A surprisingly beautiful score for a film that's about revenge – one that maybe elevates the whole proceedings past the George Kennedy performance on the screen – at that level that can always make a Morricone score for a forgotten film well worth seeking out! There's plenty of tension in the music – sounds that draw on some of the maestro's understanding of more atonal elements, yet mixed with other moments that show a slight sense of relief – orchestrations sliding back into more familiar formation – in a shifting balance that creates a nicely unsettling sound throughout the entire score! Tunes include "Il Giustiziere", "Terrorist", "Vite Cancellate", and "Gusto Di Vendetta". CD

One of the more obscure soundtracks from the great run of early 70s material on Cinevox – and a set that's right up there with the best of the time, like Ennio Morricone or Stelvio Cipriani! The score's an unusual one by Augusto Martelli – for a film about a woman who is converted to the "erotic religion of the Snake God", and sacrifices herself at the end of the film! Who cares about the plot, though, because there's some great little groovy bits on here – played by nicely compressed guitar and Hammond organ, plus lots of exotic percussion, in keeping with the theme of the film. For starters, the score contains the great track "Beryl's Tune", which has a great jangly guitar sample that's been used at least once over the past few years. Other nice ones include "Djamballa", "Beryl No 2", "Ciche Ton Ton", "Beguine Venezuela", "Mood", and "Zombie's Mood". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly untapped world of cinematic jazz – pulled from an array of Spanish films of the late 50s and early 60s – most of which have soundtracks as dynamic as work coming from France or Italy at the time! A good portion of the tracks here are scored by Jose Sola – who seems to draw inspiration from some of the west coast jazz soundtracks of the 50s – work by Elmer Bernstein, Shorty Rogers, Leith Stevens, and others – blending standout soloists with fuller backings, but in a way that matches the stark energy of the images on the screen! The CD's an unusual one in that many of the tunes are quite long – upwards of 10 minutes, and very different than the shorter snippets of jazz you might get on other soundtrack efforts from the same generation – and some numbers keep in bits of the dialogue, presenting the music with sound that's more "cinematic" than straight studio recording. Solo instruments include a fair bit of trumpet and alto sax – and the package comes with a great booklet with notes in English and Spanish, plus images from the films. Titles include "Un Vaso De Whisky", "A Sangre Fria", "Altas Variedades", "Los Cuervos", "Regresa Un Desconocido", and "El Salario Del Crimen" by Jose Sola; plus "091 Policia Al Habla" by Augusto Alguero, "Juventud A La Intemperie" by Enrique Escobar, and "A Tiro Limpo" by Federico Martinez Tudo. CD

The title doesn't give you much to go on – but take it from us, this is a great little compilation – one that's filled with rare jazz work from a variety of European soundtracks of the 60s and 70s! The range of tracks here is really great – and wide enough to include a few favorites, plus an even wider range of rare and obscure numbers – most of which are pulled from the catalog of EMI Italy, and include a number of tunes that have never been issued to the public before! And even better, there's a fair bit of work on here that's from soundtracks that aren't normally jazzy overall – but which feature one or two great jazz tracks, pulled out nicely here and intermingled with the rest of the top-shelf set. 18 tracks in all – 5 previously unreleased – with titles that include "Eva" by Michel Legrand, "A Place For Lovers (jazz suite)" by Manuel De Sica, "Spaghetti A Detroit" by Fred Bongusto, "Adulterio All'Italiana" by Armando Trovajoli, "Ballando Con Raquel" by Nino Rota, "This Is Life" by Piero Piccioni, "Sideslip (new edit)" by Berto Pisano, "Jazz Interlude" by Giorgio Gaslini, "That's Show" by Gianni Dell'Orso, "Monitor Jazz" by Carlo Rustichelli, and "Kiss Me Worren Please" by Bruno Nicolai. (Funky Compilations, Soundtracks) CD

