7/6/2020

What sadness film music fans feel on this day. I first heard the news of Ennio Morricone’s passing at 5:25am this morning, via Mary Ann, and instantly felt the loss. At 91, he was quite simply the most influential composer working in film, ever since he turned traditional western scoring upside down, inside out and then some during the 1960’s. That signature howling motif first heard in the title sequence of Sergio Leone’s legendary The Good, The Bad And The Ugly must be one of the most recognizable musical signatures in movies. We all have our favorite Morricone scores. The Leone westerns, Days Of Heaven, The Mission, Cinema Paradiso, Le Professionnel, The Battle Of Algiers, The Untouchables, 1900, Metello… the list goes on and on. My own favorites are probably Un Esercito Di 5 Uomini (The 5-Man Army) and Casualties Of War. But there are others. There will always be others. There are so many to choose from. What was the last score of his I played? L’Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo (The Bird With The Crystal Plumage), a 1970 thriller. Why? I threw a dart. I typically listen to something of his two or three times a week. That’s it. With an entire shelf devoted to Morricone CDs, hundreds of them, my dart will easily hit something he wrote. Wow. What a loss. Rest In Peace, maestro Morricone.

6/20/2020

Coming in for next week, one of my personal favorites: The Young Lions. Yes, the 1958 Hugo Friedhofer masterpiece. All of it. What a classic this one is! And considering how long we’ve been out-of-stock on The Rocketeer, it feels like a new release. Since this “back-in-stock” title is in fact a very modest “re-master”, maybe in one manner it is new. After re-licensing additional pressings with Disney, and with input from passionate fans of this wildly popular Jame Horner gem, we opted to retain the 1991 levels and EQ decisions as per original scoring mixer Shawn Murphy. Same 2-CD contents, new-ish 2-CD sound. Both this Intrada action-packed best-seller and Friedhofer’s celebrated, Academy Award-nominated score will be available this Tuesday, June 23. Artwork, audio samples and contents will be posted here Monday eve prior. Stay safe!

5/25/2020

On this Memorial Day, all of us here at Intrada mourn the loss of 100,000 American lives to COVID-19. We also mourn for all of those past lives lost in the name of freedom and liberty in the U.S. You have paid the highest price. Your sacrifice can not be forgotten.

5/17/2020

Western action hits the musical trail this week… courtesy Intrada’s newest soundtrack CD. Burt Lancaster stars, Robert Aldrich directs, Universal Pictures presents, Frank De Vol scores. 1972 is the year, Ulzana’s Raid is the picture, excitement is the keynote! Check back here Monday eve, listen to the sound samples, peruse the contents, consider adding it to your collection. And continue staying safe. We’ll get through this together.

View more at our INTRADA SOUNDTRACK FORUM