At face value, the fourth in this series of long-overdue collections of film songs by the great Ennio Morricone would seem the most problematic. As producers and film scores leaned more heavily on rock and pop in the "80s and "90s, not surprisingly Morricone"s film songs became fewer and further in between. Though this collection contains a dizzying collection of singers (Pia Zadora, Amii Stewart, Debbie Davis, k.d. lang, Katia Ricciarelli, Gérard Depardieu) and songs from films occasionally suspect (Butterfly, Sahara, Twister, The Achille Lauro Affair), there isn"t close to an embarrassing moment here. Instead, we"re treated to rare gems (opera star Ricciarelli"s magnificent, soaring adaptation of "Once Upon a Time in the West"), orphaned ballads (lang"s beautiful "Love Affair," written for the 1994 Beatty-Bening film of the same name, but used instead in Twister) and pleasant surprises (Pia Zadora"s sensual "It"s Wrong for Me to Love You" from the otherwise disatrous Butterfly). Even Depardieu manages not to bruise French and Italian versions of the main theme to Tornatore"s A Pure Formality with his thin, husky voice, and Amii Stewart"s versions of perhaps overly familiar material ("Chi Mai," "Metti Una Sera a Cena," adapted as "Hurry to Me") are given fresh, minimalist arrangements that only underscore Morricone"s melodic gifts. Full of refreshing surprises, this collection dares to challenge the pundit"s wisdom; maybe it"s the song and not the singer. --Jerry McCulley