electronic house excursion). The remaining music is new and song-oriented; but this is not the stuff of show tunes or even THE ROCKY HOR- ROR SHOW. Instead, IL MUSICAL thrives on straight-ahead rock-and-roll (delivered effectively by lead vocalists Michel Altieri as Marc and Silvia Specchio as Gianna), with occasional pop, grand guignol, and music hall indulgences. Meanwhile, the legend of Goblin lives on with yet another retrospective, GOBLIN HELL—THE VERY BEST OF GOBLIN VOL. 2 (Cinevox MDF 626, Italy, €19.99, 18 tracks, 67m 6s). Although this disc includes the main title for Non ho sonno (SLEEPLESS, 2001), its focus is the group’s compositions and performances for directors other than Argento. The selections range from the pre-Goblin studio album CHERRY FIVE and television music for the series CHI? (1976) to familiar main titles for the likes of Zombi (Argento’s alternate cut of George A. Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD, 1978). Because every cue has appeared previously on CD, the major sell- ing point is digital remastering. Devout listen- ers may prefer to track down the three-part GOBLIN COLLECTION released by DRG in the mid-1990s. Those in search of true Goblin rarities will find their reward with the score for the science- fiction miniseries GAMMA (1975), composed by Enrico Simonetti and performed with Goblin as session musicians—a fact little publicized until this release (Cherry Red/Bella Casa CASA10CD, Italy, €17.50, 12 tracks, 34m 24s). The music is decidedly Enrico’s—mostly mainstream and


mellow, with Goblin ascendant in the dark “Drug’s [sic] Theme.” Released originally in 1975 on vinyl LP under Enrico’s name (Cinevox MDF33/98, Italy), the complete soundtrack has never appeared on CD. His 45rpm single of the main title (Cinevox MDF084) reportedly knocked Goblin’s single version of Profondo Rosso’s title cue from the top of the Italian charts. Another stalwart of Italian horror film music, Fabio Frizzi, makes a welcome return to com- pact disc with his score for the 2007 RAI televi- sion series IL CAPITANO 2 (Warner Rhino 5051442-4798-2-9, Italy, €13.90, 19 tracks, 41m 59s). (He also composed for the first IL CAPITANO in 2005.) From its intimate main title, performed on acoustic guitar, wood flute and accordion, to its flowing orchestral passages and driving new century Poliziotteschi ambitions, the music is distant from the thumping bass drums, sequenced keyboards, and Mellotron choirs of Frizzi’s beloved scores for Lucio Fulci; but even those who would pigeonhole Frizzi by those ef- forts (which represent less than 10% of his oeuvre) will find much to enjoy here, including cues that echo his apprenticeship in horror. THE HORROR FILM WORLD OF MARCO WERBA celebrates music from the new generation of Ital- ian film musicians—the Spanish-born, Italian- trained Werba. Its centerpiece is the score for Giovanni Pianigiani’s latter-day giallo DARK- NESS SURROUNDS ROBERTA (2007; Dagored/ Hexacord RED 181, Italy, $16.50, 20 tracks, 44m 27s). Werba evokes, without overly indulg- ing, the giallo sounds of the 1970s, building ominous orchestral soundscapes that circle on the delicate “Roberta’s Theme”; then, in his fi- nal cues, the familiar sequences of bells and key- boards emerge. The disc also includes two cues each for the films FEARMAKERS and THE OCEAN (both 2007).


To learn more about the musicians and the music, follow the flash of the blade to claudiosimonetti.com, medusa.it/laterza- madre, profondorossomusical.it, cinevox.it, bellacasamusic.com, backtothegoblin.com, myspace.com/fabiofrizzi (fan page), warner- chappell.it, myspace.com/marcowerba, and abraxasrecords.com.


You can contact the Audio Watchdog online at OnEyeDog@aol.com or by visiting douglasewinter.com. Review materials should be sent c/o Vale House, 2495 Oakton Hills Drive, Oakton VA 22124.


75

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84