NAVAJO JOE (1966)
One of the most popular spaghetti westerns of the 1960s, Navajo Joe was directed by Sergio Corbucci and stars a young Burt Reynolds as the titular character, a Native American warrior on a quest or vengeance after his tribe is massacred by a gang of white outlaws led by the ruthless Duncan. Having tracked the gang to a town, Esperanza, Joe finds out about Duncan’s plan to hijack a train full of money, and offers to protect the townspeople by killing Duncan and his men; however, Joe faces a great deal opposition from the residents, especially the town doctor Lynne, who convinces everyone not to trust a ‘redskin,’ and who is secretly in league with Duncan for a share of the money.
Ennio Morricone’s main thematic idea is one of his most famous – a wild, insanely creative march for strings, electric guitar, and tribal percussion, enlivened by some utterly bonkers vocal effects including shouting, pseudo-Gospel wailing, literal screaming, and a choir chanting both Navajo Joe’s name, and many of his positive characteristics (ever so bold, and so on). The second most important piece is the stark, imposing “A Silhouette of Doom,” which acts as a recurring motif for Duncan and his men, and layers low-end piano clusters against bold timpani strikes, severe trumpet whole notes, searching strings, screeching woodwinds, and more of those iconic vocals.
These two themes dominate the score, with multiple variations of both ideas throughout (the dreamily slow version in “Joe’s Departure” is interesting), but other pieces stop the score from becoming monotonous: on the one hand, there are a few cues of rambunctious saloon music featuring honky-tonk pianos and banjos, while on the other hand you get a track like the beautifully introspective and calming “The Demise of Father Rattinan” with it’s sensitive acoustic guitars, lyrical oboe, and cooing vocals.
After many years of incomplete and inconsistent releases, the complete score for Navajo Joe was released in 2007 by producer Lukas Kendall on his Film Score Monthly label, featuring cleaned-up sound, a more sensible running order, and handsome production values including liner notes from Italian film music expert John Bender and film director Jim Wynorski.
Track Listing: 1. Navajo Joe (Main Title) (2:50), 2. A Silhouette of Doom (2:54), 3. Duncan’s Plan (0:31), 4. The Peyote Saloon (2:32), 5. Wiping Out the Town (0:41), 6. The Road to Esperanza (Main Title/Navajo Joe) (1:54), 7. The Engineer’s Harmonica (0:09), 8. Duncan’s Wild Bunch (Goodbye to Brother Jeffrey) (0:27), 9. Train Massacre (0:42), 10. Fear and Silence (1:49), 11. A Dollar a Head (2:20), 12. Joe’s Departure (End Title/Navajo Joe) (2:14), 13. An Indian Story (Healing the Wound) (2:01), 14. Ride Into Town (1:49), 15. But Joe Say No (1:20), 16. To Intermission (0:38), 17. Torture (The Bandit Gets the Train) (2:01), 18. Navajo Harmonica, Part 1 (0:40), 19. Navajo Harmonica, Part 2 (0:48), 20. The Navajo Escapes (1:38), 21. A Bad Childhood (0:26), 22. Joe and His Woman (1:07), 23. The Horses Set Free (0:48), 24. The Demise of Father Rattigan (The Demise of Barbara) (2:56), 25. From Esperanza (To Esperanza) (1:47), 26. Over the Mountain (1:13), 27. The Search for Joe (1:05), 28. The Confrontation/The Return of Joe (1:53), 29. After the End (2:16), 30. Main Title (Film Version) (3:01) BONUS, 31. Raw Hides and Dead Hides (1:20) BONUS, 32. Fear and Silence (1:49) BONUS, 33. The Navajo’s a Prisoner (1:40) BONUS, 34. Navajo Joe Medley (2:06) BONUS, 35. Sadness (0:33) BONUS. Film Score Monthly FSMCD 10-14, 53 minutes 58 seconds.
