Soundtrack Apocalisse

One thing that gets me really excited about soundtracks, or just music in general, is when companies release really fun limited edition releases. Clearly made for the fans exclusively, these records generally speak to what really want from on a CD; great packaging, and extras that enhance the great music that is already contained within.

Liberi Armati Pericolosi is one of the first CDs in Beat Records new limited series, which is directed right at the fans (Soundtrack Apocalisse writer John Mansell already wrote another review about another release in the series, Milano Rovente). And this is a really great start to hopefully an ongoing series of interesting releases.

The score was composed by Gianfranco Plenzio and Enrico Pieranunzi; Plenzio has famously worked with directors Fellini and Argento, and Pieranunzi was part of the group Pulsar who composed the Milano Violenta score. The score is notably two different scores in one, as it has a very jazzy sound one minute and then a classically influenced score. It is technically a poliziotteschi score, but doesn’t use all the trademark (and sometimes overused) sounds of the genre, making it a very different and enjoyable listening experience. There are of course moments with the wah guitar, bongos, and free wheeling flute lines, but it doesn’t sound like another Cipriani or Micalizzi score.

What’s really enjoyable about this disc though is the packaging and the extras. The CD includes a great booklet with liner notes by Fillipo De Masi (in both Italian and English) and photos and posters of the movie. But the real charmer on this album is the interview with Gianfranco Plenzio , which is on an enhanced video on the CD. Thankfully Beat made it so anyone can view it, as it’s an mp4 for your computer, and even has English subtitles (with a scrolling text that’s not entirely ideal, but certainly generous). The interview fourteen minutes of Gianfranco talking about his co-writer, the differences in past and present compositions, and why he thinks it’s a really great score. The video is well edited, and acts as a pseudo documentary with clips from the movie and vintage pictures of the composers set to songs from the score.

If this is what Beat will be releasing in the future, I complement them on a really great idea. I also highly recommend their other limited release Milano Rovente, which has an absolutely amazing score and includes an interview with Rovente director Umberto Lenzi. Hopefully there will be many more of these releases to come.

Both of the mentioned CDs are limited to only 1000 copies, so get it while you can.