musicology #140

theGood,Bad&theUgly #7

(Ennio Morricone - The Good The Bad & The Ugly (main title)

LISTEN

finishing up this tribute to one of themusicologist’s all time favourite films with the final scene….guns drawn for the finale. don’t know how many of you remember the film in detail but this is shot in the centre of the graveyard. Il Buono has written the name on the stone and it’s waiting there for the victor to claim…as a piece of atmospheric cinema it ranks up there with the best of ‘em and even though I have seen it many times it always has the same sense of drama and anticipation. A large part of that is down to Ennio Moricone’s film score and I would like to pay tribute to the man, (who’s film scores are enough for me to watch any film), by including his work here on the last day.

I won’t lie to you it’s been hard work this week searching through the vaults for diverse tunes that try to capture the essence of the film but most definately worth the effort and something I will be looking at doing again. I have a few ideas for alternative soundtracks so look out for them filed under the ’soundtrack’ category.

musicology #139

theGood,Bad&theUgly #6

(Sidney Bechet & The New Orleans Feetwarmers - Egyptian Fantasy )

LISTEN

penultimate day of the alternative soundtrack and it’s almost over. all three have managed to arrive at the cemetery and it’s time for the showdown. A winner takes all gunfight to the death…no prisoners taken.

Angel Eyes thinks he’s holding all the cards but Blondie has double crossed them both and is still the only one who knows the real name on the grave that contains the Gold. I’ll say no more and leave it to the man himself to elucidate…

the music is courtesy of virtuoso musician Sidney Bechet, (ably backed by ‘The New Orleans Feetwarmers), whose professional career stretches right back to the birth of ‘Jazz’ in New Orleans during the early 1900’s.

Along with ‘Duke’ and ‘Pops’ Bechet is credited with being instrumental, (no pun intended), in the development of the music that we know and love today and a listen to this should give you an indication as to why.

recorded in 1941 he plays both the clarinet and the soprano sax on this one and is joined by ‘The New Orleans Feetwarmers’

Henry Allen, (Trumpet), J.C Higginbotham, (Trombone), James Tolliver, (Piano), Wellman Braud, (Bass) and J.C Heard on drums.

musicology #138

theGood,Bad&theUgly #5

(Dub Organizer - The Herb)

LISTEN

day 5 and the battle’s getting hotter..this section finds Tuco and Blondie back in the saddle together following Angel Eyes’s double cross (who’s expecting that Tuco was ‘taken care of’ back in the ‘pig-sty’)

for themusicologist this piece nails the atmosphere of the whole film in 5 mins of ranking ’spaghetti dub’ and should go some way to providing a showcase of the influence that the films will always have.

the tune itself is courtesy of the UK based Fashion Label and was recorded at, (South London’s), A Class studio in 1997, (30 years after the film), the engineer on the session is the Dub Organizer, (Frenchie?), and it must be Augustus Pablo on the melodica, (no info on the label)

musicology #137

theGood,Bad&theUgly #4

(The Gaturs - Gator Bait)

LISTEN

we've already heard from 'il Buono' and 'il Cattivo' over the preeceding three days and now it's time for 'il Brutto' whose 'nom de plume', (Angel Eyes), seems to be well known to banditos like Tuco Ramirez.

Lee Van Cleef, (il Brutto), was a true veteran of the western genre first appearing in 'High Noon' with Gary Cooper in 1952 he went on to feature in many more such as 'Gunfight at the OK Corral', 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance', 'How The West Was Won', (along with Eli Wallach), and the second in the 'Dollars' trilogy 'For A Few Dollars More'.

as a measure of the mans on screen qualities his name, (along with Clint Eastwood's), was hijacked by Reggae DJ's, (MC's), and claimed as stage names, (Josey Wales too), so you can understand the huge impact these films and actors had on Jamaican music in particular.

todays slice of the musical pie is a quality piece of early 70's New Orleans Funk by little known outfit The Gaturs featuring the keyboard skills of none other than Soul Singer supreme Wilson Turbinton A.K.A 'Willie Tee' whose Mod classic 'Walking Up A One Way Street' is sublime and will definitely get an outing on themusicologist some day...Until then hold this..

musicology #136

theGood,Bad&theUgly #3

(Roland Alphonso & The Beverleys All Stars - The Cat)

LISTEN

day three of the goodbad&ugly theme serves up a pivotal piece of dialogue . it's the bit where Tuco and, (an almost dead), Blondie stumble across the dying Bill Carson who, with his dying breath, tells our man 'Il Buono' the elusive name on the grave.

the music, courtesy of one of Jamaica's greats Roland Alphonso, (along with the Beverly's all stars), was released in the UK the same year as the film 1967..maybe it's just me but I can hear the echoes of the spaghetti western influence creeping in.

musicology #135

theGood,Bad&theUgly #2

(Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Ain’t No Sunshine)

LISTEN

part two of the alternative soundtrack selection finds Blondie, (the good), getting his comeuppance from Tuco, (the ugly), for doublecrossing him, (sounds like Blondie wasn’t listening to Tuco’s threat from round one).

musicology courtesy of Jazz Funkers Ubiquity led by Roy Ayers, Vibraphone virtuoso who was given his first pair of mallets at the tender age of FIVE by the instrument’s undisputed champ Lionel Hampton.

this cut is taken from the 1973 Polydor album Red, Black & Green and is, for themusicologist, as good as the Bill Withers original especially as the piece does what all the best ‘covers’ do…bring something fresh to the table.

musicology #134

theGood,Bad&theUgly #1

(Augustus Pablo - Cassava Piece)

LISTEN

this weeks selection is a project that themusicologist first played around with 10 years ago when the 'techne' was beginning to make it possible to 'mix & blend' media together.

the impact of the spaghetti western on contemporary street culture cannot be overestimated. especially in Jamaica where the 'gun-man' was beginning to dominate in the wild west atmosphere of Kingson's shanty towns.

The Good The Bad & The Ugly, (the third film in the trilogy), was released in Italy at the end of 1966 but took a year to be released around the world, (opening in America in Dec 1967), widely criticised for it's gratuitous violence, (amazing when you consider that Vietnam was in full swing), it was an instant success and inspired a whole generation of youngbloods which continues to this day.

Tarantino called it "the best directed film of all time"

Apart from masterful direction by Sergio Leone it also featured the atmospheric brilliance of Ennio Morricone's soundtrack, (there is very little dialogue in the film), and great performances from the 'Anti-Heroes' Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef.

for themusicologist the only film with a comparable impact, (on the streets), was Scarface.

the Kung Fu films of the 70's and early eighties were influential but The Good, The Bad & The Ugly and Scarface are beyond compare when it comes to influence. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Jamaica, especially in directing the music and the cat responsible for cementing this 'gunman style' was none other than Augustus Pablo. this 1972 cut on his brothers Rockers label follows on from the Lee Perry tradition of utilising the western theme andthe only thing left for me to say is...

"when you have to shoot, shoot...don't talk"