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July 19, 2008 2:16 PM

Looking for songs by bands that are in the style of Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western soundtracks.

I'm quite the fan of songs that have an Ennio Morricone/Spaghetti Western vibe to them (here's an example of an Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western song, if you've never heard one), but I only know of a few. Anyone have any suggestions? They can be songs by bands/artists that don't usually play that style, or songs by bands that do usually play that style. It doesn't matter to me, as long as it has a Spaghetti Western sound.

I'm a fan of songs like Cast a Long Shadow by the Monochrome Set, Call of the West by Wall of Voodoo, and Los Rancheros by Adam and the Ants, so any recommended songs don't have to be extremely "thick" with a Spaghetti Western sound, it just has to be there.

posted by Dreamcast to media & arts (33 comments total)

Earth's The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 2:22 PM on July 19, 2008

Friends of Dean Martinez has a Morricone thing going on, sometimes.
posted by dirtdirt at 2:33 PM on July 19, 2008

Not technically "in the style of", but The Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds samples the harmonica track from Once Upon a Time in the West.
posted by hnnrs at 3:02 PM on July 19, 2008

Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" uses Gianfranco Reverberi's "Nel cimitero di Tuscon" as its main sample.
posted by bink at 3:10 PM on July 19, 2008

castaway by camphor does a fairly good job.
posted by Large Marge at 3:21 PM on July 19, 2008

Calexico has a lot of Morricone moments (and they're a great band, besides).
posted by doctor_negative at 3:25 PM on July 19, 2008

The Ramones - Durango 95
Lee Hazlewood
Maybe some rockabilly stuff like Duane Eddy
Probably Joe Strummer's Mescaleros
posted by rhizome at 3:25 PM on July 19, 2008

(1) A Small Good Thing's Slim Westerns is an obscure masterpiece of music that sounds like it is the soundtrack to a forgotten Spaghetti Western. Sparser and less dramatic, but beautiful and wonderful.

(2) John Zorn is a huge fan of Morricone, and has released work that faithfully covers, radically arranges, or is heavily influenced by his work. For starters:
- The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone (arrangements of EM tracks).
- Naked City (covers and in-the-style-of EM tracks).
- Spillane (not directly related to EM, but may be of interest).

Be warned, though: Zorn's considerable output is all over the map and includes a lot of abrasive noise, so carpe diem!
posted by googly at 3:32 PM on July 19, 2008

You might check out John Zorn's The Big Gundown, though that's less a rock album and jazz/improv/avant-garde. (Though far more accessible than most of what falls under such a three-slash description.)
posted by el_lupino at 3:32 PM on July 19, 2008

Man, two near-simultaneous recs of John Zorn. Great minds think alike, I guess.
posted by el_lupino at 3:33 PM on July 19, 2008

Montreal's Pawa Up First.
posted by jon_kill at 3:54 PM on July 19, 2008

I'm not sure if this is quite what you're looking for, but there is an entire album of remixes of classic Ennio Morricone tracks. The remixes vary in how much they preserve the original Morricone style, but it's an interesting listen nonetheless -- a random group of late 90's / early 00's electronica artists giving their take on what a spaghetti western should sound like.
posted by deeparch at 3:55 PM on July 19, 2008

I recorded a song in that vein called The Spy Pt. 1.

Also check out I Fought in a War and Expectations by Belle and Sebastian.
posted by ludwig_van at 4:01 PM on July 19, 2008

The Pogues - Pistols for Paddy Garcia
posted by dilettante at 4:50 PM on July 19, 2008

Correction: A Pistol for Paddy Garcia. Dammit.
posted by dilettante at 4:52 PM on July 19, 2008

So, have you heard of this guy John Zorn, and about the Morricone RMX album? Oh. Well, how about the Tin Hat Trio?
posted by box at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2008

Portishead's Sour Times takes its cue from Lalo Schifrin but it has a Morricone feel to it.
posted by cazoo at 5:44 PM on July 19, 2008

Calexico's Ballad of Cable Hogue

I remember some of this style off of the Kill Bill Soundtrack.
posted by sourwookie at 6:51 PM on July 19, 2008

Wall of Voodoo?
posted by mattoxic at 7:18 PM on July 19, 2008

">Hang 'Em High by Booker T. & The M.G.'S
posted by canoehead at 7:26 PM on July 19, 2008

Try out "Shaun Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra"--he has some great spaghetti western sounds.
posted by tarantula at 7:53 PM on July 19, 2008

Believe it or not, Enya released a track called "The Spaghetti Western Theme from the Celts" on the EP version of her "Amarantine" CD. It really captures that sound quite well, but still has that recognizable Enya undertone. It's definitely worth checking out...
posted by Jade Dragon at 10:21 PM on July 19, 2008

Murder by Death has a track on their newest CD called 'Theme (for Ennio Morriocone)'.

Here's a Youtube video that features the song.
posted by Venadium at 10:28 PM on July 19, 2008

Nthing Calexico, especially The Black Light, especially "Minas Del Cobre"
posted by LionIndex at 11:21 PM on July 19, 2008

Arthur Lee

Last Shadow Puppets
posted by the cuban at 4:22 AM on July 20, 2008

You definitely should give a listen to "Pistolero" by Juno Reactor.
posted by jmnugent at 9:50 AM on July 20, 2008

Nothing Changes under the Sun by Blue States (specifically, the tracks "Diamente" and "Stereo 99") is an album long homage to Morricone (and, to a lesser extent, John Barry). The second album, Man Mountain, is sort of in the same vein but don't bother with any of the later stuff.
posted by The Bishop of Turkey at 12:46 PM on July 20, 2008

Tortoise, especially on "I Set my Face to the Hillside"

2nding Lee Hazlewood, and Requiem for an Almost Lady in particular
There's an nice album of Hazlewood covers with the awful title of Total Lee! Look for the tracks "Come on Home to Me" by Madrugada, "Sunday Morning" by Kid Loco, and "Sundown, Sundown" by (surprise, surprise) Calexico.

And there's always "I Wanna Be A Cowboy" by Boys Don't Cry.
posted by hydrophonic at 11:02 PM on July 20, 2008

Ghoultown
posted by studentbaker at 8:05 AM on July 21, 2008

nthing calexico from the albums Black Light, Hot Rail, and Feast of Wire days
posted by Soulbee at 9:54 AM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

FYI Friends of Dean Martinez features the two main players from Calexico (Joey Burns and John Convertino.

Also I recommend Lincoln (a british band with some similarities to Calexico). Even Devotchka sometimes enters this territory.
posted by Soulbee at 9:56 AM on July 21, 2008

dangit I can't seem to get all my thoughts out in one post. Also check out the Refreshments (Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy is a good album). They wrote the theme song to King of the Hill cartoon.
posted by Soulbee at 9:58 AM on July 21, 2008

One or two songs off the Blue Man Group's album 'Audio' have exactly what you're looking for, suprisingly enough. If I were home right now, I'd tell you which tracks...sorry.
posted by Spyder's Game at 11:08 AM on July 21, 2008