To end 2022 a special 50th anniversary deluxe vinyl pressing of the classic Luis Bacalov score from The Grand Duel was released by Scare Flair Records. Limited to only 500 copies, this is hopefully to be the first of many releases from the label.
About the Soundtrack
The Grand Duel is a powerful score by Academy Award Winning composer Luis Bacalov. It features harmonica playing from Franco De Gemini (Once Upon a Time in the West), vocals by Edda Dell’Orso (The Ecstasy of Gold in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly), as well as choir work from I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni (Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy).
There was no original release of the score in the 1970's. I believe my first exposure to the score was part of a compilation CD made in the early 90's with only 2 tracks. Eventually in 1995 Point Records in Italy released a CD with 10 tracks (which also contained the score to Si Può Fare... Amigo). A standalone CD release of just The Grand Duel was released in Japan in 2005 with the same 10 tracks. Finally in 2012 Quartet Records released an expanded CD with 14 tracks which also included the Bacalov score to A Man Called Noon.
Thoughts on the Soundtrack
I love the majority of this score. The Dell'Orso and De Gemini performances are wonderful. The score is often times haunting, with similarities to Bacalov's A Man Called Noon score. In fact Bacalov lifted a track directly The Grand Duel and put it in A Man Called Noon (track called "Warning").
However, and this is my personal opinion here, there are several "whimsical" tracks, that do not fit this same tone as the other tracks. I HATE these tracks. I hate them to the point that I skip them. While that may be my musical taste, I also don't feel they serve the film well either. Perhaps I just don't like fiddles!
Album Review
Scare Flair Records has done a great job presenting the soundtrack onto vinyl for the first time ever. This is the same 14 track score put out in 2012, which represents the most complete score made available. The album is presented with 7 tracks per side.
Packaging is beautiful, and frame-worthy. Mike Malloy provides a great write up on the back of the album
Album arrived quickly as was well packaged.
If you don't have the score, pick it up! If you do have the score, consider revisiting it on vinyl. Either way this is sure to be a collectible for the LVC, spaghetti western, or film score fan.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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