CD REVIEW - I QUATTRO PISTOLERI DI SANTA TRINITA'


I Quattro Pistoleri di Santa Trinita'
Music by Roberto Pregadio
GDM Hillside Series GDM 4125
20 Tracks 42:18 mins

Another new western release in the Hillside Series is the full stereo recording of Roberto Pregadio's score for this western with the English title of Four Pistols for Trinity, a 1971 addition to the Trinity series, directed by Giorgio Cristallini, and starring Peter Lee Lawrence and Evelyn Stewart.
Pregadio has written some fine conventional western scores, but this is very different, taking a very jazzy approach, immediately evident in the opening title track, which moves busily along on jazz trumpet, with syncopated drum accompaniment. The theme is reprised in track 8. That same jazzy trumpet features prominently in tense, suspenseful tracks like "Attesa Jazz," "Quattro Pistole" and "Mistero;" as well as the bluesy "Cowboy Swing" and "Pistolero Nei Guai."
The fine but melancholy love song "Julie" is introduced briefly in track 3 on the disc, performed by the deep, distinctive voice of Peter Boom, and is given a full treatment in the concluding track, as well as performed in straightforward instrumental fashion in "Nella Prateria," "Ricordi," "Verso La Frontiera," and in subdued and somewhat dramatic fashion in "Crepuscolo al Canyon."
There's also another melancholy song of lost love in the score, "It Was a Joke," by uncredited female vocalist.
"Notturno" features more melancholia, in the form of a soft guitar solo, accompanied by organ, which features in full religious mode in "In Chiesa" and in romantic mode in "Tema D'Amore."
The surprisingly breezy "Allegra Marcetta" bears a certain resemblance to "The Girl I Left behind Me."
The penultimate track, "Momento Drammatico," is where the score comes to a head in a fusion of jazz and more traditional action scoring.
In conclusion, this score is something of a mixed bag. There are things that come from the more traditional side of Italian Western scoring, but the jazzy approach is very much at odds with the genre. So, I have to recommend it with reservations.
The CD is accompanied by the usual colourful booklet, with stills and artwork from the film, together with principal cast and credits details. Limited to just 500 copies, get along now to www.hillsidecd.co.uk if you want a copy.