Once Upon A Time In Mexico...

This afternoon I sat on my bedroom floor listening to the score of Once Upon A Time In Mexico. Having seen a bit of the movie once, I'm able to picture Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp sauntering about the streets of some Mexican city, evading the Mexican authorities, and shooting, well, everything.

Looking at the back of the CD, though, I was surprise to find that the first track (titled Malaguena) was performed by Brian Setzer! What in the world is he doing in here? I wondered. Brian Setzer, as you may know, is the leader of one of the best swing bands out there right now. I'd listened to this score many times over the past few years that we've had it, but I'd never payed any attention to who the performers were. I'd always liked Malaguena, but I didn't know it was Brian Setzer! It has a very powerful and loud feel to it, with an almost tango-ish sound. I don't really know how to describe it, but he did a really good job giving it a Mexican feel, for a Big Band player anyhow.

Although it has many performers who contributed to the Album, Robert Rodriguez was the composer for all the rest of the tracks. I think he did an awesome job with it. Having not heard any of his other works, I guess I can't really judge him simply by this one, but I do think he composed it well.

My other favorite tracks on here are Church Shootout, Pistolero, Yo Te Quiero, Me Gustas Tu, and Sands Theme. Robert said once that if he ever got into playing Major League Baseball, and got to choose the song that he would come out onto the field to, it would be the beginning of Sands Theme. It's perfectly intimidating, so he loves it.

Emily favored Yo Te Quiero, though, so I always think of her when I hear it. It's a very Emily-style song, so it's no wonder that she likes it. She always did like songs that had a very distinctive beat, and Yo Te Quiero is all that.

Kate really liked Me Gustas Tu, so that track always reminds me of her. I used to ask her to tell me what they were saying, since she knew a bit of Spanish. Now I'm able to translate a lot of it on my own, but I still miss listening/singing it with her.

Liz never really listened to this score, but when she did, she always asked us to play Traeme Paz for her. We never knew what the girl was singing about, but Liz liked the sound of the song.

George likes Church Shootout, and used to pretend to play the guitar or drums along with it.

As for me, Pistolero is my favorite. It has such a great powerful, blood pumping feel to it. It's awesome. I remember bouncing around the kitchen doing dishes and singing along with this song with my sisters. We all really liked it, but it's always been my favorite. I love how the track starts out with a slow guitar line, and then a clip from the movie over the top of the guitar, which goes like this: Johnny Depp, in a whiny voice: "I hate robbing banks..." *BLAM BLAM BLAM* And then the song sort of stalls for a second after you hear the gun shots, and then it takes off into it's powerful dive. Interrupted here and there by more gun shots, it's a really cool song. I love it.

So yes, if you ask me, Robert Rodriguez did a great job choosing performers for the score, and in composing his own works to add to it. It's one of my favorite soundtracks, and I doubt I'll lose any respect for it any time soon.