Topics

THE HISTORY OF BEAT ON CD: THE CLASSIC RELEASES (Part Two) – John Bender

   BEAT has released not only some of the more obscure, and likely to be overlooked spaghetti western soundtracks, but also some of the most important and these by the most talented and famous composers. My vote for the most prestigious of all the BEAT spaghetti CD productions must go to the two late 90s double-score releases: BUON FUNERALE AMIGOS PAGA SARTANA / GLI FUMAVANO LE COLT LO CHIAMAVANO CAMPOSANTO (CDCR 39), and UN UOMO CHIAMATO APOCALISSE JOE / LO CHIAMAVANO TRESETTE GIOCAVA SEMPRE COL MORTO (CDCR 45) – both featuring magnificent work by Bruno Nicolai.
   It has been my observation that other Nicolai spaghetti’s get more word-of-mouth than the above four titles, such as INDIO BLACK, but the fans are wrong! The above scores (three of them) are superior to any of the Maestro’s other western work – and it is possible to now hear all of his spaghetti efforts since all of his writing within the genre is now available on CD (an amazing thing).
   Three of the four feature truly wonderful spaghetti scoring, including grandiose main themes and thrilling heroicas, plus captivating (not boring) suspense cues, love themes, and some exotic character motives that rival Morricone’s most exotic western writing. Since these scores were not archived with cue titles one is mildly hampered in a discussion of individual tracks, but suffice to say that BUON FUNERALE AMIGOS PAGA SARTANA has a sublime Romance for orchestra that conjures up achingly authentic nostalgia for the mythical Old West, and also a breathtaking “stampede” for brass, guitar, chorus and orchestra that kicks up dust and shakes the Earth with the thundering of hooves and flaming gouts of gunfire. The main theme / opening titles cut is pure genius: a bizarre, fascinating cascade of percussion and staccato chords from the piano that generates an unearthly sense of dread – presumably at the coming of the supernaturally skilled gunfighter SARTANA. The full SARTANA theme then explodes with raw waves of masculine courage and mystique – Italian western scoring par-excellence! There is also music here, as with a number of other Nicolai western outings, that has threads leading directly to his fine score for SHANGAI JOE. At least with Nicolai’s SARTANA this only makes sense because of the presence of the pivotal George Wang character of Lee Tse Tung.
   If at all possible the main theme for GLI FUMAVANO LE COLT LO CHIAMAVANO CAMPOSANTO is even more muscular and potent than the core idea for SARTANA! This piece, with a (seemingly) huge orchestra, angry chorus, bells and burning guitar chords, rides not behind, but proudly and directly alongside Ennio’s THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY or any other high-water mark of Italian western main title bravura. Even as I sit here now writing these words and listening to the GLI FUMAVANO title cut I have chills running down my spine – I am thrilled to the core by Nicolai’s cutting and Herculean evocation of the constant call to adventure that haunts most men’s souls! (I can only sadly think that there will never be music like this again.) And this composition features one of the most effective usages; one could say it is “irrefutable”, of the whistle in any spaghetti anthem (I assume it is Alessandroni). Track 14 is a painfully moving and poetic pastel canvas depicting all the bittersweet aspects of the human condition – play this for any non-soundtrack music lover and they might be fooled into thinking it is something from the concert hall – it’s that beautiful and exquisite. Track 15 rivals track 14 for sheer sophistication and evocative force, but it is a subdued recapitulation of the main title cut. This score, a masterpiece, is rich with just such warm and satisfying expressions of sentiment, and wordless sensations evocative of legendary times, participants, and events. A final note about this score, the sound engineering is quite special. Obviously Nicolai made sure that the entire soundtrack was imbued with a noticeable and extraordinary sense of space and scale, as if recorded in some grand cathedral.
