Ennio Morricone is certainly a genius and the maestro of Italian cinema, but part of his genius is including the right people in his work; Edda Dell’Orso is voice, Franco De Gemini is the man with the harmonica, and Alessandro Alessandroni is his wizard of sound. Alessandroni may not be a familiar name to most, but his contributions to the Italian cinema have been countless and indispensable. Alessandro reflects on his long career in soundtracks with Cinema Suicide writer Tim Fife.

Alessandro Alessandroni was born in Rome in 1925. He began his musical career playing with the locals of Soriano nel Cimino; “I became a musician step by step while I was a student. My first experience (playing music) was in a small village where I spent my summer vacations. I learned to play the mandolin in a barber shop; I was 12 years old. I soon moved to the accordion and later took three months of lessons in piano. On my own I gradually learned double bass, tenor sax and guitar.” Alessandro at the time was studying economics at a university in Rome, but eventually gave into devoting his life to music.

Alessandro began performing in nightclubs regularly and eventually met future collaborator Nora Orlani, who soon after meeting asked Alessandro to sing with her vocal group 2+2. Alessandro eventually left the group to start his own quartet, I Caravels. During this time, he also was recording music for television series, commercials, and documentaries. Through this medium, he found himself working on movie soundtracks and eventually caught the ear of frequent Fellini collaborator Nino Rota. During an early 1960’s session for a Rota score, Alessandro began to whistle and Rota was instantly floored at what he had heard. “Nino Rota was a very good musician—it was a pleasure to work for him—and also a great gentleman.” Alessandro recalls. “He was excited with my whistle and I recall he summoned me into the recording studio and asked me to whistle for Fellini!”

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This Filipino fest of bloodletting and frights was released in 1969, the main character is not actually a he as such but more of an it, as the monster is a green blooded chlorophyll creature that resembles the Toxic Avenger on a bad day who resides on a remote island and is the result of an experiment gone horribly wrong, once a patient of the MAD DOCTOR referred to in the pictures title. The insane physician Dr. Lorca, is portrayed by Ronald Remy, whilst John Ashley stars as Dr Bill Foster the hero of the tale, with Angelique Pettyjohn in the role of Sheila Willard providing the love interest and glamour in the film.

The German label Crippled Dick Hot Wax has always been close to my heart for releasing such great soundtrack compilations as Vampyros Lesbos, Beretta 70, and Schoolgirl Report. And keeping in that tradition, they’re releasing a great compilation of music from the Bruce LaBruce movie “Otto.”

If you don’t know who Labruce is, he’s a Toronto based filmmaker, artist, and writer who spearheaded the queercore movement in the early nineties. He’s had some notoriety recently for his stylish semi-pornographic Warholian movies like The Raspberry Reich and also for his articles in Vice. Bruce’s new film is about a gay zombie punk named Otto living in Berlin who eventually finds himself in a low budget horror film. The film is said to have plenty of nods to classic horror and exploitation films and amazingly it was featured at this years Sundance film festival.

For the soundtrack, LaBruce wanted a dichotomy of styles, and to feature relatively unknown performers. In the liner notes he says “I didn’t want to narrow it down to a single sound or style: I wanted something modern and classical, tonal and atonal, traditional and avant-garde, pop and experimental. The only solution was to send out word on MySpace that I was looking for music for a melancholy gay zombie movie.” LaBruce was inundated with responses, and over a year’s time selected 37 artists and 56 tracks for the movie. 

The soundtrack itself is unique, as it not only uses contemporary experimental sounds, but also the album has an incredible rhythm to it. It begins with a traditional and familiar horror theme, and then switches to a melancholy guitar and plodding bass drum dirge-like piece. The score then gains momentum by gradually becoming heavier in tone, as well as more sample based and vocal friendly. The tracks toward the end become more modern and avant-garde using elements of opera, noise, and musique concrete sound collages.

