Broxton Comment-MB-002-17

In this second installment of my irregular new series looking at the early career of some iconic composers, we take a look at some more of the more obscure works written by the legendary Ennio Morricone. This group of reviews look at fifteen scores Morricone wrote in 1966 and 1967, including several outstanding jazz and pop pieces, war moves and historical drama, and more of his groundbreaking spaghetti western scores, one of which features one of the most iconic musical primal screams in cinema history!

MI VEDRAI TORNARE (1966)

Mi Vedrai Tornare is an Italian romantic drama directed by Ettore Maria Fizzarotti, which marked the acting debut of the enormously popular pop singer Gianni Morandi, who had a chart hit in Italy with a song of the same name. The film sees Morandi playing Gianni Aleardi, a young sailor enrolled in the Italian Navy, who meets and falls in love with Princess Liu (Elisabetta Wu), a beautiful Japanese girl who returns his affections despite being involved in arranged betrothed to an oriental nobleman living in Rome.

The score’s main theme, “You’ll See Me Return,” is a lightly romantic rock/pop piece led by marimbas and xylophones, underpinned by lush strings, a cooing vocalist, and a contemporary drum kit rhythm section. There is also a lovely (if somewhat stereotypical) Japanese inflection to the theme’s chord progressions, clearly alluding to the national origin of the lovely leading lady. It’s a lightweight theme, really little more than extended instrumental, but it certainly proves that Morricone is adept as writing and arranging music successfully in literally dozens of different styles.

The score for Mi Vedrai Tornare has never been released on CD; there was a 10-minute 45RPM vinyl album released in Italy in 1966 featuring Morricone’s main theme, Morandi’s famous song, and two variations of another song, “La Fisarmonica,” written by Luis Baclov and performed by Morandi, but that’s it. However, the main theme from Mi Vedrai Tornare can be found on the comprehensive 15-CD compilation Ennio Morricone: The Complete Edition, released by GDM Music in 2008.

Track Listing: 1. You’ll See Me Return (2:37), 2. Mi Vedrai Tornare (written by Luis Bacalov, performed by Gianni Morandi) (2:36), 3. La Fisarmonica (written by Luis Bacalov, performed by Gianni Morandi) (2:52), 4. La Fisarmonica – Instrumental (written by Luis Bacalov) (2:52). RCA Records PM-45-2246, 10 minutes 57 seconds.