   CDCR 45 gives us Nicolai’s UN UOMO CHIAMATO APOCALISSE JOE, another score with certain elements reflective of SHANGAI JOE. Also, the main themes of this and the above two works exist as variations of a central or core diagram that Nicolai realized had much potential: an idea with the strength, thru alteration, to carry several full-bodied scores. Track 3 of APOCALISSE JOE is a classic piece of unforgettable Italian western-scoring coloratura: an Oriental-flavored major film cue that features some amazingly complex orchestrations (listen closely and you will hear some very surprising things going on). The theme illustrates a strange, mirage-like vision of an exotic people (from the Far East) navigating the spaghetti universe – this is perfumed and exotically textured writing that rivals the impressionism of Debussy or Ravel. Tracks 5 and 11 are perhaps the highlights of the score: formed of a lovely, almost fragile evocation of medieval Europe (and more sublime than most such writing by other musicians for historical dramas set to this actual period). It must be said that any fan of Italian scoring, spaghetti western soundtracks, or Bruno Nicolai, would have to be a fool to ignore the two CDs carrying these three scores. If you do not have them, get them into your home – now! I would be a villain to neglect advising you thusly.
   The score that shares digital space with APOCALISSE JOE, called LO CHIAMAVANO TRESETTE GIOCAVA SEMPRE COL MORTO, is not quite on par with the other three works, but only because it was of necessity constructed to advance the personality of a narrative with a much lighter tone. The movie LO CHIAMAVANO is similar in temperament and bearing to the TRINITY films or MY NAME IS NOBODY, and Nicolai’s top-notch score is as good as the fine scores written for those other films by the likes of Franco Micalizzi, Morricone, and the DeAngelis brothers.
   Ennio Morricone’s score for IL GRANDE SILENZIO is (CDCR 27), without question, one of the most beautiful scores to come out of the entire Italian western filmography – maybe the most beautiful (this score’s stiffest competition in this particular regard may very well be in the music by Bruno Nicolai described above). The main theme, known as Restless, is sublime. A sparkling thing of transcendent beauty and allure, I am sure Morricone texturally formulated it to expressionistically reflect the visual radiance of sunlight glistening off of fresh snow. The melody of Restless is pure lyricism of the soul, an enduring classic that no one, of sound mind and benign of heart, has heard and not been deeply moved by. The suspense cue Passaggi Nel Tempo has been orchestrated so as to have a delicate, almost “bone-like” brittleness, and thus keeping it in poetic alignment with the white and crisp nature of Restless. It occurs to me that, apart from its chorus, Passaggi Nel Tempo is reminiscent of the gestalt of John Barry’s masterwork of nihilistic ambiance, BOOM! Track 8, Voci Nel Deserto, is practically a viable work of ecclesiastical devotion, and as such evokes unearthly notions of the Divine. Many other cues are very cultivated and elegant – obviously just from these descriptions it is clear that this is an utterly singular work and one of the major treasures of the BEAT catalogue. IL GRANDE SILENZIO is appropriately coupled on CD with the equally fine-spun UN BELLISSIMO NOVEMBRE.
   Just as much of a premium jewel of BEAT’s library of holdings is Ennio Morricone’s paradigm of his own spaghetti western template – UN ESERCITO DI 5 UOMINI (FIVE MAN ARMY). This score resides at a midway point in the composer’s own evolution upon his initial precept first developed and employed for Sergio Leone’s Dollar’s Trilogy. The structures and evocative inflections are of the same stripe as the original Dollars designs, but here he has begun to exaggerate and accentuate the more salient aspects of his “spaghetti palette” (and this process would continue on into the 70s and beyond). There are surprises: the piece called Una Corsa Disperata, an all-out battle cue, is magnificent – worthy to be accepted as a piece of serious, stand-alone music (contemporary classical). A non-stop symphonic thrill-ride that always threatens to viciously tear through into the darker realm of atonal music (but never does), it benefits from the composer’s skill with jazz – although the work evidences no overt jazz elements. Suitably Morricone provided this “movement of an imaginary concerto” with a formal denouement. It doesn’t just stop or fade out; it finishes with a majestic and indisputable coda – one of the great tracks of the entire spaghetti pantheon. Track 5 of the BEAT release of FIVE MAN ARMY, Muerte Donde Vas? is a heart wrenching, almost politically invigorating call-to-arms; a fervent ovation for soldiers of honor intrepidly facing, or about to face, deadly odds. This is an essential score for all solid collections. For the future, is an extended release possible - beyond the 8 cues so far available? Only time will tell. (FIVE MAN ARMY is coupled by BEAT with Ennio’s excellent score for the metaphysical thriller EXTRASENSORIAL aka THE LINK.)