The first-ever volume of the now-legendary Easy Tempo series – a collection of soundtrack grooves that hipped us back to the wonders of the Italian scene of the 60s and 70s – and did so at a time when few folks had ever thought to reissue this music! Right from the start, this series set a whole new level for soundtrack appreciation – and the collection features an incredible range of tunes that run from jazzy, to groovy, to funky, with lots of mod spaces in between – all served up with great sound, and even more of a sense of focus than the original soundtracks! Titles include "La Gabbia" by Gianni Ferrio, "Blue Rhythm Festival" by Piero Piccioni, "Notte Al Grand Hotel" by Riz Ortolani, "One Fine Morning" by Augusto Martelli, "Mark Il Poliziotto" by Stelvio Ciprani, "Grigioperla" by Gianfranco Plenizio, "Serena E Lamuno" by Riz Ortolani, and "Ira Rhythm & Blues" by Gianni Ferrio. (Funky Compilations, Soundtracks) CD

One of our favorite volumes in this now-legendary series – a set of grooves that runs from 70s electric back to 60s groovy – with plenty of space in between! There's a number of cuts on here that feel like they were lifted from lost CTI sessions of the 70s, thanks to warm keyboards and spare, subtle beats – while others mix together mod 60s styles, and even bits of Latin and Brazilian influences! The track selection is sublime, and still one of the best illustrations of the genius of this period – with tracks that include "Diamond Bossa Nova" by Franceso De Masi, "Lady Magnolia" by Piero Umiliani, "Nago" by Luiz Bacalov, "Bob E Hellen" by Piero Umiliani, "North Pole Penguin" by Piero Piccioni, "Beryl's Tune No 2" by Agusto Martelli, "Flute Sequence" by Franco Micalizzi, "Danza Citar Free" by Piero Umiliani, "Honey Rhythm & Blutter" by The Green Future, "Esquetando Os Tambourinos E Cuica" by Sergio Nilo, and "Soul Samba" by Attilio Donadio. (Funky Compilations, Soundtracks) CD

Slammin's a definite good choice for the title of this one – as this 5th entry in the Easy Tempo series seems even funkier than the other volumes – a set that's got plenty of full-on grooves, hand-picked from the genius Italian soundtrack years of the 60s and 70s! If you're looking for a place to start digging the full range of talents of the maestros of this time, you'd be hard pressed to find a better collection – as the Easy Tempo name always means the best bits from this scene, served up in a package that packs a lot more punch than any single individual soundtrack! Titles include "Loco Love Motor" and "The Frog" by Augusto Martelli, "Montreal Non Stop" and "Anice Nuraghi" by Luiz Bacalov, "L'Arcangelo" by Piero Umiliani, "Running Fast" by Stefano Torossi, "Blazing Magnum" by Armando Trovajoli, "Trop's" by Alberto Baldan Bembo, "Vuca" by Tony Mimms, and "The Chicken" by Dick Oliver. (Funky Compilations, Soundtracks) CD

The bikini beat is a great one here – no simple beach music classics, but a range of mod groovers from the classic years of the Italian soundtrack scene! This volume is heavy on electric elements – fuzzy guitars, keyboards, and more – all filtered nicely through a range of rhythms from the 60s and the 70s – bossa, jazzy, and funky – filled with amazing twists and turns throughout! The double-length collection is a treasure through and through – easily one of the greatest soundtrack sets we could have hoped for. Tracks include "Teresa L'Illusa" by Riz Ortolani, "Malizie Di Venere" by Gianpiero Reverberi, "Spy Chase" by Bruno Nicolai, "Airport Rock" by Barigozzi Group, "Shake 2000" by Piero Piccioni, "Amanda Blues" by Gianni Ferrio, "Un Detective" by Fred Bongusto, "Katmandu" by Piero Piccioni, "Theme" by Armando Trovajoli, and "La Bambolona" by Luis Bacalov. (Funky Compilations, Soundtracks) CD