Italian wax heads up

[dr kraken]

Hello vultures.

I have a couple of weeks in central Italy coming up and hopefully IÂ’ll get the chance to sniff out some records. Once again I am handicapped by my complete lack of knowledge, so can anybody tell me what to look out for in terms of funky-Italian-library-porn-soundtrack-sitar-psycheÂ…

Information like:

Promising labels and artists,
Essential LPs/45s,
The titles (& tracklistings?) of compilations that might give me a clue what to look for,
Or even the names of essential Morricone soundtracks

Would be much appreciated.


Grazie amici

[Lord Thames]

Look out for the original Italian issue of Perez Prado Now on the Beat label - not that I've ever seen one. In fact, if you see anything cheap on Beat and you don't like it I'll take it off your hands!

I've also got an odd funky jazz record by a group called Napoli Centrale on the Riccordi label - I've had it for about seven years, and I still can't work out if it's brilliant or awful!

[pokester]

vedette is a label to look for in da bins has some great stuff..
stuff like the phase 6 (sciascia)

of course you can't go wrong with umiliani , morricone, bacalov, cipriani, pisano, I Marc 4, nicolai, trovajoli,goblin , piccioni, ortolani.........

[pokester]

look for the "easy tempo" comiltations for some ideas

[dr kraken]

Duly noted.

Thank you kindly chaps.

[quidtum]

My recommendations:

Amedeo Tommasi & H.Caiage - "Carnet turistico" Deneb DBN 0009 (197x)



monster groovy library



Giuliano Sorgini - "Zoo folle" OST Ricordi label SMRL 6141 (1974)



a crazy psycho score



Giuliano Sorgini - "Under pompelmo" Italian press Montecarlo SM 5001 (197x)



monster groovy/funky library



Barigozzi group - "Woman's colours" Fonovideo (1976)



An incredible mix of psychedelic, jazz funk, lively funk fused with electric piano and breezy flute rhodes and percussion and wah wah guitars



everything you can get made by Piero Umiliani (also under his own aliases which are Ruscigan, Zalla, Moggi, Sitimo, The Braen's machine, Herbana, Tusco, Seven Pennies & Rovi): actually after 50 records at least by him which I listened to, he is a top versatile talented master, a genius in a word



everything you can get made by I Marc 4 (a legendary studio group - a funky Italian combo that often featured Armando Trovajoli on keyboards, plus backing by guitar, drums, and bass.
The name I Marc 4 (or Marc 4) comes from the initials of their members: Maurizio Majorana (Bass), Antonello Vannucci (Hammond/Piano), Roberto Podio (Drums/Percussion) and Carlo Pes (guitar) who played and recorded most of Trovajoli's compositions)



Francesco De Masi - "Alla scoperta dell'India" OST (1967)

The score for an Italian programme shot quite a few years ago, in 1967, entitled "Alla scoperta dell'India" (Discovering India) by journalist Folco Quilici. India contains fifteen tracks of different length, all variations of the main theme of the programme introduced to the listener in the first track of the album. The soundtrack opens with the notes of a solitary sitar (courtesy of Maestro Alessandro Alessandroni), which take on the second track, "India (In Nome di Maometto)", the nuances of a score for a Spaghetti Western film. Lounge like inflections prevail in some of the tracks such as "India (Quando le Terre ed i Mari si Incrociano)", while swing and jazz seem to be the choice for the more experimental track "India, Oggi". In this album exotic melodies woven by sitars, harps, flutes and guitars build

Francesco De Masi - "India" Sermi SP115 (197x)



An amazing score!! Sitar & exotic themes



Chico Buarque De Hollanda & Ennio Morricone - "Per un pugno di samba" RCA LSP 34085 (1970)

Original 'white label' Italian pressing on the collectable RCA Label (LSP 34085) from 1970. Gosh, beautiful sounding records don't get much better than this. If you are into the Brazilian beat with distinctive Alessandroni nuances, male lead vocals (in Portuguese?) from Chico Buarque, the guitar sounds of Irio De Paula, very trippy female harmonies and some deeply psychedelic orchestrations by the Maestro, then this Lp is for you! A seldom seen bonifide rarity full of gorgeous samba trax, some spiced with treated celeste/spinette/harpsicord, hammond, FX, and signature Morricone orchestral motifs! ED ORA DICO SUL SERIO is a funky 'rim-shot' samba with ecclesiastical, psychedelic hammond and male vocals! The trippy and icy sounding beauty of NICANOR features celeste/spinette/harpsicord, flute FX and femme wordless harmonies a la Veruschka OST. SOGNO DI UN CARNEVALE is a relaxed but funky samba with dancing flute motifs and an arrangement that morphs into a rawkus batucada with girly shouts from I Cantori Moderni! FUNERALE DI UN CONTADINO is wonderfully moody and contains more amazing vocals and harmonies from Alessandroni's vocal troupe over deep percussion sounds and psychedelic/phased bird-whistle FX!
Impressive contributions: Mimì and Loredana Bertè as a chorus (listen to FUNERALE DI UN CONTADINO), Irio de Paula, Mandrake, Daniele Patucchi, Giorgio Carnini, Edda Dell'Orso, i Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni, as well as Michele and Lucio Dalla