   BEAT CDCR 31, 1996 (and re-released in 2005) delivers to grateful fans two rare western scores by Maestro Piero Piccioni: QUEL CALDO MALEDETTO GIORNO DI FUOCO and ATTENTO GRINGO E TORNATO SABATA. Piccioni’s compositional bearing was both wonderful and inimitable. His forte was orchestral jazz-like structures of an erotic and/or modern, exotic flair. This also made his western scores refreshingly eccentric, and these are prime examples of this very special Piccioni “western panache”. Both scores here share the same basic swaggering main title cut (at the insistence of director Al Bagran); an arrogant fanfare for orchestra and organ (or harmonica) that, along with an appropriate sense of bravura for the requisite spaghetti death-dealers, also possess a more contemporary and one might say “hip” aura of fun (calling to mind the dapper television adventures of Jim West and Artemis Gordon). The two Piccioni scores and the Manuel DeSica work that accompanies them, LO CHIAMAVANO VERITA, fall into the category of original soundtrack recordings that we are grateful to BEAT for releasing – especially considering they are less famous titles and could have so easily been neglected.

THE HISTORY OF BEAT ON CD: THE CLASSIC RELEASES (Part One) – John Bender
   BEAT Records has put out a lot of soundtrack CDs since the technology kicked-in, but with this column I’d like to focus attention on the historically more important of their productions – meaning those scores which, for various reasons, might be thought of as being superior, vital, or unexpected.
   To begin let us focus on score CDs that, while perhaps not featuring works by the “A-list” of familiar names, nonetheless have great value in that the discs preserve what would otherwise be lost treasures to the collector. BEAT has a very good track record in this regard.
   In no particular order let us start with the 1999 releases of five spaghetti western soundtracks by Lallo Gori (Coriolano Gori). As far as I know there have been no other CD productions of Gori scores beyond the CDs of his work that BEAT offered. Gori was a solid composer and his scores always present enjoyable listening experiences. He more than not adopted a post-“Dollars Trilogy” Italian western style (overt Spanish inflections), but while retaining his own distinctive sound, which involved more intimate, slightly less expansive arrangements – often reminding me of score for high-quality television productions. This makes his western work seem to be more in support of stories of real men, as opposed to the overtly mythical beings that populated many other spaghettis. However, when specifically called upon to do so he could deliver suitable musical background for a larger-than-life anti-hero, a perfect example of which would be his fun score for ERA SAM WALLASH...LO CHIAMAVANO COSI SIA! This soundtrack comes off much like a delightful fusion of the styles of Marcello Giombini (SABATA) and De Masi (ARIZONA COLT), and the pleasurable main title song makes the CD a must-have for any serious collector. SAM WALLASH was paired on CDCR 50 with TEQUILA! (again, a score handled in a colorful style not unlike Giombini’s for the two Van Cleef-as-Sabata films, but also with some tough “black-clad killer” moments such as on track 3). INGINOCCHIATI STRANIERO...I CADAVERI NON FANNO OMBRA (one of my favorite Gori scores, with a deep, heart-felt western atmosphere) is paired with CON LUI CAVALCA LA MORTE (a high-energy “big adventure” score) on CDCR 56, and BUCKAROO-IL WINCHESTER CHE NON PERDONA (Gori’s most famous spaghetti and rightly so) stands alone (20 tracks) on CDCR 42. It must be mentioned that BEAT, on CDCR 55, also released in the year 2000 two police thrillers by Gori; RITORNANO QUELLI DELLA CALIBRO and IL COMMISSARIO DI FERRO (the quieter moments are better than is typical for the genre, and this because of Gori’s very smooth hand with jazz), and in 2001 two Franco and Ciccio comedies, on CDCR 60, for which Gori did not just write silly slapstick music; 002 OPERAZIONE LUNA and IL CLAN DEI 2 BORSALINI (don’t be fooled – lots of very solid music on these that could easily be spliced into serious films).
