For A Few Guitars - A Tribute to Morricone's Spaghetti Western Themes
Dancing Bear

By MuzikMan (more articles from this author) 2003-01-17

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Artist: Various
Title: For A Few Guitars - A Tribute to Morricone's Spaghetti Western Themes
Label: Dancing Bear (www.dancingbear.hr)
Genre: Surf-Western-Instrumental

Ennio Morricone is one of the most identifiable names in the film industry. He has created countless scores for films. Even though a small portion of his work is specifically for the famous Spaghetti Western films, it remains some of the most popular music in the chronicles of recorded music. Nowhere has it been more treasured and emulated than in the surf-instrumental community. The twangy piercing guitar lines found in this music are what the ancestor's of the genre used to separate their music from the pack.

This outstanding tribute titled "For A Few Guitars- A Tribute to Morricone's Spaghetti Western Themes" is a testament to the love and admiration each artist that contributes to this compilation holds for Morricone's accomplishments. Croatia, home of the The Bambi Molesters, (they cover "A Gun For Ringo") and also the Dancing Bear label, which now serves as a distributor for established labels here in the states, provides access to music that was once elusive to the formerly oppressed country. Distributing a compilation such as this is huge for the country and indie music as a whole.

To start things off with bang this CD kicks off with The Penetrators injecting powerful surges of surf and reverb into "Guns Don't Argue." I have to be perfectly honest, every one of the 17 tracks on this compilation rocks with reverb and western twang. The images of cowboys riding their horses in a dusty hot burning dessert sun with Morricone's music blaring in the background, setting the stage for the next climatic scene, is the purpose and essence of this tribute. Each band does a fine job in projecting that imagery through their music.

How could you possibly miss the mark with bands that call themselves The Hellbenders, Three Balls of Fire and The Irreversible Slacks? Then there is Davie Allan's rave up to the "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," a real smoker called "The Loud, the Loose, and the Savage." It is a sonic blast into a future western world and a special tribute to the man of the hour. The track is a fistful of venom permeated with the old and the new, making for a deadly rattlesnake's bite. Allan and his Arrows close the curtain on this sunrise admirably, and along the way kick up plenty of dust with a real classic rockin' instrumental that will have them talking from shore to shore for quite some time.

No duds allowed on this awesome tribute to one of the world's most prolific masters of film scores. Believe me, you will not find one dinger on this CD. These guitars do not argue.

1. Guns Don't Argue performed by The Penetrators-www.penetrators.com
2. Titoli (A Fistful of Dollars) performed by Bradipos V-www.bradipos4.com
3. For A Fistful of Dollars performed by Dave Wronski-www.slacktone.com
4. For A Few Dollars More performed by Cosmonauti?-www.omomworld.com/cosmonauti.htm
5. Sixty Seconds To What? performed by Brent J. Cooper-www.huevosrancheros.com
6. The Vice Of Killing performed by The Langhorns-hem.passagen.se/longhorn/horn.html
7. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly performed by The Atlantics-www.theatlantics.com
8. The Ecstasy of Gold performed by 3 Balls of Fire-www.3ballsoffire.com
9. A Gun For Ringo performed by The Bambi Molesters-www.thebambimolesters.com
10. The Big Gundown performed by The Irreversible Slacks-www.irreversibleslacks.com
11. Navajo Joe performed by Pollo Del Mar-www.pollodelmar.com
12. The Hellbenders performed by The Hellbenders- creepy@mich.com
13. The Great Silence performed by Kim Humphreys-kimhumphreys@optushom.com.au
14. Once Upon a Time in the West performed by In the West-No Contact Info provided
15. As a Judgment-performed by Bernard Yin and David Arnson-themigs.com/index.html & www.chromeoxide.com/insect.htm
16. Farewell to Cheyenne performed by Di Dollari-fuzzbient.tripod.com
17. The Loud, the Loose, and the Savage inspired by Ennio Morricone and performed by Davie Allan and the Arrows-www.davieallan.com

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