Last post, I received a request to feature the entire Custom label The Good, the Bad & the Ugly LP. At first, I decided I wouldn't, since the tracks--exotica in a Martin Denny/Ferrante and Teicher style--don't sound remotely like music for a spaghetti western. Then I realized that was the whole point. Like so many junk-label LPs of the 1960s, this album pretends to be something it isn't--in this case, the soundtrack music to The Good, the Bad & the Ugly. Granted, in print not intended to be noticed by the buyer, Custom only promises us the theme, but the jacket and track titles have the look of a soundtrack. Lots of cheapies played the "Music from..." game, featuring one or maybe two tracks from a musical, movie, or TV show and padding the rest with Stephen Foster songs or whatever the label had on hand to fill the playing time.
So I figured, yeah, I should post this. Besides, once we're past the lousy opening selection, it's first-rate musicianship and good stereo sound (over a less than silent pressing). I mean, really outstanding musicianship--and quality stereo. I expected less in both departments. A pleasant surprise.
But the disconnect between the titles (The Wind and the Desert, The Weak and the Strong) and the moods set by the music can only be described as hilarious. Or maybe bizarre. Why the tiki music, complete with bird-call sound effects and island percussion? Why the "Welcome to our happy village" sound for Death at Sunrise? Why the relaxing and feel-good vibes on Lost Hope? Why the jungle noises to start out The Wind and the Desert? I suppose many a desert was a jungle at some point in our planet's evolution, but the track/subject disconnect was just the Custom folks being idiots. I just wonder what this material was called originally and who did it. No artist credits anywhere on this. Not even "The Custom Symphony Orchestra."
Checking the track titles on the actual soundtrack LP, I see that many of these titles are take-offs on same. The Strong became The Weak and the Strong. The Ecstasy of Gold became The Love of Gold. The Sundown became Hope at Sundown, the music for which sounds for a bit like part of the original Little Shop of Horrors soundtrack by Fred Katz--the walking-through-skid-row scenes and the chase at the close. This LP is way more entertaining than any dollar-bin knock-off has a right to be....
LINK: Theme from the Motion Picture The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Crown CS 1122)
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Wind and the Desert
The Love of Gold
Hope at Sundown
The Soldier of Fortune
Lost Hope
Death at Sunrise
The Weak and the Strong
The Three Comrades
The Happy Soldier
Theme from the Motion Picture The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Crown CS 1122)
Lee
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