The Depths · All albums

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Ennio Morricone · 1966

• Scores: Noise 2, Unease 1, Complexity 2 (each 1 to 5)
• Genre: Rock, Soundtrack
• Mood: swaggering, wry, tense
• Sound: film score, spaghetti western, whistling, electric guitar, ocarina, gunshots, chanted vocals, long builds

The score for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly turns a western soundtrack into a set of strange, memorable sounds. Ennio Morricone's main theme imitates a coyote's howl with a two-note melody, and each of the three main characters gets a different voice for it: flute for Blondie, an ocarina-type arghilofono for Angel Eyes and human voices for Tuco. Alessandro Alessandroni's whistling and yodelling and the sound of gunfire are worked into the music, with an electric guitar, chorus and orchestra. Hugo Montenegro's Moog version of the theme became a pop single in 1968.

Track list

1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Main Title) (2:38)
2. The Sundown (1:12)
3. The Strong (2:20)
4. The Desert (5:11)
5. The Carriage of the Spirits (2:06)
6. Marcia (2:49)
7. The Story of a Soldier (3:50)
8. Marcia Without Hope (1:40)
9. The Death of a Soldier (3:05)
10. The Ecstasy of Gold (3:22)
11. The Trio (Main Title) (5:00)