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A very strange album, and one of our favorite scores by Nino Rota! Written for a film in which a disfunctional orchestra stands in as a metaphor for the Italian government, the music has a lot of stopping and starting and talking and disruption – all of which has a very comical effect. The main theme is very compelling, in the usual Rota way, and the record comes together in a nice messed-up pastiche of vein attempts to try to play together.

A very strange album, and one of our favorite scores by Nino Rota! Written for a film in which a disfunctional orchestra stands in as a metaphor for the Italian government, the music has a lot of stopping and starting and talking and disruption – all of which has a very comical effect. The main theme is very compelling, in the usual Rota way, and the record comes together in a nice messed-up pastiche of vein attempts to try to play together.

A wonderful Nino Rota score – composed around the same time as his better-known work for Fellini, but done for a film directed by Luchino Visconti! There's a great mix of darkness and light in the music – some playful themes mixed with moodier moments – set to instrumentation that includes organ, bandeon, violin, and sax – with occasional larger orchestrations as well, but always with that sense of intimacy that made Rota one of the first fresh composers on the European scene of the postwar years. If you dig Rota's work for Fellini, you'll find plenty here to love – on titles that include "Come Tu Vuoi", "Milano E Nadia", "Terra Lontana", "L'Amore Di Rocco", and "La Loro Storia".

A rare French soundtrack by Nino Rota, done for this 1960 film by Rene Clement – but filled with all the bold themes and whimsical moments of Rota's best work for Fellini! Clement's film has some beautifully spare moments that Rota scores perfectly here – letting the music drift along with the gentlest breeze on the sea, but contrasting in other moments with a more dramatic orchestral theme. CD marks the first real reissue of the material in this form ever – and is done with the very high standards of others in the Ecoutez Le Cinema series – with detailed notes in English and French, and lots of great shots from the film! Titles include "Meurte De Philippe", "Plein Soleil", Via Veneto", "Falsification", "La Plage", and "La Gemissante".

Some great Nino Rota/Fedrico Fellini collaborations – and definitely their most unusual on record! First up is Satyricon – one of Nino Rota's most amazing soundtracks, to one of Fellini's most bizarre films! The music has some of the usual tightly composed Rota melodies, but it's also touched by lots of weird percussion bits, and slightly "savage" moments – possibly to convey the paganism of the film's setting. The soundtrack's an essential chapter in the Rota/Fellini relationship – and it's much darker and more twisted than some of the better-known collaborations from the early 60s. Titles include "Sulla Nave Di Lica", "La Schiavetta Innamorata", "Tema Di Gitone", and "Il Minotauro". CD features 20 tracks from the film – more than we've seen reissued before! Roma is presented here in a different version than we've seen on reissue too – a different track list that makes for some really evocative music! There's six versions of the "Aria Di Roma" – a really haunting theme, handled in a variety of spare instrumentation – plus two takes on "Trasteverina", which has a moody, almost melancholy feel. There's then four parts of the "Ecclesiastical Fashion Show" – almost a mini-suite that's got an older Rota feel – lots of playful themes intertwining, including a great take on "La Dolce Vita".

A really cool collection of work by Nino Rota – and one that stands as a great complement to his famous soundtracks and film scores! The music here is mostly vocal – sung by a host of different Italian singers, and recorded early on in Rota's career – at a time when his talents weren't turned as strongly towards cinematic ends. And yet, there's also that lush, deep feeling that you'd get in Rota's later work for Fellini – especially some of the more powerful melodies that come forth in the 50s films, particularly some of the vocal moments. The collection's a fascinating look at these early days – and titles include "Treno Popolare" by Crivel, "Gelsomina" by Nilla Pizzi, "Maggie" by Bruno Rosettani, "Il Vero Amoire" by Silvana Pampanini, "Larillira" by Sergio Bruni, "In Vacanza Al Mare" by Franco Bolignari, and "Valzer Di Natascia" by Jula De Palma. 20 tracks in all!

One of the most heartfelt film scores we've ever heard from Francesco De Masi – thanks to some great guitar work from the legendary Alessandro Alessandroni! There's a nice mix of moods in the soundtrack – some playful melodies that almost have a Nino Rota quality, offset by other moments that have the scene-setting quality of a western – all brought togther nicely in a round of short tracks that change mood easily as the set rolls on! Great remastering, and a bit of viola from Dino Asciolla too – and titles include "I Fiori Di Noe", "Ferace Destino", "Il Circo", "L'Amore Di Noe", "Noe", "Eroe Vagabundo", and "Il Tango Di Noe".

A rollicking 70s comedy score from the team of Guido & Maurizio De Angelis – quite a change from the harder sounds of their more familiar crime soundtracks! The album begins with some short tunes that are plenty playful – almost a 70s take on some of the more whimsical melodies you might find in Italian cinema of the early 60s – such as in the work of Nino Rota. Other tracks start to shift the mood a bit, but in ways that are a bit more contemporary – sometimes using slight funky touches or keyboards, but then quickly returning to more traditional fare in the end. CD features a total of 28 short tunes in all!

A very nice soundtrack for this obscure film loosely based on the novel by Joyce – clearly a tough task, given the scope of the original book! Myers' score is suitably crazy – with a strange array of orchestral pieces, moving in and out in a "suite" format, and sounding a lot like a Nino Rota soundtrack overall – with plenty of playfully instrumental moments. Titles include "Proteus", "Nestor", "Circe", and "Ithaca".

A wonderfully groovy score from Carlo Rustichelli – best known to the world for his famous score for Divorce Italian Style, and working here in a style that mixes tight jazzy numbers with sparer themes in kind of a Nino Rota mode! There's some nice organ in the background on some of the best tracks, and the sophisticated writing is extremely compelling – at a level that should have put this one right up there with 8 1/2 or La Dolce Vita – especially in its ability to mix together playful themes and more serious orchestrations. Most tracks are pretty short, and titles include "Distant City", "Steps", "Dusk", "Faded Longings", "Freedom", "Bebo, Goodbye", and "Fog On The River".

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.

An extremely groovy soundtrack from Carlo Rustichelli – one that bridges two generations of Italian comedy scores! At one level, there's a bouncing melodic feel to the score – done in a very Nino Rota-esque way, with plenty of jazzy touches on electric guitar, and some extremely captivating tunes. At another level, there's more of the mod 60s approach at work too – particularly in the way Pier Luigi Urbini interprets the score, and in the way the whole thing's recorded. Very nice stuff – and filled with classic Italian-styled tunes! Titles include "Night Dance", "Il Ricatto", "La Domenica", "Chiacchiere", "Prima Della Festa", and "Sarabanda Allegra". Great CD version features 10 more bonus tracks, including some rare mixes – 26 titles in all!