He's joined the ranks as my favorite Italian composer after Il Maestro Morricone. (Followed closely by Franco Micalizzi).
I first heard his music when I was 11 and watched Piranha II. I didn't know what to make of it. It was so over-the-top Euro-drama that I had a hard time embracing it as music from a horror film. But I couldn't just dismiss it. There was something there that made sense. As the credits rolled, the music was mourning all the deaths of those characters we didn't give a crap about! A novel idea. I found it kind of creepy and it stayed with me.
Fast forward 10 years, I'm very much into Goblin and I find out about a limited cd release on the Lucertola label for SOLEMENTE NERO, which apparently featured a performer or two from Goblin. I was blown away by how it had that prog rock sound I was looking for but with a new spin on it.
Then I found Incubo Sulla Città Contaminata (aka Nightmare City aka City of the Walking Dead) and I made the connection. STELVIO CIPRIANI consistently kicks ass! This epiphany soon led to the purchases of anything from him I could find:
Tentacoli - the boat attack music blew me away...I later found out it was reused from La Polizia Chiede Aiuto (to this day my favorite "cop score")
Anonimo Veneziano and Dedicato A Una Stella impressed me with their lyrical beauty.
Blindman is one of my favorite Italian western scores. I still need to get some of those limited GDM westerns of his. Kinda pricey though.
All of the Digitmovies releases have been indispensable. And now it looks like Quartet records shares my love of his music. Garden of Eden looks to be another winner.
So yes, Josh. You get a big HELL YEAH from me too!
PS. Haha. That Nightmare City track above is too rich in cheese for my taste. For me, it's more about this:
Love to see the Cipriani love. To my ears, his work is the most consistently satisfying of any composer. I've yet to hear a Cipriani score that I don't love, but I'm especially fond of his work in the horror genre.
Im like Josh - never heard a Cipriani score I didnt like. Liked his stuff since I was a teenager and heard man a horse a gun for the first time on compilation LP. Then got some cipriani singles. all this stuff is a bit like pokemon for kids - if I could get em all I would!!!
One of my favourite Cipriani scores is Mark il Poliziotto, a very funky cop score with wah-wah guitar, congas and tambourines galore - typical 70's funk.
I can't find the actual theme from this score on YouTube, but this is a sort of representative sample:
I am just starting to get into Cipriani, but really like his music, including spectrum from horror to romance (and all between). Thanks to all of you who posted clips and comments as they gave me good ideas of things to get... Any other suggestions on Cirpriani would be really welcome! thanks in advance
The CD is officially sold out, but still available from a few online shops for the original price, for example http://www.soundtrackcorner.de/en/index.htm (based in Germany).
EDIT: Oops, just noticed it was recommended before.
To add to Greg and wayoutwests suggestions This is the more familiar A Man a Horse a Gun theme (aka The Stranger returns; Un'Uomo Un Cavallo Una Pistola - which was used more recently for Red Dead Revolver as Greg points out)
another track from A Man a Horse a Gun below - looks like someone posted he whole score with artwork! how nice these people are who post up such gems up for us to cherry pick!
track 3 below from the same film with a pic of the great man conducting!
...and here is the Geoff Love version I heard so many years ago - dig that trumpet and brass section!!
As Thor would say, Youtube overload but what other way is there?
