Music to interrogate by (it says 'ere)...

... which is one the tracks from Lalo Schifrin's utterly brilliant soundtrack to the 1968 film Bullitt. Most soundtracks tend to be variations of the same theme. John Barry's soundtrack to The Ipcress File is a good example of that... don't get me wrong, The Ipcress file is indeed a fantastic score, but it's a soundtrack built upon the same central theme played many different ways. There's a laid-back lounge version of the main theme, a bluesier version, and not one but two faster-paced dramatic versions... one with bongos and one without. Schifrin's soundtrack to Bullitt is very different... more unique. Unique in the sense that you can listen to and enjoy the whole soundtrack in its own right. It's a magnificent, breezy piano jazz score that's a joy to listen to. 12 tracks clocking in at 34 minutes, and almost all the tracks are original. The main and end themes are the same tunes played differently, and the breezy On the way to San Mateo is also reminiscent of the main theme. But there are light, groovy tracks like Room "26", the wonderful A Song For Cathy (which is included in one my favourite scenes in the film), and Cantana For Combo are all original jams, baby.
Then there are more dramatic, upbeat musical moments, such as Hotel Daniels, Music to interrogate by, the wonderfully titled Ice Pick Mike (good name for a gangster rapper!), and Schifrin's classic Shifting Gears, which builds up to a funky crescendo.

I first purchased the Bullitt soundtrack in bootleg vinyl form many years ago. You could tell it was a bootleg; terrible quality artwork and no barcode (the peril of modern consumerism). It sounded good though! Then, wayyyy back in 2009, those smashing folks at Film Score Monthly released the ultimate version of the Bullitt soundtracks (plural). Yes, their release has the complete album recording AND the actual film soundtrack recording on one handy disc. Gawd bless 'em. I always did prefer some of the music on the film rather than the album recording. But then the album recording has a much better version of Shifting Gears, which is one of Schifrin's best tracks. So, everything is covered then. A seminal release of one of the best soundtracks on this planet Earth. And the film's bloody good as well!

Delicious Vinyl: Springy Styles

Spring has given me an opportunity to select some tasty treats currently on the worldwidegimp turntable, as well as music floating around within the wireless network at chez worldwidegimp. Shpadoinkle.

Anyway, above you'll see Bruno Nicolai's Allora Il Treno, which really, truly, honestly arrived from Italy in a pizza box. I think it was sent this way to emphasise its Italianness. It's a good Spring album, with breezy vocals by the legendary Edda Dell'Orso, compositions by Morricone's long time pal Nicolai, and Franco De Gemini on harmonica. All the usual suspects of Italian soundtracks at that time. The chap on the cover (above right) could be Franco Tamponi, who also features on some of the tracks on the album. Unsure as to who the scary staring man in the opposite carriage is, but what I do know is the soundtrack was for a film about train journies, which -judging by the music- could be a real curate's egg. Nicolai's music bounces from breezy-listening to keyboard mentalist magic that reminds me of Gershon Kingsley or even Kraftwerk! A bizarre gem.

The usual suspects return again on Morricone's wonderful soundtrack to the western Faccia a Faccia. Il maestro composed, Bruno Nicolai conducted, Edda Dell'orso vocalises and Franco De Gemini plays his moody harmonica. Faccia a Faccia however, is dissimilar to the music for the Sergio Leone films... It's a bit madder, that is to say, diverse, but just as powerful. A wonderful soundtrack, and the CD re-issue has a staggering 31 tracks! Blimey.

Next up is the soundtrack to Gordon's War, a fairly standard 'blaxploitation' flick from1973. As is usually the case with these types of films, the soundtrack is much, much better than the film itself. Composers Al Elia & Andy Badale called themselves 'Badder than Evil' for this album, which has been plundered by rappers and producers many times over, because it's so damn funky. Hot wheels (the chase) is singularly more famous than the film itself. Check out the eerie floating head of Barbara Mason on the cover.

After The Velvet Underground shenanigans, German singer/songwriter Nico went solo. Desertshore was her third solo album which, like her earlier efforts Chelsea Girl & The Marble Index, was produced by John Cale.

