Lost Issue: Gary Radovich Reviews Part Three

Lucky Luciano ** 1/2

PIERO PICCIONI

SLCS-7261

11 tracks - 30:53

Another Japanese reissue from the vaults of CBS Italy, Lucky Luciano is a 1973 crime thriller and one of the early Godfather clones to emerge from Italy. Unfortunately, the music to Lucky Luciano is no relative to Rota's The Godfather. This is one of composer Piccioni's longstanding collaborations with director Francesco Rosi and represents a straight reissue of the original album. Piccioni, a specialist in jazz, scored Lucky Luciano with an exclusively jazz sound, emphasizing the brass. Much of the music is not very melodic. Highlights include "Magic of New York," with its blend of light rock and jazz with somewhat exciting results, and "Sad Tales," which follows a similar path musically but is a little less brassy. A love theme played by solo piano is heard on "Love Again," while the most dramatic selection is "Burning Point," featuring ominous strings and jazzy brass.

The disc's packaging is also quite nice and beautifully illustrated, but the extensive liner notes are printed only in Japanese. And it's a shame not to include a second score when Lucky Luciano is so brief.
 
 
 

Un Genio, Due Compari, un Pollo ****

ENNIO MORRICONE

SLCS-7262

13 tracks - 32:06

When the Italian western began to reach the end of its cycle, a new form of comic western arose, thanks to actor Terence Hill (aka Mario Girotti) and his series of Trinity films. This trend extended the western's lifespan for a few more years until the final nail was placed in the coffin in the latter half of the 1970s. Un Genio, Due Compari, un Pollo is from 1975 and starred Terence Hill; Morricone's musical contribution was to be his last great western. There are similarities between this score and Morricone's 1973 effort to another Terence Hill western, My Name Is Nobody. But I prefer Un Genio for its happy-go-lucky feeling and abundant melodies.

This CD is a straight reissue with no new tracks from the original LP editions, and the sound is sensational. I recommend it highly as one of the last of a dying breed. The joyous main title appears on only two tracks: in "Un Genio, Due Compari, un Pollo," it receives the full-blown orchestral and choral rendition, while in "Questa Pazza, Pazza Corsa" it is treated to a samba beat in fast tempo with a comic chorus. The theme for "Pepper Chewing-Gum" is another delight, with a comic bent and nice use of fiddle. "Cavalcata... per Elisa" has a new melody with acoustic guitar, wind sounds, harmonica, and chorus (including Edda Dell'Orso). Morricone also uses brief excerpts from Beethoven's "Für Elise." Edda can also be heard in the lovely "Quando Arriva l'Amore," a happy piece with acoustic guitar, strings and chorus and another highpoint.

In lieu of the usual honkytonk piano saloon track, Morricone utilizes a gorgeous English-language religious hymm in "Glory, Glory, Glory," also with a nice orchestral and choral arrangement. In fact, nearly all of the 13 tracks are standouts. The sole exceptions are two atonal suspense cues ("Suspense per Joe" and "La Miccia") which are somewhat grating. "La Miccia," in fact, concludes the recording in a most unsatisfying manner...a replay of the main theme would have been preferable.

Un Genio, Due Compari, un Pollo (whose English meaning translates into A Genius, Two Friends, a Chicken) is a very melodic score with several notable themes -- another treasure unearthed from the vaults of CBS Italy. The CD's packaging is typically (for SLC) great, but everything is written in Japanese only. A must.
 
 
 

La Prima Notte di Quiete ***

MARIO NASCIMBENE

SLCS-7265

8 tracks - 31:40

Yet another Japanese reissue from the archives of CBS Italy, La Prima Notte di Quiete was one of Nascimbene's last films (he's still going strong but is now retired) and this CD features one of this composer's jazz scores, here performed on trumpet by Maynard Ferguson and on saxophone by Gianni Basso. The score is basically monothemtic with the primary theme appearing on six of the eight selections. "Titoli di Testa" gives us the first rendition of the main theme, a jazzy composition with heavy participation by Maynard Ferguson's trumpet. The theme is nicely atmospheric and is given an even better saxaphone rendition in "Tema Psicologico." A "lighter" version performed by piano and saxophone can be found on "Case Abbandonata," and the "Finale" mixes both trumpet and sax in thematic summation. The other selections are all jazz pieces ("Viaggio e Morte di Daniele" uses some free-form jazz).

La Prima Notte di Quiete is interesting and its brief length ensures that it won't become annoying. The musical arrangement mixes lots of muted horns, sax and trumpet; there are no strings at all and the small orchestra gives an intimate feel to the music. The 1972 tapes sound great and there are no additional tracks in comparison to the original Italian and Japanese LPs. SLC has packaged the CD nicely although the liner notes are all in Japanese again, and I would have liked to have seen this paired with another score to increase its playing time.
 
 
 

Il Grande Duello/Si Puo' Fare... Amigo *** 1/2 / ** 1/2

LUIS BACALOV

Point PRCD 120

24 tracks - 57:25

Gianni Dell'Orso and Claudio Fuiano of Point strike again with two Bacalov Italian western scores being released in complete form for the first time, from the vaults of Italy's General Music.

