REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO

Quartet Records, in collaboration with Cinevox Records, presents a remastered, expanded edition of the classic Angelo Francesco Lavagnino western score for a most unusual duel.

Directed by Eugenio Martín and José Luis Merino in 1968, REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO made use of unorthodox costume and set design and a great plot device to say something new in the genre. Based on the idea of a Ulysses-like character who uses his brain against his violent opponents, the film tells the story of peace-loving bounty hunter Ross Logan who takes revenge on his brother’s killers by turning his foes against each other while using a natural phenomenon to defeat them.

Starting off with the “Sandstorm” song performed by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni, the opening credits use familiar Sergio Leone-inspired titles of aggressively tinted movie scenes played against animated opening credits. The score features two different organs, including a church organ for Logan’s love of astronomy. Some of the other highlights include haunting vocal effects, Lavagnino’s signature percussion work over sustained organ notes, and “Follow Me,” a dance number that unwittingly sows seeds of discontent within the gang of marauders.

A selection of 18 tracks was issued on LP by Cinevox when the film came out, and the same program (plus an 11-minute suite with unreleased cues and takes) was reissued in a Lavagnino western compilation on Saimel in 2006. This new CD, produced by Claudio Fuiano and mastered by Chris Malone from first-generation master tapes courtesy of Cinevox, features the original program augmented with previously unreleased cues and a bonus suite of surviving stereo cues. The lavishly illustrated 12-page liner notes by Gergely Hubai discuss the film and the score.

THE ORIGINAL ALBUM

1. SANDSTORM (2:18)

2. TWILIGHT (2:15)

3. THE MOON AND YOU (1:51)

4. TROUBLE IN STORE (0:59)

5. FEAR AND PLEASURE (1:47)

6. FEATHER WEIGHT HEART (1:40)

7. PISTOLS GALORE (1:55)

8. DON’T LOOK NOW (1:31)

9. MOODY MOUNTAIN (1:01)

10. TAKE THAT (1:38)

11. FAR FROM NOW (0:38)

12. SINGLE HANDED (1:01)

13. THE PRICE OF A GUN (1:00)

14. HEARTBEAT (1:47)

15. CLOUDY PRAIRY (1:39)

16. FOLLOW ME (1:46)

17. THOUGHTLESS GREENERY (1:38)

18. MISTY TREE (2:56)

BONUS TRACKS

19. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (NOCTURNE) (2:57)

20. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (WAITING) (1:49)

21. FOLLOW ME (FILM VERSION) (1:01)

22. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (CAVALCADE) (1:48)

23. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (CAVALCADE #2) (1:06)

24. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (AMBUSH) (1:32)

25. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (FEAR IN THE NIGHT) (2:36)

26. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (GUITAR CANTINA) (3:01)

27. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (WESTERN STORY) (1:33)

28. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (BANDIDOS) (1:55)

29. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (NOSTALGIC MOMENT) (1:58)

30. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (BEFORE THE ATTACK) (2:13)

31. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (GRINGO) (2:29)

32. REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO (SUITE IN STEREO) (4:11)

TOTAL DISC TIME: 61:29