Morricone or Vangelis

I've been thinking about doing a little soundtrack composers series of polls, and this is the first of them.  I've long loved Vangelis' music, and Ennio Morricone has become a particular favourite of mine for his (huge discography) 60's through 1970s work.  I've been so into Morricone over the last couple of years that my choice is easy, and I still have so much to discover that I'll be getting his albums for years to come..

Some tracks of both from the late 60s through 70s (not trying to be really representative -- just some stuff I like, and please do share your favourites by both).

Ennio Morricone:







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv-pdL8J-jY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDyVsg-WEH0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL-X53ze5O0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5jElkp3IHs

Vangelis:







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECPgkv7_QB0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qo575Ypww

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwAop6MVxa4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3nzbYFZ1yw

EDIT: Though I wanted to easily share more of some of my favourites (and choosing only seven per artist just from the late 60s through 70s was already really tough, and then there's later material I love) in the interests of making this topic more accessible to those without broadband, I have only embedded three each.  I hope that helps page-load.  Hopefully more people will now join in the discussion.  I do want a media rich thread though, so I really do hope people embed themselves, which makes it more of a shared musical experience (I like it when we're listening to each-other's favourites and maybe discovering something new).


Much Later EDIT to fix embeds as they won't work the way they used t, but messed up on two so not sure which third tracks I chose before -- probably the same Vangelis as I really love that one, but I would have chosen more variety with Morricone.

Edited by Logan - September 10 2017 at 12:24

I have broadband, and have forever, so I sometimes forget that it may be difficult for some to load the page.  Well, I didn't forget this time, truth be told.  I meant to do only 14.

Morricone. Vangelis sounds too generic at times. Morricone never does.

The T wrote: Morricone. Vangelis sounds too generic at times. Morricone never does.

I agree, and I think Morricone much more versatile and sophisticated.  I do love lots of music by both, though. 

What gets me with Morricone is how incredibly prolific he was, yet he has such quality to his compositions and arrangements.

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I am somewhat surprised, though to see Morricone with twice as many votes (yes, only six people have voted, so it's not that amazing) since Vangelis gets way more discussion at this site.  And one day I do plan to push for Morricone in Prog Related (though I think he could fit RPI, I know they have qualms about opening the door to lots of soundtrack composers).

I started with Morricone's "spaghetti western" work many years ago with Sergio Leone, which I think brilliant:



And then fell in love with the Mission and it's soundtrack.



It wasn't until relatively recently, thanks to a  poster here, that I started to explore his in-between work, which just took over my listening habits to a  significant extent (and then started exploring other Itlalian soundtrack composers).

As for Vangelis, Richard, I like those too.  I'ma little more into his 70s stuff, but for a time that was mostly the kind of music I listened to.  I had a Best of Themes Vangelis CD (guess it's still around), and this was one of my favourite:



I agree with theLlama though that a lot of music has dated and now sounds rather cheesy due to the synths (but since that kind of synth music was at one time my particular thing, I still have a place in my heart for it).  Some of Vangelis' pop is pretty intolerable for me 9espeically if it gets AORish), whereas I love lots of Morricone poppy music with Edda dell'Orso, but that Morricone music is quirkier or more beautiful to me.  Both have been quite experimental, but I think Morricone has experimented with a more  diversr palette of music more consistently (he has great knowledge of music and could play with lots of styles to create different moods for  soundtracks that offer interesting juxtapositions on the OSTs).

EDIT to fix embeds (I used to do it in a way that is no longer supported by the software, whereas others did it a way that still is).


Edited by Logan - September 10 2017 at 12:27

^ I think sometimes, to be glib, for the classic-oriented progger, most everything not of the 70s sounds dated (or at least certain 70s music is more likely to be described as timeless despite being very much of its time).  Very good post, by the way -- food for thought and another reason to delve more into his music. I have heard some of his more "studious" works, and know that he can be a great "art music" composer, and has delved into many styles.  That's very interesting what Vangelis has said, and he has been overly stereotyped by some. The clash of industry vs. art goes on.  I'll look for the interview. Thanks.

Guldbamsen wrote: What a pickle...

Oh, we were supposed to get pickles!

Well, to be honest I've never heard of Morricone, but I love Vangelis! But I won't vote for the sake of an open mind  any recommendations for my first Morricone album?

Sidenote: I mostly enjoy the calmness of El Greco, so if you could give me some Morricone in that type of direction, that'd be great!

Just ordered the soon to be released 5 CD box set of Morricone's Greatest Movie Themes. Seems a good place to start (Amazon does state its for the 'casual fan' which would be me I guess)

I'd vote for Vangelis if he wasn't up against Morricone. 

Logan wrote: Of course I'm more than a casual fan, but I'd like to have this 15 CD boxset: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Edition-Ennio-Morricone/dp/B001KXHSCO Seems a little misnamed as it could hardly be complete -- not by an amazingly long shot (but I don't know much about it).  For a casual fan a compilation is a good idea, but have to be really careful with the compilation.  Different compilations cover different styles/ and or periods from him, and many don't use the original soundtracks.  I was looking to see what 5 CD box set at amazon would be, and didn't search hard, so i don't know (didn't find one under that name with a  quick google search), but I did find an older 5 CD box set from 2007  http://www.amazon.com/Ennio-Morricone-The-Soundtracks-Box/dp/B000N4S9LA which states: Don't buy this unless you prefer cheesy synthesizer versions of Morricone's themes instead of the real thing. Blech. Words cannot display how upset I am after buying this box set. What I was expecting was orchestral original pieces of all of Morricones great wonderful music but instead I got only awful midi synth remakes. Who ever decided to put this little scam together, please, kindly remove yourself from planet earth. What would you rather hear, The Beatles White Album, or your best friend Larry humming the Beatles White Album? Same thing right? Buying this was like a small boy asking for a puppy and getting goldfish. Anyone who loves music and Morricone, please save yourself the trouble and don't buy this product. There are so many compilations of that ilk that one has to be very careful.  I have been burned a number of times, I can blame my own carelessness, with buying soundtracks that turned out not to be the version I expected (not the OSTs).  I once bought a Vangelis album which turned out to be someone else making what sounded close to midi files of his music (the kind of crap one often finds in karaoke versions of music). As a Morricone collector, I love the original soundtracks much more than compilations (have a number of compilations I love by different artists, though -- especially like n Edda dell'Orso compilation -- she sung with various Italian film-score composers).  It's common in soundtracks to find variations of themes, and I love how that is done with Morricone.  Unlike a normal album, themes do get re-used and changed (one might be a solemn version, another a jazzy version, another scary version etc.)  Often it's a less popular version of the theme off the album that is my favourite (the kind that wouldn't make it to most compilations).  I love repetition often with variations, which is one reason why so many soundtracks to appeal to me (get to hear the same melodies done in different ways).

Its the one below although I must admit I don' know if its been sourced from the original soundtracks.