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March 12, 2004

Hey Navajo Joe

Navajo Joe

Mp3 Friday! ....this week: Main Title-Navajo Joe (Ennio Morricone) 3.9M

This is a great track! Also a classic mid-1960s western theme from Morricone: the screeching wordless vocals, the thick twang of the Danelectro guitar, a battery of tympanis, and a frenetic Italian choir chanting "Navajo Joe! Navajo Joe!" This was composed about the same time as The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, and there are many similarities. And while that classic tune is a pop masterpiece (and then some), the Navajo Joe Theme has almost an abrasive avant edge (but then again, so does a lot of late 1960s Italian film music).

As a film, Navajo Joe is hardly The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (not even close), but it has its defenders. The movie's star, Burt Reynolds, thought it the worst film of his career. Then again, before the stellar reviews came pouring in, he thought Boogie Nights was a piece of shit, too.