Cinevox Soundtracks 4 Items

“Metti, una sera a cena” is a 1969 movie directed by Joseph Patrons Griffi, made up from an eponymous theater script and especially transposed to the film medium. It immediately obtained consents and success, and paved the road to success for actors Florinda Bolkan and Tony Musante in particular. So did the music written by Ennio Morricone, who in 1970 won the Nastro D’Argento Award for Best Score. Lounge sounds, bossa nova, jazz (especially the drums touch) and beat (usually still in vogue in the Italy of the late ’60s), seasoned with orchestral arrangements conducted by Bruno Nicolai, merge here to one of the most famous soundtracks of the Italian Maestro. A perfect mix of eroticism and melancholy, for a real classic! This edition offers the original soundtrack released in 1969 on Cinevox Record in a new artwork, a gatefold cover and colored vinyl. A bonus track is also included, the song “Hurry to me” sung by The Sandpipers, a folk/pop trio who became famous at the time for their version of the popular “Guantanamera”.

Un sacco bello (1980) represents Carlo Verdone's film debut as an actor, writer and director following his television years. It featured a screenplay by Carlo Verdone, Leo Benvenuti, and Piero De Bernardi, photography by Ennio Guarnieri, editing by Eugenio Alabiso, music by Ennio Morricone, production by Sergio Leone, distribution by Medusa-Pentavideo, and a cast starring Carlo Verdone, Isabella De Bernardi, Mario Brega, Renato Scarpa, Veronica Miriel, Luciano Bonanni, Filippo Trincia, Filippo Ciro, Sandro Ghiani, Fausto Di Bella, Pietro Zardini, and Maria Mizar Ferrara. The plot

In a semi-deserted Rome during a hot August, the story of the three main characters is told. Enzo, a bold young man who likes to boast of his gallant adventures with women, plans to travel to Krakow in his sports car, so he seeks out a travelling companion. After a long search, he manages to convince his friend Sergio, who contracts an illness as soon as he leaves the capital city, so Enzo needs to find a replacement as soon as possible. Leo is an awkward young man who lives in Trastevere with his mother, who is waiting for him by the sea to spend mid-August together. However, the young man is delayed by Marisol, a beautiful Spanish tourist who asks him for help. Shy and naive, Leo finds himself forced to host the exuberant foreigner at home, but just when something tender seems to be blossoming between the two, her boyfriend arrives… Ruggero and his girlfriend Fiorenza arrive in Rome after a long stay in a hippie community. There, the boy meets his father, who invites them home. With the help of Father Alfio and Professor Anselmo, the man hopes to convince his son to get back on the right track. The music Un sacco bello marks the first collaboration between Ennio Morricone and Carlo Verdone, resulting in a very pleasant score that accompanies the situations of each episode. A rhythmic funky piece (Tr.1) opens both the film and our CD, but the bulk of the soundtrack is based on variations of theme for Marisol, the Spanish girl that Ennio Morricone describes with different styles and arrangements: rhythmic and vivacious (Tr.2), slow and nostalgic for flute and guitar (Tr.3), romantic and dreamy performed by the orchestra (Tr.4,Tr.7), and a slow, rhythmic passage with moog (Tr.5). A samba for trumpet with mute, percussion and moog describes the atmosphere of a bourgeois living room (Tr.6). The finale of the film features the unmistakable whistle of Alessandro Alessandroni and the flugelhorn of Oscar Valdambrini accompanied by the orchestra (Tr.12). At the time, Cinevox Records released a 45 rpm single (mdf 127) with the themes "Un Sacco Bello (Titoli di coda)" and "Un salotto borghese." Then, we had to wait until 2002, when Cinevox Records released a CD (mdf 352) entitled Bianco Rosso E Morricone, featuring selections from "Un Sacco Bello" and "Bianco Rosso e Verdone". For this new CD edition with a duration of 40:00, we were able to access the first generation stereo master tapes of the recording sessions, which allowed us to discover three unreleased tracks: an alternate version of "Un salotto borghese" and two beautiful versions of the love theme vocalized by Nora Orlandi, who carries the motif through the end credits. A fitting homage to the art of Ennio Morricone and Carlo Verdone.

This soundtrack is one of many Cinevox Record rarities, this time brought forth over 50 years ago by the genius of Ennio Morricone, in the heyday of Italian underground cinema, years when true masterpieces were made, often innovative from various points of view (plot, photography, colors, settings, screenplay...). "4 Mosche di Velluto Grigio" (4 Flies on Grey Velvet) ends the so-called 'animal trilogy' by Dario Argento, and sees the director in an absolutely inspired moment, yet probably unconscious that he'll leave an indelible mark in the history of world cinema with his following works. This movie, for some reasons, was never officially released on videotape - apart, perhaps, in an obscure French edition - and only recently has finally been issued on optical disc, while from the soundtrack only released a 45rpm single was pressed at the time, before it was fully recovered in the '90s. In "4 Flies ..." Morricone wrote one of his most 'rock-oriented' soundtracks - without of course neglecting his indelible touch - also thanks to the fact that the protagonist of the film is a rock drummer. You hear echoes of Deep Purple, not surprisingly given that Argento wanted them as the first authors of the movie score, and it is no coincidence that his most famous film is titled... Deep Red!

"Rivelazioni di un maniaco sessuale al capo della squadra mobile" (best known internationally as “So sweet, so dead”) is a 1972 giallo film by Roberto Bianchi Montero, director of various other movies mainly belonging to the western and erotic genres; the latter is here mixed with thriller and noir, for a very good final result. The soundtrack is here entrusted to the well-known pianist, arranger and composer Giorgio Gaslini (1929-2014); among the most important Italian jazz musicians of all time, he’s been quite prolific during his whole career, also in the vast field of soundtracks. In this case, he creates a memorable theme with a handful of notes and enriches it with typical 70s orchestral pop arrangements, adding an elegant touch with easy-listening jazz and lounge atmospheres. Overall, “Rivelazioni…” is a multi-genre music work in which mellow and romantic sounds coexist with more obscure and abstract ones, made with only string instruments and percussion. Originally released in 1972, this soundtrack is now reissued on LP for the first time in over 50 years, in a yellow-coloured edition with audio remastered by Claudio Fuiano and five bonus tracks here released on vinyl for the first time ever!