   Next we come to two CDs featuring the fine western writing of Vasco Vassil Kojucharov and Elsio Mancuso. Again there have been no CD releases of soundtracks by either of these two artists beyond the valuable BEAT productions here highlighted. CDCR 53 (1999) carries three scores; TRE CROCI PER NON MORIRE, SE VUOI VIVERE...SPARA!, and AD UNO AD UNO SPIETATAMENTE. These are excellent scores, with many bold and complex compositions, and frequently showcasing highly evolved writing for solo trumpet. It would be a shame if such muscular and emphatic writing, richly melodic, were being ignored by collectors because the musicians are less well-known than the “giants” of Italian scoring. For instance, with SE VUOI VIVERE...SPARA! any who are fans of Francesco De Masi would immediately relate to the more masculine and courageous moments of the score.
   Probably the best main theme for a western by Kojucharov and Mancuso currently on CD is the one heard in UNA LUNGA FILA DI CROCI. After a suspenseful prologue the major track, “Crossing the Border”, finally bursts into a magnificent spaghetti anthem, as good as anything by Nicolai or De Masi! The composition is a classic of the Italian western genre and thrills with full orchestra, chorus, and lead guitar all galloping headlong into legend! Track 8, Maya, gives us the vocal version by Franco Morselli. The same CD carries Rustichelli’s TUTTI PER UNO, BOTTE PER TUTTI and Mario Migliardi’s PREGA IL MORTO E AMMAZZA IL VIVO. This latter title is of extreme importance in that Migliardi’s score is absolutely unique – unlike anything else in either the Italian or American western soundtrack morphology. The two vocals (performed by Ann Collin), “Who is That Man?” and “I’m Not Your Pony”, are eerie ballads, delivered slow and hallucinatory they are simultaneously relaxing and vaguely unsettling – a paradox! Once heard these are not to be forgotten! The rest of the score is also very subdued and haunting, with Franco De Gemini’s harmonica leading the way. All three scores are on BEAT CDCR 35 (1996).
   Next we discuss four BEAT CDs featuring unexpected releases of scores that each deserved digital restoration, some well-known, some more obscure. My personal favorite of the three is CDCR 52 (1999), which blessed us with three wonderful horror scores from Maestro Alessandro Alessandroni. SUOR OMICIDI is an unsettling film about a sexually active nun working in a hospital plagued by the mysterious deaths of patients. Alessandroni’s main title cut is undoubtedly influenced by Morricone’s IL SORRISO DEL GRANDE TENTATORE – a smart move on Alessandroni’s part! The “liturgical rock” hybrid sound used is unique to Italian cinema, and it is an atypically potent tool in the hands of a skilled composer. SUOR OMICIDI also benefits from a wide range of ideas, including track 4 which sounds a bit like the American South folk-guitar work Morricone used in AUTOSTOP ROSSO SANGUE, coupled with Alessandroni’s own electronic effects familiar to us from his THE DEVIL’S NIGHTMARE. All 10 tracks of this score deliver rich and engaging ideas, including an unnamed vocal ballad, with chorus, as the end credit cue – a real treat for all soundtrack lovers.
