52 Albums To Shape A Soul : #5

Ennio Morricone – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1966)

I didn’t share many musical heroes with my father. In the world of sport there were many. The magnetism of Muhammad Ali, the poise of Best, Law and Charlton bringing forth the true nature of the beautiful game. But it was in the world of cinema, the Hollywood stars paraded before us, and the characters they portrayed, that our shared sense of ‘a hero’ would develop. And principal amongst them were those brought to us by the Italian director Sergio Leone and his gloriously realised spaghetti westerns.

From an early age my father would have me help him working in the projection room at his local cinema. It could be a hazardous environment and he would be pretty strict about what he’d allow me to get up to. He’d also be pretty careful about the films he’d let me watch through the portholes, but despite them carrying a certificate that would have normally barred me from entry, he was always happy to allow me to watch the Sergio Leone westerns. ‘A Fistful Of Dollars’, ‘For A Few Dollars More’ and ‘The Good, The Bad And The Ugly’.

I’d watch the films on repeat. Every screening, and be swept away by the epic spectacle of them all. But there was another thing I started to notice with each listen. The hidden star of the films. One that did not appear visually on the screen, but was as important and essential as any character in view. It was the soundtrack. The soundtrack was the primary driver to all the sensory feelings I was experiencing. Developing the tension, the anticipation. The thrill, the sadness and the joy. I also noted the man behind the music was given a prominent place as part of the film’s credits… Ennio Morricone.

My father loved the soundtrack to ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. I remember him placing a copy of it on our record player at home and listening to it with him. I was struck by how I could recall every scene of the film simply by hearing the music. But more than that, listening in this way connected me to the film in a different way. Although I couldn’t appreciate it at the time, I realise it was focussing me on the ability of music, when combined with film to drive at the very heart of our existence. Film could present an illustration larger than life, but it was the music that had the capability of wedding those images into our consciousness and connecting them to our soul.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly remains one of my favourite soundtracks. Listening today you’re reminded how incredibly timeless the music sounds. It is truly breathtaking and remains a masterful achievement. Music that creates dialog. The three minutes and twenty seconds of bitter-sweet beauty that is ‘L’Estasi Dell’oro (The Ecstasy of Gold’). The heart-stopping climactic suspense of ‘Il Triello (The Trio)’, a piece that essentially soundtracked five minutes of film comprising three men, stood in a circle with guns pointed at each other and nothing more than sideways glances. Yet it’s totally perfect. The music building an unbearable level of edge of seat tension. A scene that couldn’t possibly be bettered. And let’s not forget the main title of course. You can show the album sleeve to ninety percent of the population and they will immediately respond with its primary musical motif.  

There are so many musicians I hear, even today, who clearly owe a debt to it. The ability to create a narrative arc around a piece of work and tell a story without need for words or images, but yet capturing every aspect of the heart and soul of the tale they wish to share.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is the first soundtrack I can recall as being one I considered an album on its own terms, and it certainly altered my relationship with music and how I view the art of composition. But for all its grandeur, my primary connection to the soundtrack simply comes back to my father and our shared love of the music.

Each year, on what would have been my father’s birthday, I always reach for my copy of the album and play a specific track in memory of him…‘Il Forte (The Strong)’.

We all need heroes in our lives. I’ll always recognise I was fortunate that my father happened to be mine x