This album has some incredible cuts on it, one being Orthon with Ernesto Tomasini; a haunting track that incorporates violin and operatic vocals that could easily be an off kilter traditional Eastern European folk song. Another was by the Ultra Milkmaids+V, who provide possibly the most experimental work on the record, using sound collage, subsonic bass frequencies, and weird loops. Also notable is the Misty Rose track, which sounds like it could have been penned by Scott Walker back in the sixties. The only complaint to possibly be found with the album is the inclusion of their rougher tracks, which seem to almost halt the beauty of the continuity of the record, notably the Pandas of Death Metal track sounds like a throwback to mid nineties industrial rock.

The original score also included more recognizable names including Throbbing Gristle, CocoRosie, and Antony and the Johnsons, but LaBruce says he wanted the soundtrack to be focused on the lesser known artists. The album will be released worldwide September 5th on both CD and limited double vinyl (at LaBruce’s request). LaBruce is also working on a second compilation of material from the film.

This soundtrack is for a Jess Franco erotic mystery that was released in 1970; the story tells of two dancers who begin to have a relationship, and this friendship begins to take a turn for the worse when both of them start to have nightmares in which they engage in killing people. Things begin to get out of hand when the fine line between reality and fantasy starts to become hard to define.

The score by composer Bruno Nicolai was never issued in an official form before, and this compact disc is the world premiere of Nicolai’s haunting and atmospheric work. Nicolai wrote a soundtrack that was very much in the category of experimental music for this movie, which gave great depth and an ambience of fear and to an already harrowing and realistically violent film.

Nicolai’s score is one that I would not say is easy to listen to, but at the same time it has an attraction about it that one finds enticing. His use of organ, atonal sounding strings and solo violin, Spanish guitar and also an interesting utilisation of percussion is masterful. It certainly works well within the context of the movie, whether or not it stands alone as a musical work away from the images is another matter. Nevertheless, any self respecting Nicolai collector should not be without this release. It does actually show off the composers ability to be versatile, as he not only provides the soundtrack with atonal and largely un-melodic cues, but includes compositions that do have a certain melodious quality about them.

The track GIOSTRA which is one of the longest tracks on the CD running for just over 6 minutes; it has an almost fairground sound to it, or maybe the sound of a barrel organ, which is a complete contrast from the majority of the rest of the score. The track INFRAROSSO is also somewhat different from the remainder of the score, and boasts a jazzy almost steamy sounding saxophone which is suitably accompanied by brushed and laid back sounding percussion which is supported and interspersed with jazz organ, that eventually takes on the principal theme of the cue.

As I have said there is a great deal of atonal material present on this compact disc, but please do not let this deter you from buying it, this is a Nicolai score of distinction that although a little more complicated and complex than other works by this Maestro, will still please and be enjoyable, have no doubt of that. As always packaged wonderfully by Digitmovies.

A good Christmas present for the Italian soundtrack fan in your life just might be the limited edition MGM Soundtrack Treasury box set Film Score Monthly is releasing this month.  The 12 CD set includes 20 scores from the United Artists Film Library, including rare Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani material.  Some of this material has never been issued (one being a Lalo Schifrin score), and many of the CDs include previously unreleased bonus tracks.  This release is limited to only 1200 copies and includes a 48 page booklet of original album art.

Here’s what’s included:

Disc 1) THE APARTMENT (Adolph Deutsch)
THE FORTUNE COOKIE (Andre Previn)
Disc 2) HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE (Neal Hefti)
DUEL AT DIABLO (Neal Hefti)
Disc 3) THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING,THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (Johnny Mandel)
THE FUGITIVE KIND (Kenyon Hopkins)
Disc 4) A RAGE TO LIVE (Nelson Riddle)
GOODBYE AGAIN (Georges Auric)
Disc 5) THE HAPPY ENDING (Michel Legrand,)
Disc 6) THE HAPPY ENDING (Michel Legrand, additional cues)
Disc 7) BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN (Richard Rodney Bennett)
SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL (William Alwyn)
Disc8) THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (John Addison)
THE HONEY POT (John Addison)
Disc 9) PUSSYCAT, PUSSYCAT, I LOVE YOU (Lalo Schifrin)
Disc 10) THE HILLS RUN RED (Ennio Morricone
HORNETS’ NEST (Ennio Morricone)
Disc 11) THE 7TH DAWN (Riz Ortolani)
THE GLORY GUYS (Riz Ortolani)
Disc 12) HANNIBAL BROOKS (Francis Lai)
THE FINAL OPTION (Roy Budd)

