Soundtracks — CDs  

Groovy tunes with a heavy soundtrack bounce – all great numbers lifted from older Italian scores, plus a few other tunes by recent Italian groups who have a definite retro groove! The feel is great – with lots of organ, bouncy drums, and weird little sounds, all humming some hip grooves that sound very very fresh to our ears. Beat, shake, and jerk tunes abound – and many of these numbers are making their first appearance ever on CD, too! Titles include "Laila Laila" by Ennio Morricone, "Gimme Time" by Sante Maria Romitelli, "Psycho Sitar" by Magnetic 4, "I Was A Yeh Yeh Girl" by Doing Time, "I Giovani Tigri" by Piero Piccioni, "Roma Bene" by Luis Bacalov, "Quand Ero Un Bebe" by Vip 2000, "Il Tallone Di Achille" by Franco De Masi, and "Il Divorzio" by Fred Buongusto.

A killer CD – filled with funky tracks all picked by Cinedelic Records, with an ear towards the kinds of drums, basslines, and keyboards that have helped these older Italian soundtrack gems stay alive with a younger funky generation! The disc was formerly part of a more expensive special box, but is now presented here in a more reasonable version with just a focus on the music. CD features a whopping 22 tracks in all – with titles that include "Il Grande Racket" by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, "Montreal Non Stop" by Luis Bacalov, "Tira A Rezza Oj Piscatore" by Raoul, "Folk & Violence" by Franco Micalizzi, "Sangue Di Sbirro" by Alessandro Alessandroni, "L'Intoccabile Mr Cliff" by Riz Ortolani, "La Polizia Chiede Aiuto" by Stelvio Cipriani, "Preludio" by Osanna, "Gangster Story" by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, "Inseguimento E Fuga (2)" by Ennio Morricone, and "Kidnap" by Piero Piccioni.

A beautiful tribute to Italian director Mario Monicelli – a book of images, packaged with a CD of music from his films! The images are wonderful – lots of black and white movie stills, mixed with color images of posters too – often in historical chronology with some additional data – so that the book acts as a visual filmography of Monicelli's rich career! The CD is sweet, too – with music from the 50s all the way up through the present – although mostly from the 70s overall – served up in a range of cinematic styles that's as varied as the movies Mario directed. Titles include "Avvolta In Un Boa Giallo" by Nino Rota, "Al Trani" by Carlo Rustichelli, "I Nuovi Mostri" by Armando Trovajoli, "Mia Cara Olympia" by Nicola Piovani, "Viaggio Con Anita" by Ennio Morricone, "Marcia" by Carlo Rustichelli, "Risate Di Gioia" by Lelio Luttazzi, and "Cala A Sera" by Vito Ranucci.

One of the funkiest soundtracks we've ever heard from Alessandro Alessandroni – a set that clearly shows he'd been listening to the score for Shaft, as well as a host of 70s sound library music too! There's lots of great Italian cop/crime grooves on the set – done at an understated level that's almost better than more familiar work of the genre – often strongly focused on the core rhythms, which are lean and plenty darn funky – bad-stepping with instrumentation that's often small combo funky jazz more than it is the bigger orchestrations of American cop scores. Titles include "Cop's Blood", "Amusement", "Duke Soul Jazz", "Tema Di Susie", "Club Jazz", "Palance", "Knell", "Sbirro In Fuga", and "Luxury".

Sublime bossa tunes by the legendary Ennio Morricone – packaged in a hardcover book with beautiful color images from the films! The set was put together by the folks at Cinedelic Records, and goes for only the best of the best of the groovy side of Morricone's genius – those gently floating tunes that stand out as some of his best-remembered soundtrack work of the 60s and 70s – many of which have had a lasting effect upon current scenes in Italy, Japan, and elsewhere! And even though the music is great, the book is almost more amazing – done as a hardcover with a few pages on each film – showing a vintage poster for the movie, a scene or two, and other rare images – plus a dates and information for the films and soundtrack records! The whole thing's totally great, and a must-have for any Morricone collection – with a total of 16 tracks on the CD that include "Al Convento", "Walzer Bossa Nova", "Belinda May", "Alla Serenita", "Una Voce Allo Specchio", "Can Can Delle Filly", "Argomenti", "Un Salotto Borghese", "Matto Caldo Soldi Morto Girotondo", "Sestriere", and "Scherzo Un Po Triste".

