Soundtracks 405 Items

Year 1964. Almost out of nowhere, the little-known and regarded director Sergio Leone transposes into a western key a film by Akira Kurosawa, and by putting together all the right pieces, adding a bit of intuition, lays down new rules for the ‘spaghetti western’ genre, giving way to an endless series of imitations.

“A Fistful of Dollars” would not have the same impact without the inimitable music written by Ennio Morricone, who had curiously been an old elementary school Leone’s classmate. The main soundtrack themes were chosen from two arrangements that Morricone had already drafted two years earlier; once removed the lyrics and added the unmistakable whistle of Alessandro Alessandroni, the spaghetti-sound was finally complete!

The film was an incredible success, and projected Leone, Morricone, and in particular the actor Clint Eastwood into the Olympus of the Great. The soundtrack was released for the first time the following year (1965), along with the one of Sergio Leone’s subsequent work “For a Few Dollars More”.

“Ti Ho Sposato Per Allegria” (1967) is a comedy directed by Luciano Salce, taken from the theatrical play of the same name (1965) by Natalia Ginzburg. The main characters are Pietro and Giuliana, respectively interpreted by Giorgio Albertazzi and Monica Vitti. A lawyer from a good family, serious, accustomed to a calm and regular life who got married to a indolent and dazed girl with a difficult past a month after meeting her at a party. Despite Giuliana's inability to transform herself into a good housewife, his relationship with Pietro continues to flourish, because he seems to find enjoyment in each of his wife's many mistakes. The reason for their union lies not in love but, perhaps, in a genuine sympathy, as strong as it is mutual. The story has become a minor classic with each new representation. On both stage and screen the themes of everyday life, and the more complex and existential ones, are addressed. The subtle irony of the work relies on recounting problematic events in a carefree tone: realities such as abortion, death, separation and the couple's incommunicability are underplayed with naturalness. The funny events of the film are commented on by Piero Piccioni's music, published for the first time on vinyl by Musica Per Immagini, with an harmonious tracklist. For this first orchestra rehearsal with the director, which will be followed by other important soundtracks, the composer makes an effective and elegant synthesis: on the one hand he reworks moods and aesthetic intuitions of some previous and happy experiences, while on the other he identifies and anticipates the first bars of that unmistakable sound between bossa nova, funk and lounge nuances that will characterize almost all the production of the Seventies. In fact, the Turin-native artist simplifies in a positive sense the articulated harmonic structures that have always distinguished his authorial figure – where the so called jazz features are to be considered more than central in the musical texture, as prominent elements of the harmonic syntax – and he tries a melodic reduction that will make the compositions more catchy or memorized, but not easier for this. Lightness of spirit and rarefied elegance are the keys of this new Dionysian world.

“La Morte Ha Fatto l’Uovo” (1968), here reissued for the very first time on vinyl, is a unique score characterized by avant-garde sounds that combine with the bright tones of an atypical thriller that pays homage to the cinema of Luis Buñuel.

“La Morte Ha Fatto L’Uovo” (Death Laid an Egg) is a 1968 detective movie directed by Giulio Questi, featuring an international cast whose main actors are Ewa Aulin, Gina Lollobrigida and Jean-Louis Trintignant; the warm and bright tones of its photography strongly contrast against the dark and gloomy atmospheres and plot. The soundtrack of the film, composed and directed by Bruno Maderna, is even more peculiar and distant from the typical sounds of the time, and from almost any other soundtrack released in the 60s: there’s no trace of beat or psychedelia at all, but rather a collection of abstract and dissonant compositions, which we could classify as avant-garde and partly associate with certain experiments made by a contemporary group called Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, but also with the less common side of the library music genre. All the songs were created with the sole use of strings, acoustic guitar, piano and spoken word. A truly unique work, unpredictable and almost impossible to categorize!

“Le Foto Proibite di una Signora Perbene” (Forbidden Photos of a Lady above Suspicion) is a 1970 giallo film directed by Luciano Ercoli ("La Morte Accarezza a Mezzanotte" and "La Polizia ha le Mani Legate" are probably his most popular cult works among fans of the thriller / police genre) starring the German-born actress Dagmar Lassander. Yet another soundtrack that remained unpublished for decades and rediscovered only at the end of the 90s, “Le Foto Proibite…” is a very varied work in which Ennio Morricone, as usual, manages to adapt his scores to light-hearted (“Allegretto per Signora”, “Intermezzino Pop”, “Secondo Intermezzino Pop”), romantic (“Le Foto Proibite di una Signora Per Bene”, “Amore come Dolore”, “Quelle Foto”) and hectic moments (“Qui ci Scappa il Morto”, “Bella, Cara, Dolce, Buona Mogliettina Per Bene”, “Caduta nel’Inconscio”, “Nel Vuoto”) that the movie consists of. An excellent work for a cult film of Italian genre cinema, reissued on clear pink vinyl. with remastered audio.

Quartet Records, in collaboration with GDM, Universal Music Publishing Italy and EMI General Music Publishing, presents the premiere vinyl edition of the famous giallo score composed by Ennio Morricone in 1971 for LA Corte Notte Delle Bambole DI Vetro (aka Short Night OF Crystal Dolls) directed by Aldo Lado and starring Jean Sorel, Ingrid Thulin, Barbara Bach and Mario Adorf. Considered one of the best and most consistent giallos, the film is about journalist Gregory Moore (Sorel), whose corpse is found in a Prague square and taken to the local morgue. But Moore’s spirit is alive, trapped inside his dead body and desperately remembering the disappearance of his beautiful girlfriend, who is linked to a terrifying conspiracy of depravity. Can a reporter with no visible signs of life solve this perverse puzzle before his existence ends? Morricone’s thriller scores remain some of his most distinctive and original works. As demonstrated in his scores for Dario Argento’s efforts in the genre, Morricone’s uncanny ability to combine lyricism, unbridled avant-garde experimentation and stylish elegance was his most significant contribution to the category. LA Corta Notte Delle Bambole DI Vetro shows Morricone once again embracing the sophisticated avant-garde sound while beginning his score with a haunting tune performed by Edda Dell’Orso heard over the film’s main titles. The waltz theme has a timeless quality, providing a disturbing and disarming melody for the film. This is the first worldwide vinyl edition of this Morricone cult score. It has been completely produced and mastered by Chris Malone from original master tapes and pressed in audiophile clear glass-doll vinyl.

“Gli Occhi Freddi della Paura” (Cold Eyes of Fear) is a 1971 thriller film directed by Enzo G. Castellari (who also directed "Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato", one of Quentin Tarantino's absolute favourites), with the participation of an international cast of actors including Frank Wolff, Fernando Rey, Julian Mateos and Karin Schubert. Set almost exclusively inside a villa where a kidnapping takes place, the film relies on one of the darkest and most terrifying soundtracks by Ennio Morricone, where melody is practically non-existent in favour of dreadful and claustrophobic atmospheres. As performers, directed by Bruno Nicolai, we find an ensemble Morricone himself was a part of, named Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, that perfectly execute the dissonant and avant-garde sounds of the score. When the groove kicks in, the music recalls the revolutionary fusion/jazz-rock of the late ‘60s / early ‘70s Miles Davis.

Dive into the evocative soundscapes of the past with the first ever vinyl reissue of Piero Umiliani's 1972 library masterpiece, "Guerra E Distruzione." Known for his innovative and genre-defying compositions, Umiliani's work on this album encapsulates the raw emotions and tumultuous energies of war and destruction through a unique blend of orchestral finesse and experimental brilliance. This exclusive reissue has been remastered for vinyl by Davide "Bassi Maestro" Bassi to capture the full depth and richness of the original recordings, bringing to life every nuanced note and intricate layer. Presented in a stunning gatefold jacket with opening in the inside, replicating the original pressing, the album's artwork is a tribute to its historical significance and artistic value, offering fans and collectors a visual and auditory feast.

Limited to just 500 copies, this release is a rare gem for connoisseurs of library music, soundtrack enthusiasts, and vinyl aficionados. Immerse yourself in the hauntingly beautiful and profoundly stirring world of "Guerra E Distruzione," a timeless work that stands as a testament to Piero Umiliani's enduring legacy in the realm of cinematic soundscapes.

“Il Serpente” (Night Flight from Moscow) is a 1973 spy and thriller film directed by Henri Verneuil, starring among others Yul Brinner, Henry Fonda and Philippe Noiret. It’s one of the French director’s six movies that feature a soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone, who here managed to describe the thrilling atmosphere of this high-voltage espionage, alternating dramatic and mysterious passages (“Assassinio sul Lago”, “Il Serpente”) and experimental ones (“Astrazione con Ritmo”, “Esplicitamente Sospeso”) to other soft and sensual (“Canzone Lontana”), still with the amazing contribution of Edda Dell’Orso and Alessandro Alessandroni’s I Cantori Moderni. “Tema per una Donna Sola” Morricone is a sweet and melancholic theme with modern rhythmic patterns; There is also music with a danceable flavor such as “Nadine” with organ, groovy drums and rock guitars, always with Cantori Moderni’s wonderful voices, a solemn church organ-only composition (“Orazione”) and an excited march (“Parata Militare”). Clear pink vinyl edition with remastered audio and new artwork.

To mark its 50th anniversary, Farfalla Records is proud to announce the reissue of the highly sought after German library gem "Wonderland of Sound". Originally released in 1974, the album was produced by Brillant-Musik's founder Werner Tautz and recorded in Zurich. Wonderland of Sound is the epitome of the classic 70s library sound. A jazzy bliss orchestrated by the hottest European session players making up the Big Band "Rainbow-Orchestra". A Splendidly funky and stunning set of compositions and arrangements with ultra-stylish horn section.

This 1976 Jamaican blaxsploitation soundtrack is a holy grail in the reggae world, original copies are practically non-existent. Composed by MELBA LISTON, reissued for the first time ever on orange vinyl. For fans of HARDER THEY COME, ROCKERS & COUNTRYMAN.

This is the masterful score that Italian composer Franco Micalizzi created for the 1979 Sci-fi horror film Stridulum (aka. The Visitor). The Giulio Paradisi film featured a star-studded cast including Mel Ferrer, John Huston, and Shelley Winters. Although it wasn’t as commercially successful as expected at the time, its unique subject matter and expressive style eventually attracted a cult following. While Micalizzi is better known for his ‘Poliziotteschi’ flic scores and collaborations with director Umberto Lenzi, his trademark sound is unmistakably present on Stridulum with its visually evocative, engaging, and spacey take on funk. The film’s commercial performance aside, all this is enough to make Stridulum one of Micalizzi’s most captivating, if eccentric, works. Packed with great tracks such as the film’s main theme, the multiple variations on the ‘Sadness Theme’, and the standout sci-fi disco-funk of ‘Jerzy Again’, the Stridulum score offers plenty in the way of listening enjoyment. The present re-issue features the original artwork from the 1979 first pressing, along with bonus tracks including 7 alternate tracks and outtakes.

Quartet Records, in collaboration with the Riz Ortolani estate, presents the expanded vinyl edition of one of the titles most requested by maestro Ortolani’s fans: the bizarre 1978 mondo movie Brutes AND Savages (aka Savana Selvaggia) Written by Jenny Craven and directed by Arthur Davis, this belongs to the select group of mondos that became notorious not for their shocking content, but for their lack of understanding of the genre. Surviving in two different cuts (92 mins and 107 mins), Brutes AND Savages focuses on mostly Latin American customs from local natives who do unspeakable things to animals. The single most entertaining feature of Brutes AND Savages is its music by Riz Ortolani, the “de facto” mondo master who was the key musical figure of the genre since its conception in Mondo Cane and its Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated song, “More.” Ortolani scored countless mondos from Africa Addio (1966) through Addio ZIO TOM (1971) to, obviously, Cannibal Holocaust (1980), netting a few great titles along the way. The composer always found a way to create cool tunes that managed to tie together the insanely wide-ranging episodes that featured inconsistent quality and tone—and when all else failed, he created singular, individually successful cues for self-contained segments that saved as much of the film as possible. A 1978 LP release of the music from Brutes AND Savages is quite hard to come by. Export LPs originating from Australia and Hong Kong routinely fetch outrageously high prices on the secondary market. This new vinyl edition includes a crucial suspense cue that was cut for not meshing with the style of the record. The audio was mastered by Chris Malone from the original master tapes provided by the Ortolani estate, and the discs are pressed in transparent green-jungle, audiophile vinyl.

It was 1979, and I was barely 5 years old. Some memories are impressed on my mind with a sort of solarized texture, like in the photographs of the period, full of icons and myths. My father Franco and mother Luciana were like crazy pinballs, touring the world: America, France and Germany were the sides against which they continuously bumped and Italy's capital the hole to which they always returned. I was really young, but I remember very well the period in which my father worked on this little jewel, produced and shot with great love and poetry by Mr. Zingarelli. I remember Italo, a large guy who made an enormous impression on me: tall, with an imposing frame and often wearing a big beard that made him both tender and menacing, like an Italian version of Santa Claus. We owe a lot to this man who gave so much to Italian cinema, sensibly enriching our artistic fortune, sometimes, as in this case, with great irony and poetry. Shot in Africa in the late '70s, Io sto con gli ippopotami (aka I'm for the Hippopotamus), is a movie that in my imagination is just like Italo: humorously menacing and bulky, protective, awesome and sweet, a description that also fits the mascot of this delicious film, the hippopotamus. In this movie we feel the presence of its producer/director's poetry, often handed down with great passion and cheerfulness through his cinema. It's a simple message of love for nature, respect for the weaker and the duty to intervene when they are subjected to abuse. Everything is presented with disarming simplicity, as powerful as it is beautiful. You must confess that you were moved when Terence Hill, toward the end of the movie, delights himself with his friend-of-a-thousand- adventures Bud Spencer by watching the flight of the animals from Mr. Ormond's boat to the wonderful notes of "Freedom," where my father's harmonica together with the melody infuses the scene with an almost maternal sweetness. Well, we are all in debt to this big guy for his kind message and the clean, sparkling, soft and amusing sincerity that dwells there, among the lines of his cinema, apparently devoted to simple entertainment but so wonderfully deep and full of feeling.

Heartiest thanks, Italo. This album, dedicated to the memory of Italo Zingarelli, is released on a 180 grams colored vinyl, mastering by Enrico De Gemini, graphic layout by Daniele De Gemini.

Pressed on Black Eco Vinyl
Artwork by Paul Mann
Music to the 1981 film directed by Rick Rosenthal
DESCRIPTION

Death Waltz Recording Company is proud to present the return of one of horror’s scariest boogeymen, as well as one of the genre’s most iconic theme tunes with John Carpenter and Alan Howarth’s score to HALLOWEEN II. Set directly after the events of the first film, Rick Rosenthal’s sequel sets itself up as the slasher equivalent of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, making a family connection between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers while getting some good kills in at the same time. Carpenter and Howarth’s score is beefier and more intense than before, using layers of electronics to drive the audience to madness.

As before, Myers aka “The Shape” is propelled by that theme, souped up with a new and more powerful arrangement from Carpenter and Howarth. HALLOWEEN II is more overtly synth and is perhaps less focused than the original score, although that certainly means it’s nastier and more schizophrenic. The score also brings back the evocative ’Laurie’s Theme’, incorporating into a score full of harrowing musical effect, its synthesised howls and wails piercing your ears so that by the time ‘Mr. Sandman’ comes around, you’ll feel just like the final girl, delirious at having survived the aural ordeal. And that’s just when The Shape wakes up.

Pressed on Black Eco Vinyl
Packaging by Alan Hynes
Music to the 1982 film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
DESCRIPTION

Death Waltz Recording Co. is delighted to revisit not only one of our favorite HALLOWEEN sequels, but one of our favorite sequels period. It’s been a long, hard road for HALLOWEEN III: THE SEASON OF THE WITCH to be accepted within the HALLOWEEN franchise, but it is now widely considered to be one of the best horror movies of the ‘80s.

The packaging for this release is also completely singular and jaw-dropping; designed by Alan Hynes (the wizard behind our FIGHT CLUB and ANOMALISA releases) it’s unlike all of our other re-issues in this series. It’s still designed to fit in the collectors box and really helps solidify what an outlier HALLOWEEN III is in the overall series.

The film is unique not only due to it lacking Michael Myers (save for a brief appearance on a TV screen) but also for its score. John Carpenter and Alan Howarth completely jettisoned their previous work and deliver nothing short of an electronic masterpiece. The lead track ‘Chariots Of Pumpkins’ is an epic 4/4 beat-driven synth-banger that has regularly been played by DJs over the last 10 years. The rest of the score features lush pads, Linn drums aplenty and veers from beautiful blissed-out ambient drones to sinister stinger-driven mood pieces. Absolutely outstanding stuff.

Great classic and timeless tune of the 80s and French Boogie scene, « Histoire d’1 Soir (Bye bye les galères) » is an ode to party, liberty, youth and freedom, interpreted by Bibi Flash aka Brigitte Gasté, an atypical singer from the French Boogie.

With its light lyrics and mythical chorus, its euphoria and irresistible disco-rap vibe, this track produced by Philippe Renaux (Holly Guns, Clever, Pianola…) released in 1983 is a sincere photography of its time, during which these children of the « summer of love » and May 68 criss-crossed Paris in search of endless nights, pleasure and freedom.

A prized and rare record which is nowadays repressed by Barbecue imprint in 2021, in its 12’’ version, with the original, the Disco Mix, instrumental and the A Cappella, and is accompanied by a new modern and festive edit by French house producer Blutch.

Printed inner sleeve included.