A wonderful package – one that brings together four killer horror soundtracks from Italian maestro
Bruno Nicolai! First up is La Coda Dello Scorpione – a dark dark masterpiece from the legendary
Bruno Nicolai – written for an equally dark thriller with a wonderful edge! The work here is on a par with that of
Nicolai's frequent partner, Ennio Morricone – often using full orchestrations to score a deeper theme in the film – but also often moving to lighter, leaner moments based around a simpler instrumental mode. There's a staccato feel to some of the best moments on the set – spare and edgey, with a sense of dread that's almost palpable! Next is Il Tuo Vizio E Una Stanza Chiusa E Solo Io Ne Ho La Chiave – a wonderful score by
Bruno Nicolai – one that follows strongly in the mode of work from the time by frequent collaborator, Ennio Morricone! The approach on most tracks is spare and moody – using a lot of harpsichord over light orchestrations – and going for a tense feel that matches the spirit of the horror film, but which also has some surprisingly sweet and sexy moments from time to time. On Tutti I Colori De Buio,
Bruno Nicolai's at his most Morricone-esque – and has crafted a dreamy set of tunes that hardly matches the dark Satanist thriller they were recorded for! The melodies are light, and spare, with isolated and drawn-out piano and string passages – plus some wonderful wordless vocals from the great Edda Dell'Orso – floating along in magical Morricone territory. Apart from a few tense moments, the whole thing has this moodier, mellow feel – with some lighter lovely tunes that would be right at home in a Mondo Morricone type set. Last up is one of our all-time
Nicolai favorites, Perche Quelle Strane Gocce Di Sangue Sul Corpo Di Jennifer – one of the greatest soundtracks we've ever heard from
Bruno Nicolai – a wonderful array of lightly groovy tunes that's as fantastic as any of the Mondo Morricone work from the same time! The main theme of the film has a catchy La Donna Invisible sort of feel – building on waves of sound with piano over orchestrations, skipping along to an altered bossa beat – showing up in a number of different variants throughout the score. Other tracks are darker and moodier, but really vary things up to fit the moods of the scene – using Morricone-styled bits of harpsichord, violin, or strings to come up with some incredible sounds. This 4CD set comes with a great slipcover, and a big booklet of notes!