10 Rare Muse Songs You've Probably Never Heard
2. Man With A Harmonica - Live Cut
Muse have been no strangers to the styles of Western music. With all of their songs being about dystopia and outsiders of society, it's no surprise that they relate to the stories of the gun-toting outlaws of days gone by. Long before they made Knights of Cydonia though, there was one piece of music that found its way into their stage repertoire.
Just before they break into their most famous song to close out the set every night, fans are often treated to a solo harmonica performance by Chris Wolstenholme. Though many just accept this as a calming interlude before the real gut punch of the song, it's actually taken from something much more familiar. Written by Ennio Morricone, Man With a Harmonica is taken from Once Upon a Time in the West, with the same tone that the composer brought to his scores for movies such as the Good the Bad and the Ugly.
While the Muse version is pretty much verbatim of the Morricone original, the fact that it leads off Knights of Cydonia really recontextualizes the piece. As opposed to the standard gunslinging adventure of the former, this acts as a preamble before we get the epic space battle to close out the set. Is it theatrical? Yes. A bit over the top? Maybe. But as an introduction to their greatest song, Muse fans wouldn't have it any other way.