For the very first time on CD the complete original motion picture soundtrack by Bruno Nicolai for the spy movie Missione Speciale Lady Chaplin (aka "Operation Lady Chaplin") directed in 1966 by Alberto De Martino, starring Daniela Bianchi, the famous Bond Girl in "From Russia with love" (1963) and Ken Clark, actor specialized during the sixties mostly in spy movies like "Agente 077 missione Bloody Mary", "Agente 077 dall'oriente con furore", "Tiffany memorandum", "Rapporto Fuller, base Stoccolma". Bruno Nicolai has often worked with Alberto De Martino scoring his movies like "Centomila dollari per Ringo" (1965), "Upperseven l'uomo da uccidere" (1966), "Django spara per primo" (1966), "Femmine insaziabili" (1969) and (with Ennio Morricone) "Dalle Ardenne all'inferno" (1967), "OK Connery" (1967), "Roma come Chicago" (1968), "Ci risiamo, vero Provvidenza?" (1973) and "L'anticristo" (1974). "Missione Speciale Lady Chaplin" is an action movie, considered for its spectacular action sequences more closer to the Bond movies than the other Italian spy movies realized during the same period. This project was made possible thanks to the original mono master tapes survived in very good conditions in the historic vaults of C.A.M. M° Nicolai composed a symphonic score based on the rhythmical and almost dance floor Main Theme called "Lady Chaplin" (this track was the only theme from the OST issued those days on the 45 rpm single Ricordi srl 10435). That main title song, performed by Bobby Solo, a big Italian Pop Star of the 60s, is not enclosed here due contractual restrictions and also because the original single master tape was lost. Luckily the instrumental version is often reprised in the score with the same arrangements. The movie and our CD open with the music that backgrounds the movie prologue scene in an ancient monastery in Costa del Sol. The sacred flavour of this motif is emphasized through the use of bells and organ, which anticipates the swing style main title theme (Tr.1). The score contains many passages between swing and jazz (Tr.2, Tr.4, Tr.5, Tr.16, Tr.18, Tr.20) like the notable "Lady Shake" (Tr.9), a rhythmical dance floor music for large orchestra. The main theme is often reprised with variations like the boisterous fast version (Tr.15) and the slow and romantic reprise introduced by sax and developed in the powerful explosive Finale (Tr.27). M° Nicolai composed a big amount of atmospheric mysterious music cues (Tr.3, Tr.7, Tr.10, Tr.12) and aggressive action themes (Tr.6, Tr.7, Tr.11, Tr.17) that background the protagonists' action between suspense and dramatic turns of events. For the mystery in the bottom of the sea, Bruno Nicolai seems to reprise the fabulous sound of John Barry written for the underwater sequences of "Thunderball" (Tr.13,Tr.14). Another worthy Film Music rescue of the Italian "Silver Age".
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