Milva: Chi Mai (1972)

 |   |  1 min read

Milva: Chi Mai (1972)

On November 10, 2016, the great Italian  composer Ennio Morricone will be 88 and celebrating the day with his wife of 50 years.

Both of those are remarkable achievements, and so is the breadth of his music career.

Perhaps best known for his distinctive soundtracks to Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns of the Sixties -- by coincidence they were in the same class at primary school -- he has also composed orchestral works, some very odd soundtracks and also many scores of songs.

That said, even his most ardent admirers sometimes have to concede Morricone's songs can come with such signature arrangements that they hardly conform to most notions of pop or even soundtrack music.

Some of those ideas he brought to his most distinctive soundtracks -- literally bells and whistles alongside stabbing strings and twanging guitars -- can be spread spaciously around the songs and, oftetimes, be a distraction.

But equally there are many of great beauty, not the least this by Italian superstar singer Milva who first recorded Morricone songs back in '62.

ennioAnother version of this song -- which was in the Seventies film Maddalena and sung by Lisa Gastoni -- actually got to number two in the British charts in the Eighties when it was used as the theme to the television series The Life and Times of Lloyd George.

This is the opening track on the album Ricordare; The Songs of Ennio Morricone (Ace through Border in New Zealand) which includes artists such as Milva's rival Mina, disco diva Amii Stewart, Demis Roussos, Hayley Westerna, Scott Walker, Joan Baez, Zucchero and the Pet Shop Boys.

That all these artists found something in Morricone's songs is at least testament to their diversity, although we do suggest you prepare yourself sometimes for the bells and whistles.

Ennio Morricone is one of the few musicians who has two Essential Elsewhere albums in our list, the soundtrack to The Good, Bad and The Ugly, and a compilation of his avant-garde soundtrack pieces

For more one-offs, songs with an interesting backstory or just plain odd things see From the Vaults.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

Peter Cape: She'll Be Right (1959)

Peter Cape: She'll Be Right (1959)

Peter Cape was New Zealand's unofficial poet laureate in the days before television, when men were "jokers" and women were "sheilas" . . . and when you could afford to assume... > Read more

The Pointer Sisters: How Long; Betcha Got a Chick on the Side (1975)

The Pointer Sisters: How Long; Betcha Got a Chick on the Side (1975)

Long before they became a smooth soul-pop machine in the mid Eighties and beyond, the Pointer Sisters (then a quartet of June, Bonnie, Anita and Ruth), delivered some slashing r'n'b funk such as... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

JOHN PSATHAS, 21st CENTURY MAN: The helix of creativity

JOHN PSATHAS, 21st CENTURY MAN: The helix of creativity

It seems entirely fitting that the final piece on New Zealand composer John Psathas' new album Helix should be dedicated to Jack Body, a composer like Psathas who has always looked outward as much... > Read more

Stevie Wonder: The Wonder of You

Stevie Wonder: The Wonder of You

The curious thing about going to meet famous people is sometimes you don't recognise them and end up sitting in the bar or cafe counting the ceiling fans until you realise your prey is that little... > Read more