Slalom

AMG Review of Slalom

Richie Unterberger
All Music Guide

Morricone's soundtrack to the 1965 film Slalom is one of his more innocuous efforts, but still a good blend of frivolous fun and ominous thriller overtones. The most memorable excerpt is the theme "Slalom" itself, with its sinister progression played partially on bells while rather chilling female and male voices alternate sing-chirping the word "slalom!" You know it's Morricone because there's plenty of whimsical whistling thrown in as well. The rest of the soundtrack is a mixed bag: rather generic light comedy music, cheesy organ, and cheapish reverbed guitars that recall early-'60s European instrumental ock, lush easy listening pieces with expansive choral vocals, pseudo-harem backdrops, mood-light omantic jazz, sparse chase-scene cues, and more. On the more experimental side, there's a section where scatting voices chatter away in a wobbly manner that's close to avant-garde. The 2000 CD on Dagored is padded out a little with the original single edit of "Slalom" and a couple of alternative versions of the end title piece.