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There was something sweet about Ennio Morricone getting a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars on Sunday night, watching him sit impassively with his wife by his side and Quincy Jones one seat over—wearing one of the ugliest tuxedos ever made—and getting emotional when he gave his acceptance speech in Italian. But there was nothing sweet about the performance of “Knew I Loved You” by Celine Dion—a ballad from Once Upon a Time in America that was given lyrics last year and opens a strange new album called We All Love Ennio Morricone (Sony Classical). The album features a truly bizarre hodge podge of musicians fronting several different orchestras on popular themes written by the maestro over his long career (he’s scored more than 500 films). Among the guests: operatic cheese ball Andrea Bocelli, smooth jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, Bruce Springsteen, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury with the great arranger/keyboardist Eumir Deodato, classical vocalist Renee Fleming, and, oh yeah, Metallica. While the range of talent certainly speaks to Morricone’s broad appeal, the album is kind of a train wreck, albeit one perfectly timed to coincide with the Oscars and the composer’s first ever U.S. concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