In September Film Score Monthly will also be releasing a 3 CD set of previously unreleased music from the Shaft movies and TV show.  Titled Shaft Anthology: His Big Score and More it includes the original soundtrack Issac Hayes composed for Shaft (not the rerecorded for LP version that has been available), as well as Gordon Parks’ Shaft’s Big Score and Johnny Pate’s music for the short lived Shaft TV show.  FSM claims that the release is coincidental to Hayes’ recent death, and has been in the works for the last three years, and that music from Shaft in Africa had to be omitted due to licensing issues. The set will be limited to 3,000 copies.

Piero Umiliani not only had one of the greatest names in Italian soundtrack history (honestly I’m still not completely sure how to say it) but also composed some of its most energetic and lively music. The Florence born composer began his career in the 1950’s where he left a career in law to become a pianist, arranger, and orchestra director in Rome. His first score was for the comedy I SOLITI IGNOTI (aka Big Deal on Madonna Street) in 1958, and has the notoriety of being the first Italian score to exclusively use jazz music.

Umiliani continued to compose scores using jazz music, and ultimately began to be lumped in the category of Exotica. He had a huge hit in 1968 with his composition “Mah Na Mah Na,” a tune he wrote for the controversial mondo movie SVEZIA, INFERNO E PARADISO (aka Sweden, Heaven and Hell) and sung by longtime collaborator Alessandro Alessandroni (another great composer with an equally great name). The song became popular in the 70’s as Jim Henson used it for the Muppet show.

In 1970 Umiliani was asked to compose music for the Mario Bava stylish thriller 5 BAMBOLE PER LA LUNA D’AGOSTO (aka Five Dolls for an August Moon, Island of Terror), and made one of his most memorable scores. The score uses a decidedly exotic feel in the composition, using Hammond organ, harps, vibraphones, plenty of brass and wind instruments, and also include amazing percussion work that recalls the work of Martin Denny or Les Baxter.

Maestro Alessandroni is also to be given much credit for the score, as he plays a rambling sitar (as he did for the Nicolai score for TUTTI I COLORI DEL BUIO) and conducts his vocal choir I Cantori Moderni for the title song. The title song is a great little composition you could find yourself humming around the water cooler at work, and even has a little “Mah Na Mah Na” scat moment amongst the horn blasts and organ whirls.

Piero went on to compose over one hundred scores in his career in soundtracks. He was also notable in the world of early electronic music, as he released many great library records using early modular synthesizers (as documented on the great Musica Electronica compilations released by Easy Tempo). He also was a friend of Chet Bakers and released a very memorable album with him. Piero died in 2001 in Florence and left behind a legacy of great, classy records in the annals of Italian soundtracks.

BAMBOLE PER LA LUNA D’AGOSTO was first issued in 1970 on Cinevox. In 2001 Cinevox reissued the album with seven unreleased cues and unfortunately the record seems to have gone out of print (at least at this moment it’s not available). Cinevox released a great compilation of his work (Piero Umiliani Deluxe Edition), which is sort of a greatest hits collection of his work. Another great release is the Easy Tempo collection of Umiliani library music called To-day’s Sound (which includes the great theme he composed for Baba Yaga).

The film music and sounds of composer Bruno Maderna are few and far between and to see a compact disc of this soundtrack released was a little surprising. I must admit that Maderna’s modern, experimental and futuristic sounding work for LA MORTE HA FATTO L’UOMO is anything but easy on the ear or the brain for that matter. It is at times very difficult to listen to and I found myself thinking maybe the director or producer of the movie was drunk when he agreed that the composers score was suitable for the film. Obviously it was, and has made a lasting impression on many a collector or fan of giallo pictures and music from them.