Ennio Morricone - "Oceano" OST RCA Records OLS 10 (1971)



psych and rare score by Maestro with a lot of sitar, harp and flute tunes, percussions & exotic sounds



Stelvio Cipriani - "Mark Il poliziotto" OST Cinevox (1975)

Funky Cipriani, and one of the best 70s soundtracks by the amazing Italian composer! The score is for a mid 70s cop film, and it's got a sound that blows away even most American funky cop soundtracks -- using wah wah guitar to the Nth degree, in order to super-charge the massively funky rhythms on the set -- and somehow managing to produce the other instruments in the set with this weird echo that sort of makes them jump between the speakers! There's incredible off-kilter piano, lots of spacey horns, and even a bit of electric harpsichord, which really sounds amazing. As funky as it is brilliant, and filled with amazing tracks that really blow us away

Stelvio Cipriani - "Femina Ridens" OST Cam (1969)

Super hip, sexy and groovy soundtrack to a late sixties sexploitation movie

Mario Molino - "Gli angeli del 2.000" OST Cam SAG 9020 (1969)



incredible psycho-beat-loungey score



Augusto Martelli - "Il dio serpente" OST Cinevox label (1970)



A very refined groovy and exotic Italian score for a weak movie featuring Nadia Cassini as a wife going to Caraibi escaping from civilization and showing her discovery of eros and sex via a primitive religion (serpente = snake and dio = god)



and finally the names you've to keep in mind : Gianni Ferrio, Alessandro Alessandroni, Piero Piccioni, Franco Micalizzi (super funky!!!), Alberto Baldan Bembo, Goblin, Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, Berto Pisano, Armando Trovajoli, Puccio Roelens, Armando Sciascia...for Morricone jump here

http://my.opera.com/Morricone%20lover/blog/

[wallace]

I've also got an odd funky jazz record by a group called Napoli Centrale on the Riccordi label - I've had it for about seven years, and I still can't work out if it's brilliant or awful!

Brill oo coorse.

Yew doan ken nuffink.

[alanmck]

this one has a monster track on it called "l'eroe di plastica" and should be well under €10. i found two in the space of two days last month.



loads of jazz to look for, especially on the Horo label. not cheap, but often very good. i found none last month, but i only looked for 2 hours.

[Viva Chiba]

?!

I think "Il Dio Serpente" is a bit crap. . definite one tracker, "Beryl's Tune".

"Blazing Magnum" by Trovajoli (I think) sounds like a good 'un to me. . .way outta my price range, of course.

I think you'd have to be blind or Wallace not to snap up anything contained within the enticing looking covers above though - classy!

[john stapleton]

I think "Il Dio Serpente" is a bit crap. . definite one tracker, "Beryl's Tune".

which luckily is on a 45, of course!

I know someone with a copy of 'Femina Ridens', and I'm working on getting a copy of 'Gli angeli del 2.000'. Never seen any of the others though!

[Viva Chiba]

?!

Isn't there still a copy at £30 in Mike's shop ???

Been there for about 3 years, I think. .. and it's a bloody reissue. AND he wouldn't give it me for £15. . .fool. . .

[john stapleton]

Isn't there still a copy at £30 in Mike's shop ???

Of what?

[Viva Chiba]

?!

Il Dio Serpente LP, early 80's reish on Cinevox.

Cover has the "edge peeling away from clouds" corner thing going on.

[john stapleton]

Il Dio Serpente LP, early 80's reish on Cinevox.

Cover has the "edge peeling away from clouds" corner thing going on.

Oh, fair enough. I've got the 45, though, I'll stick with that. I thought you meant he had a copy of 'Femina Ridens'!

[quidtum]

Never seen any of the others though!

Yes, I forgot to say these are very rare records to find out, but these ones are available on CD:

# Francesco De Masi - "Alla scoperta dell'India" OST (1967)

# Stelvio Cipriani - "Mark Il poliziotto" OST Cinevox (1975)
(a must have masterpiece!!!!!!!)