The Very Best of Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone anthologies come and go, and there are always several to choose from. But as so many recycle the same tracks, one might be forgiven for thinking Morricone had only scored a dozen or so movies rather than something over 300. This makes picking a collection difficult, but this disc can be recommended for particularly polished remastered sound and, with 20 tracks, a lengthy 75 minutes' playing time. Nine cues come from the Sergio Leone movies with which Morricone is indelibly associated, including the Clint Eastwood "dollars" trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West. With their eclectic orchestrations and infectious melodies these landmark scores set film music in an entirely new direction. The more recent music concentrates on the hauntingly romantic side of Morricone's talent, ranging from the fatalistic "Chi Mai" to two cues from the lushly exotic The Mission and the lovely theme from Cinema Paradiso. Leone's final film, Once Upon a Time in America enabled Morricone to pen some of the most heartbreakingly nostalgic music in all cinema, while a selection from Mission to Mars reveals that after four decades the Italian master is still writing some of Hollywood's most imaginative and heartfelt music. --Gary S Dalkin