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AKA:
Minnesota Clay (West Germany)
L'homme du Minnesota (France)
GDM Music releases on CD the OST composed by Piero Piccioni the Western movie "Minnesota Clay" (aka "L'homme du Minnesota") directed by Sergio Corbucci, released in november 1964 (in the same year of Sergio Leone's "For a fistful of dollars") and starring Cameron Mitchell, Antonio Casas, Alberto Cevenini, Diana Martin, Julio Peña, Nando Poggi, Georges Rivière, Ethel Rojo, Fernando Sancho, Madeleine Dehek. Sentenced to twenty years of penal servitude for a crime he did not commit, Minnesota Clay (Mitchell) escapes from the prison, motivated not only by the instinct of freedom, but buy the wish to come back to Mesa Encantada, in New Mexico, where the witness reticent of Clay' innocence lives. He finds the city disputed between two gangs: one is front by fierce Ortiz, a Mexican general deserter, the other front by the clever Fox, the man who had not told the truth at the trial. The two chiefs would like to have the collaboration of Clay who has the fame of expert gunman; but he, disgusted by the proposals, refuses, winning the enmity of both. Pursued, he succeeds fortunately to save himself together with the found again daughter Nancy and Jonathan. Having later eliminated Ortiz, Fox would like the same with Minnesota Clay. He ramshackle and almost blind, duels with Fox using his hearing: he strikes the adversary and he forces him to confess publically the truth. Piero Piccioni has written a memorable symphonic score much more influenced from Hollywood (orchestrations of the veteran Ralph Ferraro) than the just rising sound of the Italian Western. The main theme is a motif where the strings play an epic passage that is often reprised in the score, alternated to motifs to horse rides, ambushes and all the narrative elements of the genre. At that time a 33 rpm was issued with 17 tracks with a length of only 34:04. To realize this special edition CD the original session mono master tapes have been used, also including two rare stereo mixes, that gave the chance to release the complete version (71:50) of a much requested score, digitally restored and remastered.
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