Those two deliveries from the Italian label Beat records deserve the immediate purchase just for the sleeves visual. The two CDs copy the original graphics of two posters of Italian thrillers of the 70’s, with a very realistic designed style.
Both are available at Raro Video, Liberi Armati Pericolosi from Romolo Guerrieri and Milano Rovente from Umberto Lenzi are two “poliziotteschi” in the purest tradition of the genre. Instead of talking about the movies, let’s focus on the soundtracks, clearly less conventional, or at least representative of what represented the genre.
We are far from the efficient straightforward style between pop, punk and variety which inspired various song writers like Ennio Morricone, Guido and Maurizio de Angelis or Franco Micalizzi. The iconographical violence emitted by the two sleeves is counterbalanced by sound tracks clearly more soothing.
In Milano Rovente, the songwriter Carlo Rustichelli, author of more than 250 original soundtracks like Lucio Fulci’s Croc blanc, Gillo Pontecorvo’s Kapo and Billy Wilder’s Avanti!, structures his compositions around 2 main themes. The first recalls the trendy and muffled jazz of his score, famous for Sei donne per l’assassino. The second theme is clearly more melodic and plays its nostalgic card with its typical Neapolitan inspiration: a remote echo to Nino Rota’s best.
Sometimes repetitive in its approach, this soundtrack does not stick to Lenzi’s vigorous style, specialist in violent thrillers, but we listen to it with pleasure. The only sung part, “What is this love”, interpreted by Melody will ravish the lovers of lounge music. Moreover, a video interview of the film maker is available on the CD and readable on PC.
Liberi Armatti Pericolosi’s music is clearly more oriented to jazz and it is spoiled by arrangements of variety which can please lovers of easy-listening. It seems that we are listening to a disk which is a little schizoid, with on one side, Gian Franco Plenizo’s will to turn towards popular ritornellos, using strings and almost old fashioned brasses. On the other side, there is the ambition of Enrico Pieranunzi, a great jazz pianist, who always raises the level thanks to his virtuoso and aerial fingering.
Here again, the really old school sleeve like Dirty Harry is far from the sonorous coating, perfect for the cocktail parties full of kitsch decoration.
It is better to make do with Pieranunzi’s soloist disks, great pianist who was very often accompanied with artists like Paul Motian, Marc Johnson or Joey Baron, often compared to Bill Evans by some specialists.
Video interview of Gianfranco Plenizio available on PC.
Website: www.Beatrecords.it
Review by Manu
Translation: Camille.