lockdown : vinyl find #22.

A long time ago (it seems), I wrote a diggin' guide on the city of Porto, Portugal. It has been the most popular post of this blog. I'm quite glad if it helped anyone, although it must be pretty outdated now. 

In Porto, I went to this store called CD&Go. With such a name, I wasn't expecting much, but I was wrong. They had vinyl. And I scored this one. Why ? I guess because of 3 things : the cover was appealing, it's hard to go wrong with Ennio Morricone, and it was discounted. Plus one thing : the orchestra is directed by Bruno Nicolai. 

Initially published by the label CAM (which I talked about earlier on this blog) in 1968, this soundtrack has been reissued several times since, although not too many times. Discogs counts three vinyl reissues. Mine is from Get Back/Abraxas, which I know nothing about, but it didn't matter. I didn't know what to expect anyway, I went with the name. 

I know that not everything labelled Morricone is excellent, but the legend has been pretty consistent throughout his career anyway. Plus, when it goes to Morricone, I'm trying to get away from his (excellent) spaghetti western compositions, which I love but they can be found everywhere. Thankfully, many labels have embarked on a mission to reissue his more confidential productions, including this "Escalation" soundtrack. 

Good job, I would say. Because the soundtrack is awesome. Very psychedelic, containing Indian sounds, but also experimental, with raw recordings of mouth sounds, Celtic influences, choir and religious vocals, serenading chimes... And a breeze of Morricone's suspenseful groove to get you in his zone. The all album is wrapped up beautifully. To be honest, I don't care about the movie, the soundtrack is enough. A needed addition for any collector or lover of Ennio Morricone's work. 

Ennio Morricone - Escalation.

Here are a few tracks to get you in the mood.

I wonder if any collector owns the whole Morricone catalog...