Quartet 2022: THE SICILIAN CLAN (Ennio Morricone)

[Amer 2,080]

 

Quartet Records Announces:

Expanded Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

THE SICILIAN CLAN
Music by ENNIO MORRICONE
Limited edition: 1000 units

Quartet Records, in collaboration with Fox Records, Island Def Jam and Universal Music Enterprises, presents a remastered and expanded edition of Ennio Morricone’s iconic score for Henri Verneuil’s beloved French-Italian-American noir from 1969, THE SICILIAN CLAN, starring Alain Delon, Lino Ventura, Jean Gabin, Irina Demyck and Sydney Chaplin.

Based on the novel by Auguste Le Breton, THE SICILIAN CLAN is a technical masterwork and a classic of the gangster genre. It was also a huge international success. The plot is about a young, ambitious mobster who plans an elaborate diamond heist while seducing the daughter of a ruthless mob patriarch as a determined police commissioner closes in on all of them.

The memorable score by Ennio Morricone consists of an evocative, idiosyncratic main theme that is developed in four distinctive elements throughout the score. Morricone’s music was often marked by unusual instrumental and effects; in this score, those include a distinctive “Sicilian boing” and the whistling of Alessandro Alessandroni.

The score of THE SICILIAN CLAN was released worldwide by Fox Records (except in Italy, where the rights belong to CAM) in a brilliant, beloved 30-minute album that has been reissued on LP and CD several times among the years. This CD includes the remastered album and also several versions—differing in length and orchestration—that Morricone recorded for the slightly different American and European cuts of the film. Produced and mastered by Chris Malone from first-generation master tapes. Claudio Fuiano supervised the album, and the package includes a 20-page booklet with liner notes by film music writer Jeff Bond.

Tracklist

1) Tema Italiano (3:38)
2) Snack Bar (2:26)
3) Mostra dei gioielli (2:52)
4) Dialogo Nº 1 (3:18)
5) Jeanne e la spiaggia (3:17)
6) Dialogo Nº 2 (3:24)
7) Tema per Le Goff (3:11)
8) Tema per Nazzari e Delon (2:24)
9) Tema Italiano Nº 2 (1:34)
10) I Francobolli (2:25)
11) Finale (2:23)
12) The Sicilian Clan M0 (3:32)
13) The Sicilian Clan M15 (1:30)
14) The Sicilian Clan M18 (3:43)
15) The Sicilian Clan M8 (3:03)
16) The Sicilian Clan M16 (1:48)
17) The Sicilian Clan M19 (0:58)
18) The Sicilian Clan M4 (3:12)
19) The Sicilian Clan M14 (2:39)
20) The Sicilian Clan M5 (3:02)
21) The Sicilian Clan M16 (1:38)
22) The Sicilian Clan M20 (2:25)

https://quartetrecords.com/product/the-sicilian-clan/

[filmmusic 1,823]

I love the theme of this. It's a guilty pleasure of mine!

[Thor 7,478]

On 09/12/2022 at 4:16 PM, filmmusic said:

I love the theme of this. It's a guilty pleasure of mine!

 

Why 'guilty'? It's a great theme. Morricone liked it too, as he played it in concerts all the time.

[filmmusic 1,823]

5 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Why 'guilty'? It's a great theme. Morricone liked it too, as he played it in concerts all the time.

My opinion may be unpopular, but...I think a lot of Morricone's themes are on the verge of kitsch. They are not sophisticated enough like say John Williams's.

Thus the "gulity" pleasure. This is one of those themes for me.

[Thor 7,478]

Not sure I would agree with that notion. In many ways, Morricone is more sophisticated, because he often adds alienating elements inside a lovely, straightforward melody, thus adding more complexity. Due to his immense production, there are no doubt elements of kitch here and there (or rather, appropriation of elements from other genres that he plays around with), but I don't think THE SICILIAN CLAN is a good representative of that. It's actually a rather complex score, with plenty of challenging tracks, outside the famous theme.

[filmmusic 1,823]

12 minutes ago, Thor said:

but I don't think THE SICILIAN CLAN is a good representative of that. It's actually a rather complex score, with plenty of challenging tracks, outside the famous theme.

Yeah, I was referring only to the main theme. And various themes from many Morricone's soundtracks.

That doesn't mean I don't love many of those, as I love the LOVE STORY theme, which again I think it's on the verge of kitsch.

[Thor 7,478]

On LOVE STORY, we definitely agree. And yes, I, too, dig that score.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

Morricone's music was always deceptively simple.

I remember one uneducated oik having a go at "Chi Mai", saying that it was "simple", and no better than the product of a second year music student. Of course, he missed the point, which was that it was supposed be "simple".

Never take Morricone's work at face value.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

11 hours ago, filmmusic said:

My opinion may be unpopular, but...I think a lot of Morricone's themes are on the verge of kitsch. They are not sophisticated enough like say John Williams's.

Thus the "gulity" pleasure. This is one of those themes for me.

Wait, are you implying Williams is never on the verge of kitsch?

[filmmusic 1,823]

1 hour ago, Brundlefly said:

Wait, are you implying Williams is never on the verge of kitsch?

Rarely I'd say. Certainly not as often as Morricone.

Which John Williams theme would you consider kitsch? (maybe we should start a new thread about that)

[Brundlefly 2,385]

It might be an interesting discussion. A few months ago, I've found a book about kitsch in a give away box on the street. And in that book it is stated that kitsch is mostly not even talked about, because art scholars look down on it as an inferior art form - however, is it right not to reflect on supposedly "inferior art forms"? After all, they exist and shape our understanding of art too. In short: Start that thread!