Certainly purists will prefer the versions of these classic Ennio Morricone spaghetti Western soundtracks conducted by Morricone himself to the ones on this compilation, which were arranged and conducted by Hugo Montenegro. Still, anyone who likes prime Morricone from that era will probably enjoy this CD quite a bit. Containing pieces from three of the most famous Morricone-scored films, all of the material was released in 1967, and it must be said that Montenegro didn't miss a trick, employing the low twangy guitars, weeping horns, and ghostly whistles that are usually identified as Morricone trademarks. Perhaps these are a tad more bombastic, orchestrated, and pop-slanted than Morricone's own versions but, if anything, Montenegro's touches enhance the grandiose sadness of the melodies. Contains the massive hit version of the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which went to number two in 1968.