Il Grande Duello (from either 1969 or 1973, I'm not sure which) is the stronger of the two scores and has a wonderful main theme with a haunting melody. First heard in "Il Grande Duello - Parte Prima," the arrangement includes harmonica and the soaring voice of Edda Dell'Orso. The best version (and longest) of this theme is "Il Grande Duello - Parte Decima," with a scintillating musical accompaniment featuring harmonica, acoustic guitar, oboe, strings, Edda and full chorus. Overall, this primary melody shows up on six of the score's ten selections. Other tracks of interest include "Il Grande Duello - Parte Quarta," a rousing theme with fiddles, banjo, honkytonk piano and chorus which is repeated in "Il Grande Duello - Parte Ottava," but adding prominent harmonica. The other tracks are mild, non-jarring action and suspense themes.

Si Puo' Fare... Amigo, from 1973, is a lightweight western score with a more comic slant. The main theme is a silly English-language vocal entitled "Can Be Done," and features a children's chorus in the background. This melody becomes the score's primary theme, best heard in an all-orchestral version in the final track, "Can Be Done." It is given a harmonica, strings and acoustic guitar arrangement in "Si Puo' Fare... Amigo" (with inserts of suspense music), and a romantic strings, woodwinds and harmonica treatment in Il Villaggio al Tramonto." The other cuts from this score are either atmospheric suspense pieces ("Guai in Vista!," "Il Duello"), comic themes ("Pianino, Pianino," "Buffo Inseguimento"), a honkytonk piano theme ("Valzer al Saloon") or a festive track with voices, fiddle and banjo a la square dance ("Festa al Villaggio").

It's nice to have these two Bacalov scores released after so many years but Il Grande Duello will be the favorite for most listeners. The sound quality is very good and Point's graphics are colorful although there are no liner notes.
 
 
 
 

Il Mondo di Mario Cecchi Gori *** 1/2

VARIOUS

Cecchi Gor Music CGM 483560 2

(2CDs) Disc One: 24 tracks - 75:04; Disc Two: 24 tracks - 70:32

This important anthology collects 48 original soundtrack themes from films produced by Mr. Cecchi Gori in Italy from 1958 to 1993. Over 25 of the tracks are appearing for the first time and the composers represented include Morricone (six cuts), Donaggio, Ortolani, Bacalov, Piccioni, Piovani, Rustichelli and Trovaioli. As can be expected with a compilation featuring many composers, some of the tracks come across better than others, but there is literally something for everybody to enjoy here. Since the music is presented in chronological order, most of the highlights are found on disc one, before reduced budgets forced Italian composers to overly on synthesizers in the early 1980s. (Of course, the major composers who have been around for 20 or 30 years have continued to use orchestras but they are rapidly becoming a small group.)

There are plenty of highlights on the first disc, including the main title from Morricone's Il Successo (1963, never previously available), a brassy jazz composition of interest to his fans. Morricone is also featured in Slalom (1965), a spy film theme performed playfully with whistling and chorus, and the main titles to La Califfa (1970) and Questa Specie d'Amore (1972), both classic themes with wonderfully poignant melodies. Armando Trovaioli, another master composer, is present on six tracks on disc one alone, all 1960s comedies which musically run the gamut from easy listening and light jazz to rock and roll. His Adulterio All 'Italiana comes off best and has an Italian rock vocal followed by a nice instrumental theme which shows Trovaioli's melodic gifts as well as his versatility. Also of interest is his L'Arcidiavolo music with its light rock approach and chorus. Another wonderful selection is Gino Marinuzzi, Jr.'s Le Piacevoli Notti theme, a nice melody played by strings in a classical mode. Another memorable melody is found on Berto Pisano's Sissignore theme. Other stand-outs include Carlo Rustichelli's well-known march (sung by chorus) for L'Armata Brancaleone; Luis Bacalov's La Congiuntura (with a passage sounding remarkably like Percy Faith's rendition of Steiner's A Summer Place); Bacalov's light rock for La Pecora Nera and Piero Umiliani's great 1960's Italian pop sound for L'Arcangelo, mixing jazz with chorus and whistling. The low-point of the first disc is the insipid English-sung vocal by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis from Altrimenti ci Arrabbiamo, sung by the composers (who have done much better work elsewhere).

Disc two has the more recent tracks and fewer musical highlights. Ennio Morricone's melodic flair pops up on his selections from Corleone and Il Pentito (the latter blending haunting strings with electronics). Trovaioli's classical and elegant Il Viaggio di Captain Fracassa score is represented by one theme, played by full orchestra. A surprisingly lively Pino Donaggio theme for 7 Chili in 7Giorni is also included and the arrangement is not solely dependent on strings for once (it also has prominent electronic sounds). Although Nino Rota is not featured on this compilation, his influence can be clearly heard in Nicola Piovani's La Voce Della Luna theme (for Fellini) and L. Greco and G. Reverberi's Io Speriamo che me a Cavo selections. Also faring well is Franco Piersanti's brooding track from Il Segreto del Bosco Vecchio, the most recent composition on these recordings and also including a brief usage of chorus. Other disc two high points are Lelio Luttazzi's 1920s style jazz from Bluff Storia di Truffe e di Imbroglioni and G. Bigazi and M. Falagiani's exotic Mediterraneo theme which also uses a rock beat. Perhaps faring worst is Fabio Liberatori, whose six selcations on disc two leave little impression except blandness and too many synthesizers.

Except for the first few tracks on disc one, the sound quality is flawless throughout; another fine production from Gianni Dell'Orso and Claudio Fuiano. There is also a nice booklet which shows the Italian film posters (in color) to many of these films.
 

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