Desertshore is brief but beautiful. Cale's experimental production and use of harmonium is excellent. However, to enjoy listening to this kind of album, you have to be in a certain frame of mind. Twisted on drugs, for example, moody, angry or depressed. Passing the death of a loved one, perhaps. Track 7 Mütterlein, was played at her funeral, which is entirely fitting. Much as I loved her music, Nico's voice could at times be very irritating, but at the same time it fits Cale's production perfectly. Lasting just 27 minutes, Desertshore is just about perfect.

Actually, I just realized Desertshore is not a very good Spring recommendation at all, but it has been played alot recently, soooo I guess that counts. Maybe not, though. Perhaps I'll just order another Vinyl pizza from Italy.

Previous, not-quite-spring-yet recommendations...

I've been listening to a lot of Italian music of late... most of it is soundtrack music from the late 60s/early 70s, when Italian composers could do whatever they bloomin' well wanted and get paid for it. Most of it was excellent, and usually accompanied groovy Italian comedies, westerns, horror -or my personal favourite- giallo films. Out of the gamut of soundtracks and library music created during this prolific period, I have over the years filtered out some of the crap to get to the good stuff. And ohhh there's so much of it. (Crap and good stuff).

A good starting point was around the year 1996, when I first became aware of the incredible grooviness and originality Italian soundtrack music had to offer via the Mo'Plen series, which were released by Italy's Irma La Douce label, who provided some of the finest compilations I've (still) ever heard. Compilations created by people who really know, love and adore the music. Anyone wanting to start an Italian groove collection should start here.

Mo'Plen

ABOVE: Mo'Plen 2000 kicked off the series, which I still consider the best of 'em all. 3000 came next, followed in 1998 by a bizarre backtrack to 1000. Then the series proceeded to Mo'plen Brazilia, which I actually picked up in the HMV store in Shibuya, Tokyo! Mo'plen 4000 followed in 2001, and the series ended two years later with Mo'Plen Bacharach. Several other compilations were released by Irma, all of which were compiled by the same people: Ninfadelica (on the right), Suono Libero ('library music')1 & 2, and La Douce Party 1 & 2. The 'thousand' series are the best ones to pick up, though. As far as I'm aware, Moplen is a type of garish plastic used in the 1960s to make furnishings and the like. Sweet!

A trio of Piero Piccioni LP's have been on the turntable recently. La Decima Vittima (The 10th Victim) is an incredibly groovy-yet-mellow 'Jazz odyssey' (not in the Spinal Tap sense). The film itself is a classic mid 60s satire starring Marcello Mastroianni & Ursula Andress. This is a classic soundtrack in the sense of having one main theme, then recording many variations on that theme. A laid-back Jazz version, a breezy vocal version, a guitar-driven psych-out version et cetera... This is the Italian Easy Tempo re-issue from a few years ago. If you get a chance to see the film, please do... it pre-dates films like Man Bites Dog by several decades!

My all-time favourite Piccioni soundtrack though, is the soundtrack to Radley Matzger's 1970 soft-porn classic Camille 2000. Also released by Easy Tempo, Camille 2000 has a surprising amount of variety. Moody, erotic and slightly psychedelic, this record sounds like a jam session that's been recorded from inside a sleazy sex-pit. The lurid cover doesn't hold back (is it me, or does it look like the lovers have tails?) And neither does the music, ranging from lounge 'muzak' to randy wurlitzer sounds (I would've said "randy organ sounds", but that sounds vaguely disgusting). Piccioni pulls out all the randy rabbits from the same hat with Camille 2000. My favourite track is Pearls, but let us not forget such memorable classic such as Funky Lovers (which is a good name for a band) and Chains of Love. Oooooh.

A similar riff found on Camille 2000 can also be found on Piccioni's soundtrack of two years later, Puppet On A Chain. This re-issue by DC recordings is another of the finer Piccioni scores. It lacks the variety of Camille 2000, but has a couple of belting Psych tracks... the ones I enjoy listening to when I've had too much single malt.