled and uniformed blank expression or look and silence from the collectors I am talking to.
NO PLACE FOR A MAN is I suppose a collection of all the styles and a compilation of all the musical excellence and originality that made the Spaghetti western score so popular and has allowed it to remain popular to this day. It is some thing of a feat to have music written in the style of the original scores and it be recognised as being a western score without the listener being told, and that is what happened when I heard it for the first time, as soon as the first track commenced I thought WESTERN!!!!!
The song SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST, is even like taking a step back in time, evoking, Gianni Ferrio.s steamy sounding song, THAT MAN, and at times even reminds one of the same composer’s song for FIND A PLACE TO DIE. The title track, NO PLACE FOR A MAN is a tour de force of Spaghetti western, sounds and styles, racing, galloping timpani, electric guitar, barking male voices, shouts, choral backing, organ, harpsichord flourishes, this is EL PURO meets SABATA and it is brilliantly done. Art work for the album, is also well done, and it too fuses the style and imagery utilised to advertise many a Spaghetti Western.
I really liked MONDO SANGUE’S first album, I love their second, and am now looking forward to the third, I wonder, GIALLO, COP THRILLER, ROMANCE, which genre will it be? NO PLACE FOR A MAN is highly recommended.
MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . 