Quartet Records presents a greatly expanded CD of an early Nino Rota/Federico Fellini collaboration.
Coming hot off the heels of LA STRADA, Fellini’s IL BIDONE (1955), starring Broderick Crawford, was considerably less of a hit than its predecessor. The film tells the story of a trio of con men who are each faced with the consequences of their unlawful action. After a series of humiliating and humbling encounters, former members of the gang try to change their ways—but not all of them will survive to enjoy their newfound way of life.
The score by Nino Rota is as versatile as his later Fellini collaborations with a series of great themes that are already classics in the pantheon of the Rota-Fellini collaboration. Ranging from the carnival marches to a film noir-inspired theme that matches the darker tone as well as the background of star Broderick Crawford, the score also includes beautiful source cues composed for the New Year’s Eve party. As a special treat, the scene with Augusto and his daughter actually reuses the main theme from a previous Fellini movie, THE WHITE SHEIK.
This expanded edition presents more than one hour of the original score (mostly chronologically sequenced) on Disc One, and the short original 1955 album program and alternates on Disc Two. Restored and mastered by Chris Malone from first-generation master tapes courtesy of Gruppo Sugar. The package includes liner notes by Gergely Hubai discussing both the background of the film and the score.
DISC ONE
The Film Score
1.Il Bidone (3:45) 2. La guida (0:30) 3. L’albero (0:39) 4. Le ossa (0:56) 5. Pax et bonum (0:48) 6. La moglie del bidonista (1:58) 7. Il Bidone Twise (2:37) 8. La festa #1 (2:30) 9. La festa #2 (2:00) 10. La festa #3 (2:13) 11. In viaggio per un bidone (1:56) 12. La periferia (0:55) 13. Le bolle (1:10) 14. Piazza del Popolo (1:48) 15. Ballerina Night (1:43) 16. Capodanno #1 (1:19) 17. Capodanno #2 (2:46) 18. Capodanno #3 (2:53) 19. Capodanno #4 (2:17) 20. Capodanno #5 (1:59) 21. Capodanno #6 (3:28) 22. Capodanno #7 (2:48) 23. Patrizia (2:05) 24. La stazione di servizio (1:19) 25. Tivoli (1:25) 26. Miss Frosinone (2:54) 27. Incontro Patrizia (0:43) 28. Il pranzo (1:15) 29. Cara bambina (1:07) 30. Arrivo al cinema (1:00) 31. Al cinema (1:33) 32. L’arresto (0:37) 33. L’ultimo bidone (3:06) 34. Titoli di coda (0:27)
DISC TWO
The Original Soundtrack Album
1. Il Bidone (3:19) 2. La moglie del bidonista (2:27) 3. Il tesoro nancosto (1:03) 4. Coimbra (5:47) 5. In viaggio per un bidone (1:56) 6. Al cinema (1:33) 7. Cara bambina (2:08) 8. Ballerina Night (3:56) 9. L’ultimo bidone (2:58)
Bonus tracks
10. Ballerina Night (Alternate) (0:23) 11. La moglie del bidonista (Alternate) (1:41) 12. Cara bambina (Alternate) (1:19) 13. L’ultimo bidone (Alternate) (1:32) 14. Titoli di coda (0:27)
Really happy about this one. I've loved the care Quartet has given to their Nino Rota releases. I was expecting Gulietta Of The Spirits but this is even better.!
OMG! Barry, Mancini - and this! This may very well be THE release of the year!
Great release and a nice expansion as the old CAM CD from 1991 contained only about 25 minutes of music. However, there is a slight error in the announcement above: The album program with those 9 tracks on CD 2 doesn´t come from an "original 1955 album program", but was released in this way not before 1982 on the French CAM/Pema double LP "Rota-Fellini" which also included GIULIETTA DEGLI SPIRITI besides IL BIDONE. In 1955 there was only a French Vogue 45rpm EP with about 6 or 7 minutes from IL BIDONE on side A (side B on the other hand contained a short suite from Alessandro Cicognini´s PANE, AMORE E...)
A wonderful Nino Rota score for a marvelous - and inexplicably underrated - early Fellini film (I actually prefer this film to the far more lauded "I Vitelloni" and "The White Sheik," though I love those too). I knew the CAM was incomplete but I didn't realize there was around 40 minutes of unreleased music - that's a major expansion.
FYI - the original poster should edit the thread title. The correct spelling is "Il Bidone."
Really happy about this one. I've loved the care Quartet has given to their Nino Rota releases. I was expecting Gulietta Of The Spirits but this is even better.!
Brilliant release - I missed out on the Rota I’d really have liked (Toby Dammit) but the other ones I’ve picked up are all absolutely first rate.
OMG! Barry, Mancini - and this! This may very well be THE release of the year!
Great release and a nice expansion as the old CAM CD from 1991 contained only about 25 minutes of music. However, there is a slight error in the announcement above: The album program with those 9 tracks on CD 2 doesn´t come from an "original 1955 album program", but was released in this way not before 1982 on the French CAM/Pema double LP "Rota-Fellini" which also included GIULIETTA DEGLI SPIRITI besides IL BIDONE. In 1955 there was only a French Vogue 45rpm EP with about 6 or 7 minutes from IL BIDONE on side A (side B on the other hand contained a short suite from Alessandro Cicognini´s PANE, AMORE E...)
Yes - and it comes totally unexpected. Makes me wonder if any other Rota stuff from this period survives.
The new CD will also be a major upgrade in sound quality. Both CAM CDs do not sound particularly good.
Yes - and it comes totally unexpected. Makes me wonder if any other Rota stuff from this period survives.
The only two other Rota scores from that period of the mid-50s which CAM/Sugar still have, are the two Alberto Sordi comedies ACCADDE AL PENITENZIARIO and UN EROE DEI NOSTRI TEMPI. In 1992 CAM had released some tracks from both of these scores from 1955 on one CD. I dont know if any label is willing to release the complete scores for them as these are films which are totally unknown outside of Italy and so you can´t compare it with the worldwide popularity of the Rota/Fellini titles. Besides, in former times CAM also had the tapes for Rota´s score for the Cornell Wilde swashbuckler STAR OF INDIA from 1954 and that title is still listed in Sugar´s CAM catalogue, but when Saimel asked for it a few years ago Sugar found out that in fact they don´t have any material for this score anymore which is a pity.
Yes - and it comes totally unexpected. Makes me wonder if any other Rota stuff from this period survives.
The only two other Rota scores from that period of the mid-50s which CAM/Sugar still have, are the two Alberto Sordi comedies ACCADDE AL PENITENZIARIO and UN EROE DEI NOSTRI TEMPI. In 1992 CAM had released some tracks from both of these scores from 1955 on one CD. I dont know if any label is willing to release the complete scores for them as these are films which are totally unknown outside of Italy and so you can´t compare it with the worldwide popularity of the Rota/Fellini titles. Besides, in former times CAM also had the tapes for Rota´s score for the Cornell Wilde swashbuckler STAR OF INDIA from 1954 and that title is still listed in Sugar´s CAM catalogue, but when Saimel asked for it a few years ago Sugar found out that in fact they don´t have any material for this score anymore which is a pity.
I guess we can only hope for misplaced or wrongly marked tapes then. I have the CAM CD of the two Alberto Sordi comedies and I think there's also enough room for audio improvement to warrant a re-issue. We constantly see soundtrack issues for obscure Italian and French movies - most of them by composers who are hardly as well-known as Nino Rota.
On a side note, DHL has informed me that "Il Bidone" (along with the others) will already arrive tomorrow. I can't believe it.
I have the CAM CD of the two Alberto Sordi comedies and I think there's also enough room for audio improvement to warrant a re-issue. We constantly see soundtrack issues for obscure Italian and French movies - most of them by composers who are hardly as well-known as Nino Rota.
But nowadays these soundtrack releases you are referring to come mainly from 70s and 80s movies. On Saimel we did some 50s scores from the CAM catalogue, but Saimel has no access there anymore. And I don´t really think that Quartet will do a reissue of those two comedy scores as the target group for them is much smaller than the one for the Rota/Fellini titles. Unlike IL BIDONE and all the other Rota/Fellini scores, they also haven´t been reserved years ago by any label in Sugar´s CAM catalogue. For example, when we did Rota´s THE RELUCTANT SAINT on Saimel a few years ago, we also thought that just the name Rota itself would attract a larger auidience, but unfortunately it didn´t as just too few people knew the music or the movie.
Stefan S. is definitely right. As an example, I have the CAM CD of ACCADE... / UNE EROE... but certainly would not upgrade it, in case where a label would reissue it. As Stefan rightfully pointed out, some collectors like are less interested in the 50's in general. And when it comes to Rota, I even would say that some of his scores from the early 60's don't attract me.
I had not heard about The Reluctant Saint until a couple of months ago when the CD popped up on a sale page. As a Rota fan--of ANY of his scores--I snatched it up. Very good score. Thank you!
Stefan S. is definitely right. As an example, I have the CAM CD of ACCADE... / UNE EROE... but certainly would not upgrade it, in case where a label would reissue it. As Stefan rightfully pointed out, some collectors like are less interested in the 50's in general. And when it comes to Rota, I even would say that some of his scores from the early 60's don't attract me.
That's your opinion, of course - and you're entitled to it. To me, any Rota release is a special event - particularly in these days where it looks like there are no other composers than Williams, Goldsmith and Morricone.
Now listening to this for a second time and I can highly recommend it!
...is in my opinion not that interesting. There is much piano lesson music in it which is not original material by Nino Rota.
As I haven't seen any of the two films I can't say if there's missing much compared to the CAM CD which I'm owning for decades now. I rarely listen to it.
Surprised to see discussion of this release has dried up. I just finally received my copy and am absolutely stunned by the sound quality. It's beautiful, clear mono that's been incredibly restored. Really enjoying this release and hoping that Quartet keeps bringing out these Rota / Fellini collaborations.
Surprised to see discussion of this release has dried up. I just finally received my copy and am absolutely stunned by the sound quality. It's beautiful, clear mono that's been incredibly restored. Really enjoying this release and hoping that Quartet keeps bringing out these Rota / Fellini collaborations.
Chris
Absolutely - due to circumstances beyond my control I’ve only had the chance to listen to this once all the way through on headphones; but what a treat!
I love these Rota releases, and this one is no exception. Like several others here, circumstances kept me from listening to this a second time until tonight, but I finally have, and it's another solid Quartet Rota. Keep 'em coming!
The release of this complete soundtrack is a dream, but, once again, the Quartet Records edition leaves a lot to be desired. No mention is made anywhere of the source music or its composers and performers. I have been able to identify some of them, but there are others of which I am not sure. For example track 1-07, of dubious title "Twise" is, of course "La pansè" (M: Furio Rendine - W: Gigi Pisano). Track 1-08 is "Coimbra" (aka "April in Portugal") (M: Raul Ferrão, - W: José Galhardo), which is again present in 1-10, 1-21, 1-22 and 1-25 and with its actual title in 2-4. The theme 1-18 is none other than "Ti voglio bene tanto tanto" (M & W: Renato Rascel).
My doubts appear with the authorship of tracks 1-13 "Le bolle" and 1-28 "Il pranzo". The latter is the sung version ("Dimmi tu...") of a theme that also appears as an instrumental piece in 1-22 and 1-25.
Besides track 2-14 listed as "Cara bambina (Alternate)" is the instrumental versión of 1-18 "Ti voglio bene tanto tanto", not an alternate take of 2-7 "Cara bambina"
Does anyone have more information about the composers of 1-13 and 1-28 and the singers in 1-18 and 1-28?
It's really a great disk 