   The second score on CDCR 52 is LO STRANGOLATORE DI VIENNA, which has an entertaining “Third Man” style theme for orchestra and clavichord. Overall the score has a middle-European period affectation, except for some gripping suspense fragments and the last track, 17, which bears resemblance to darkly satirical 70s work by Morricone such as STARK SYSTEM.
   The third and final score of this CD was a true gift from BEAT to all genre horror fans, the score to the cult classic LADY FRANKENSTEIN – Mel Welles’ (Ernst Von Theumer) masterpiece of Euro-cult cinema. Alessandroni’s score is effectively grim and nightmarish (with frightening electronic drones and a moaning flute), but the musical core is his forlorn love theme. Obviously a paean to romance corrupted by the Frankenstein family curse of consumed genius, the composition still manages to flower with a sense of longing for the breathtaking Rosalba Neri – a beautiful theme, and I’ve always wanted it on CD. Thank you BEAT!
   Second of the three CDs is the 1997 release of CDCR 36, with two fine scores by Nicola Piovani; BERTOLDO BERTOLDINO E CACASENNO and IL PROFUMO DELLA SIGNORA IN NERO. The first score is an enjoyable medieval romp, and Piovani was obviously adept with the period format. The collector’s item here though is the second score, known in English as THE PERFUME OF THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Piovani’s music is eldritch but sublime, lyrical and refined it has all the charm of more elegantly cut independent music for the concert hall. It has been my observation that this is one of those scores that prompts most viewers to think of the music after leaving the theatre. I have never seen the film, but many over the years have bothered to mention the film’s score. Good of BEAT to provide us with a CD.
   The third disc is of Teo Usuelli’s classic of erotica ALLA RICERCA DEL PIACERE (aka AMOK / LEATHER AND WHIPS / IN SEARCH OF PLEASURE). The score had a reputation since the film premiered, but this was greatly amplified by the 90s retro-boom in recorded lounge/exotica, and the spill-over effect this had on the European club scene with DJs taking advantage of all the cool 60s and 70s Euro-cult film music becoming available on trend-setting compilations such as the 10-volume EASY TEMPO series and Crippled Dick’s BEAT AT CINECITTA (volume one of which featured all tracks culled from the BEAT archives). Usuelli’s AMOK became a mythical score among all collector’s of cool Euro-sounds, and finally BEAT “gave us our drug” of choice by 2007. The score is a masterwork of the exotica/erotica genre, comparable to Cipriani’s FEMINA RIDENS, Nicolai’s FEMMINE INSAZIABILI, or Morricone’s METTI UNA SERA A CENA. What sets it apart is the macabre “theme of lust”, an instrumental for voice, organ and synthesizer that reflects the malevolent compulsions of a sadist. However, the most famous cue is known as “Sexual” (the track actually has no official title), an intense jazz-influenced bolero of sensual heat and longing that rivals all other film cues drafted for lascivious cinema.
   Our final CD for discussion is Armando Trovaioli’s masterpiece of the romantic/erotic comedy genre, SESSO MATTO. It is appropriate to talk of this score immediately after illuminating on the history of Usuelli’s AMOK, and this because SESSO MATTO, like Usuelli’s score, took on a specific vitality and significance all it’s own based on particular cultural leanings and trends. It seems the Japanese became infatuated with Trovaioli’s score as a result of the King label’s 1990s digital (CD) re-release of the original BEAT LP. This phenomena was probably similar to what happened in Europe and the USA as regards the lounge/exotica fad, and I imagine that Japanese youth were communally enjoying Trovaioli’s score in dance clubs and other such night-spots throughout the 90s. BEAT eventually responded to this infatuation by working very hard at a faultless restoration of the complete score – a gift not only to the Japanese, but to all collectors of Euro-cult film music! Their 2006 CD of SESSO MATTO (CDCR 72) provides over 77 minutes of lively, enchanting score (41 tracks), and a large full-color booklet detailing the story of the film and it’s music. Such a prestige CD production goes beyond desirability for just fans; this disc would make a fine gift to any friend or family member with a love of good music.