So many Italian westerns and so many releases from Italy where do we start. Well I suppose we could start with REQUIESCANT or KILL AND PRAY by Riz Ortolani, which also includes music from another Ortolani western O CANGACEIRO I have seen REQUIESCANT but the other title which I am told starred Tomas Milian is something of a mystery to me and not a western but set in South America. The music for both of these movies is in a word average, I sometimes cannot understand why record companies bother to release the entire scores from movies such as these. Surely a compilation would suffice of themes or principal musical passages etc from each film, like UA records used to do back in the 1970,s with GREAT WESTERN THEMES, GREAT WAR FILM THEMES etc etc etc,,,, these sold well and also gave collectors an idea of what the music was like from certain films. In my opinion if you going to release Ortolani westerns then maybe THE HUNTING PARTY and CIAKMULL should be at the top of the list, that’s of course if the tapes exist. REQUIESCANT is a score that certainly does not match the at times violent imagery of the movie, but I have said it before Ortolani was just too romantic sounding when it came to scoring westerns from Italy, yes granted DAY OF ANGER and THE HUNTING PARTY are exceptions to this rule but THE HUNTING PARTY was actually a British western in theory. The score for REQUIESCANT has just one main or central theme which to be honest is not that interesting or original, it is basically an electric guitar rift that begins well and one is waiting for a big theme to kick in after it is introduced by the guitar, but then that’s it nothing it goes nowhere but back into itself on repeat but the composer never develops it into any more substantial. There are also a number of Mexican sounding pieces on the score, which after hearing two or three getting pretty annoying, so REQUIESCANT is not really a score that I would add to my collection. O GANGACEIRO also is pretty ordinary nothing major here in the way of thematic material again nothing original or groundbreaking. Record labels have to realise that collectors now will not just buy a score because its from a spaghetti western or a film that is similar to a western, if they are going to even consider it, it has to be at least fifty percent listenable or interesting. The only plus about this release are the excellent notes by author Laurence Staig (Opera of violence author). It’s a pity because the compact disc is presented well by PENTAMUSIC (who are a British label I understand) but it’s the music that lets it down, so what is the point of buying it.
MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . 