Ennio Morricone — Morricone In Colour
The four discs come in a white card box, and each disc comes in its own cardboard slip sleeve that features the original Cinevox Records cover artwork for each of the two soundtracks on each of the four discs. Also in the box is a twelve page booklet that features a collection of quotes about Morricone & his work, a small write-up about the soundtracks in the set, and full film credits for each of the eight films.
Disc one takes in the soundtracks for 1969’s Metti, una sera a cena(aka Love Circle / One Night at Dinner) & 1971’s Forza G(aka Winged Devils). Metti, una sera a cena is a arty erotica movie directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi- the films plot tells the story of a famous writer who fantasises that an affair is going on between his wife and his best friend, a bisexual actor. But unknown to him, the pair have in fact been lovers for years. Not only that, they have drawn a third person into their bedroom games - an anarchist/poet/actor/gigolo who squats in a dankly luxurious basement and makes love to the wife under a Nazi swastika flag. The soundtrack for the film features ten tracks, and it finds Morricone moving from buoyant & upbeat jazz with female vocalising, to jaunting & swooning organ ‘n’ guitar led instrumental 1960’s pop with female/male harmonies. Through to string & horn led sound tracking swoons, onto weird twanging sitar ‘n’ percussion work-outs. The soundtrack has a nice bright ‘n’ breezy 60’s vibe to it, but it also mangers to have a few more moody moments too.
Forza G was an action Comedy film directed by Duccio Tessari- the movie was seemingly an aviation based film that revolved around a romantic comedy/ action plot. This soundtrack takes in 14 tracks in all, and these tracks mainly fall into a fairly laid back jazzy & orchestrated mood with female & male vocalising appearing on many of the tracks. Though there are also a few more up-beat & moody moments here too, and one great kinky & moody track in the form of “Forza G: Quella Donna” which mixes electric guitar flecked jazzy vibe/organ edginess with the great over the top female/male sexualized moans.
Moving onto the second disc, and this is taken up with soundtracks for 1969’s L'assoluto naturale( aka He & She), and 1972’s Anche se volessi lavorare, che faccio?(aka Even If I Wanted to Work What Could I Do?). L'assoluto naturale is directed by Mauro Bolognini, and apparently it’s an existentialist road /art-house movie with a story revolving around a couple whose relationship ends up tragically because of the clash of their personalities. The soundtrack features 14 tracks which included two bonus versions of the soundtracks main theme. The sound on this release is a mixture of laid-back sort of easy listening with a few more up beat moments. Morricone utilizes a mixture of instrumental elements going from: swooning strings backed by acoustic/electric guitars. Onto organ, horn, persistent percussion & sailing string work, through to more romantic & lush bass ‘n’ string drifts, or wavering vibe ‘n’ string dwells. With a few tracks bursting into more up-beat & sometime jazzy moments. As a whole the soundtrack shows Morricone's ability to put the same melody through different musical setting, so technical it’s quite interesting, but playing through I found the whole thing becoming a little too repetitive, as he never really departs from the main theme on any of the tracks.
Anche se volessi lavorare, che faccio?(aka Even If I Wanted to Work What Could I Do?) was directed by Flavio Mogherini, and it was seemingly a comedy camper bank robbing movie with political overtones. The soundtrack features ten tracks in all, and these go from the lulling yet rising string piano & harpsichord wistfulness, through to comic funk meets Italian pop. Onto quirky yet edgy mixes of Perrey & Kingsley like playful samples, taut almost reggae like guitar work, sawing ‘n’ jigging violin/ banjo, & easy listening elements. Over to lush bobbing string swooned euro pop with amassed male/ female singing & vocalizing. This soundtrack is very effective with Morricone managing to carry off both comic & off-kilter soundtracking, as well as more mellow & moody moments too. The soundtrack also finds him effortless mixing together different genres too
Disc three is taken up by two more famous soundtracks- 1970’s L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (aka The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) & 1971’s 4 mosche di velluto grigio( aka Four Flies on Grey Velvet)- which of course are two of Dario Argento’s early giallo movies. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage revolves around the story of an American writer living in Rome, who witnesses a murder attempt on the wife of the owner of an art gallery by a man in a raincoat and black leather gloves - but the writer is unable to do anything as he’s trapped between a double set of glass doors at the front of the art gallery. The woman survives, and the police say that she is the first surviving victim of a notorious serial killer. But when they fail to make any progress with the case, the writer decides to investigate on his own, turning up several clues that point in the direction of just one possible suspect. The soundtrack features 12 tracks, which include two bonus tracks of alternate versions of already featured tracks. The soundtrack moves from jazzy & jaunting easy listening, onto edgy/taut jazz work-outs that are a drift with heavy male and/or female breathing. Through to angular mixtures eerier jazz/ modern classic tipped experimentation & lullaby like vocalising over lush nurse rhyme like backings. It’s often quoted as one of Morricone classic soundtracks of the time, and it easy to see why as he mangers to merger different musical genre elements; but he also creates a compelling, moody & at times unsettling soundtrack.
4 mosche di velluto grigio( aka Four Flies on Grey Velvet) revolves around a drummer in a rock band, who keeps receiving weird phone calls and being followed by a mysterious man. One night he manages to catch up with his persecutor and tries to get him to talk but in the ensuing struggle he accidentally stabs him. He runs away, but he realizes that his troubles have just begun when the following day he gets an envelope with photos of him killing the man. Someone is also killing all his friends and trying to frame him for the murders. The soundtrack features just seven tracks( this is the only incomplete soundtrack of the set, as the 2007 release featured ten tracks). And the tracks on offer here are a wonderful mix of edgy & angular jazz/ modern classic sound tracking, descending bass led nurse rhyme like composition with twinkling doomed piano edginess & string saws. Onto up beat jazzy piano & rhythm ‘n’ blues type mixers. Again it’s another great, varied & cleverly put together soundtrack, it’s just a pity all of the tracks from the 2007 reissue couldn’t have been fitted on here.
Disc four is taken up by the soundtracks for 1977’s Il gatto (aka The Cat), and 1979’s Il giocattolo (aka The Dangerous Toy). Il gatto is a comedy movie directed by Luigi Comencini, the films plot revolves around Amedeo and Ofelia – a middle aged brother and sister, who jointly own an old decadent, but still attractive, condominium. They want to sell it, but before they have to evict all the tenants. Of course, these don't want to leave at all. The cat (Il Gatto), mascot and beloved by all, dies and this gives the two an excuse to enter the tenants' life. Amedeo starts to court the young Wanda and Ofelia seduces the priest Don Pezzolla. In the meantime police is looking for the cat killer. The soundtrack for Il gatto features fifteen tracks in all, and these go from the jaunting yet dramatic title track that mixes together vibrate ‘n’ waltzing classical strings & campy ‘n’ popping Perrey & Kingsley like textures. To the urgent organ & rocked-out guitar soloing of “Gli scatenati”, through to the wondering ‘n’ hazed vibe, organ & sexualized female moans “Ofeilia e il prete”. Onto the campy & cheesy Latin samba vibe of “Samba in tribunale”. Again this is another varied & rewarding soundtrack showing Morricone mixing campiness with dramatic composition.
Il giocattolo was directed by Giuliano Montaldo, and is describe as an Italian take on Taxi Driver. The plot revolves around a meek book-keeper who lives a squalid & boring life; this is interrupted when he becomes friends with a policeman. The book keeper is introduced to gun shooting, and appears to be very gifted. This fact gives a shake to his dull existence, but when he gets in trouble with gangsters, he'll regret the past. This soundtrack takes in fifteen tracks, which include five bonus tracks, again this is another soundtrack that finds Morricone on fine form. We go from suspenseful to dramatic who-goes-there vibe of the title track that mixes tinkling electronics & subtle brooding string swoons, with more up-beat yet sneaking mixture of piano, bass & sawing string work. Onto funky bass meets easy listening vibes of “Una gita mancata”. Through to pumping heart beat percussion meets dramatic sawing string tautness of “Morte di sauro”. Onto the trumpet meets bitter sweet Parisian vibe of “Un uomo semplice (Version Two)” which brief breaks out into a disco funk strut. Again it’s another very blanced & cleverly put together bit of sound tracking.
All in all “Morricone In Colour” is a very satisfying collection of Morricone soundtracks from his most prolific period between the late 1960’s to early 1970’s, with pretty much every soundtrack here been both rewarding & varied in it’s scope. And it really is a steal at just under the £25.00 mark.