Rare work from composer Robby Poitevin – pulled from two groovy Italian films of the late 60s! Tecnica Di Un Omicidio is a great action score, put together with a heavy dose of jazz – great vibes, flute, and plenty of other horns – blasting out with a hip style over lots of tight percussion – almost in the manner of spy films from the time, but with a lot more complexity at points, almost the depths of a drama, without any of the sleepy moments. The film's represented by 12 tracks here, all of them pretty great, and pretty different from each other – a really fresh batch of music that includes "Alba A New York", "Central Station", "My Man", "L'Ultima Vittima", "Bassifondi", "Clint In Agguato", and "Tecnica Di Un Omicido". Quella Carogna Dell'Ispettore Sterling is a great score to a hip 60s crime thriller – served up with a mod mix of bossa nova, jazz, and some groovier bits – really great music that easily rivals the late 60s greatness of better-known Italian composers like Armando Trovajoli or Piero Piccioni! Some tunes are upbeat and driving – almost in a mod mode – while others have a dreamier style that makes cool use of organ and voice, the latter of which is handled by I Cantori Moderni on two tracks, and Gianfranca Montedoro on one more. There's an odd sort of feel to the music, in ways that have the same sort of charm as the great score for The Tenth Victim, especially in the use of organ. Titles include "Allucianzione", "One More Step", "Alba A San Francisco", "Tema Dell'Ispettore Sterling", and "Adesso Che Hai Vent'Anni".

An amazing set of modern jazz – penned by Italian film composer Piero Umiliani, but also played by a very hip group headed by a young Gato Barbieri! Although Gato's probably best known for his late 60s appearances on the American scene, and his 70s dates for Impulse and Flying Dutchman – his earlier work in Italy is all pretty darn great, and this set shows the budding modernist to be in very strong company with a lineup that includes Enrico Rava on trumpet and Franco D'Andrea on piano, plus bass and drums. Side one of the record features full orchestrations by Umiliani – still plenty jazzy, with some great horn passages and cool use of vibes. Then side two features Umiliani's music played by the small group with Gato in the lead – a really great mix of modes that make the soundtrack a real standout, both in the Italian jazz and film scenes of the 60s. Titles include "Jazz Alla Vivaldi", "Ballata Della Bassa Padana", "Brass Fugato", "Una Bella Grinta", "Lontananza", "Sequenze Autostrata", "Free Theme", and "Hammond Blues"

2 of the grooviest soundtracks ever recorded by this Italian genius! For the score to the mod 60s film Il Profeta, Trovajoli adds in some great elements like twanging guitars, trippy sitar, and hammond organ – all of which groove along in kind of a "go go" mode on the set's best numbers, laying out a vision of swinging Italy that really makes us wish we were there! Titles include "Il Profeta", "Abbiamo Capito", and "Topo Di Campagna", all done in a number of versions, making for a total of 16 cuts in all! La Matriarca is even better – built around one lovely little melody, similar to Francis Lai's legendary A Man & A Woman soundtrack! The tune is totally compelling, and is played in a variety of speeds and settings – on organ, electric harpsichord, and piano – all with jaunty little rhythms, and a slightly bossa, slightly Frenchy sound to it. Really wonderful, and the kind of ditty you'll be humming for weeks after you listen to it! There's 9 tracks in all – including "Bossa Nova Remix", "Piano Solo", "Slow Take", "Main Titles", and "Dream Version". 25 cuts in all – with both soundtracks on the CD!