I Vigliacchi Non Pregano

The CAM vaults continue to give up rare gems of soundtracks, and this Italian western score by Gianni Marchetti is no exception to that rule. Originally released on LP back in 1968 as a double feature soundtrack, the B side being Marchetti’s excellent war film score SEVEN RED BERETS. The original LP release included just 7 cues from COWARDS DON’T PRAY, this latest compact disc issue boasts a total of 16 cues. The composer provides us with an action packed score that is not only dramatic but also hauntingly beautiful, the choral work is excellent and is provided by Nora Orlandi and her 4 + 4 coro. The soundtrack basically consists of a central theme which is utilised by Marchetti to great effect, as he arranges and orchestrates it in various ways and presents it in various permutations, but even though the theme is repeated throughout the compact discs running time, it never becomes tiresome or less entertaining, every version is fresh, vibrant and highly original. Its hard to describe the style of Marchetti on this score, but I think it would be correct to comment that the composer has fused together the sounds of both the Italian and the German western, and by doing this probably invented a western sound that was all of its own, thus creating an entertaining and highly lyrical sounding work, which contained some of the savagery and rawness that was present within spaghetti scores, but also had the near laid back and romantic undertones of the German western soundtrack.. Its hard to pick out individual cues as being outstanding as all contain a great deal and are all equally matched so I will not attempt to do so. I VIGLIACCHI NON PREGANO, is a delight from start to finish… Striking and colourful art work are also a feature of this release.Again thanks to the Hillside and GDM partnership. A must have score.