The composer supplies us with a somewhat disjointed sound throughout the work, by this I mean if you are looking for nice melodies and easy listening passages you have certainly come to the wrong place. It is a score that will require 100% concentration to appreciate the composers musical solutions to the films requirements. Although saying this on the second listen, I did find some attractive pieces which are performed in the main on solo violin, that is supported by classical guitar and interspersed with male voice which speaks rather than attempts to be musical in any way.

This is an interesting score because it was so far ahead of its time, after all most of the other giallo movies during this period were being scored by the likes of Cipriani, Morricone and Nicolai etc with haunting melodies and dramatic sounding compositions, which at times were themselves reffered to as experimental by critics, so Maderna has to congratulated for enhancing the images of this particular motion picture with music and sounds musical and otherwise which are certainly innovative if nothing else. This is a soundtrack that should be added to ones collection, because of its rarity and nothing else really. Sound quality is very clean and crisp, and the disc is packaged well, and has accompanying notes that at times become as difficult to read as the score ids to listen to.

Saying all of this, maybe the score might prove too modern sounding for Italian soundtrack collectors who are used to haunting melodies and soaring female vocals from the pens of Morricone, Cipriani, Micalizzi and Nicolai etc, so maybe this is an acquired taste, and one that should be listened too first before one purchases. No slight on fin de siecle releasing this one, but I do not envisage it being a great seller for them and if they should continue to release items such as this I can see them having a lot in stock.

Chances are, when you think of Italian horror, the first name that comes to mind is Dario Argento.  Like all great filmmakers, the director is often complimented with a collaborator who helps bring form to their art.  Kurosawa had Mifune, John Woo had Chow Yun Fat, Scorcese had DeNiro and Dario Argento had Claudio Simonetti.  Yet, unlike the aforementioned directors, they worked with actors and while Argento certainly has his actors and actresses, one of the strongest characteristics of an Argento film is often the soundtrack,  Where most Italian filmmakers got in line to have Ennio Morricone score their films and for good reason, Argento took a decidedly sharp left turn and instead employed the synth heavy sounds of one of Italy’s premier progressive rock bands, Goblin.  Cinema Suicide’s Tim Fife speaks with Claudio Simonetti about his realtionship with Dario Argento and his career in soundtracks that spans over four decades.

Claudio Simonetti was born in February 19, 1952 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His father, Enrico Simonetti, came from Italy to have a successful career as a composer and became a popular TV host in the 1960’s and 70’s. Around the age of 8, Claudio wanted to walk in his father’s footsteps and began to play the piano. Claudio says that his father never pressured him into being a musician, but stressed that he should study classical if he was interested. “Even though my father played a genre completely different from mine, I think he influenced me especially in the way of playing the piano,” says Simonetti. “I was very lucky to have a father like mine; he was also a great friend.”

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Italy’s Beat Records are planning on releasing two unreleased poliziotteschi, slated for release in September.

The first is Gian Franco Plenizio and Enrico Pieranunzi’s great soundtrack for Romolo Guerrieri and Fernando Di Leo’s 1976 cop thriller Liberi Armati Pericolosi (aka Young, Violent and Dangerous). The title track was recently issued for the first time on the recent Cinedelic Tomas Milian compilation, but this is the first time the soundtrack has been released in its entirety. The CD will be limited to 1000 copies and includes a booklet that shows the original lobby cards. The disc also works as a CD-ROM that includes an interview with Plenzio.

Also being released is the much anticipated Milano Rovente score. Also known as Gang War in Milan, it was one of Umberto Lenzi first polizio movies and features a beautiful score by Carlo Rustichelli. Also limited to 1000 copies and a great booklet, it also has an interview (with English subtitles) with Lenzi on the CD-ROM portion of the album.