Book Excerpt of the Day

"The most famous – or rather infamous – film to arise out fo the post-Dollars western revival was the ultra-violent The Wild Bunch. Director Sam Peckinpah once acknowledged that his film might never have been made had it not been for spaghetti westerns. Although the film frequently takes place south of the border – a familiar conceit of countless Spanish-location Italian westerns – Jerry Fielding's score does not mimic the style of the Italians. Fielding's score marks a break with the past and attempts to create a fresh interpretation of the genre. It has a grander sound than most spaghetti westerns – fuller orchestration, with less emphasis on individual sounds. On the whole, the score eschews old-school over-the-top emotion and big-sky grandeur in favor of subtlety."

– from Chapter 4: Staccato Six-Guns of Kristopher Spencer’s Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979