ANCHE SE VOLESSI LAVORARE,CHE FACCIO?

 

ANCHE SE VOLESSI LAVORARE CHE FACCIO? Is I think a score by Ennio Morricone that is either overlooked or underrated or worse still forgotten. Released in 1972 on the Cinevox record label, it was for me a great find as I had not heard anything about it or indeed had not heard any discussions concerning it between fellow collectors at the time. It was brought to my attention by Michael Jones who was at the time running the Italian soundtrack side of things from 58 DEAN street records. The film which was a dramatic comedy told the story of a group of friends who turn to a life of crime and decide to steal archaeological treasures from tombs and sell them to private collectors for vast sums of money. The police of course are always one step behind them and never quite manage to catch up with them. This is a hilarious Italian comedy romp that contains numerous gags and a lot of visual comedy. Directed by Flavio Magherini who had up until this point in his career been a set designer but decided to have a change of direction in the industry and helm the film making process on this occasion. Morricone’s score is in a word CLASSIC, by this I mean it contains every musical trademark that we associate with the Maestro, quirky and jaunty backgrounds, romantic and poignant melodies, infectious and haunting musical interludes and emotive and heartrending passages that just melt the listener.  The CD re-issue was also on Cinevox, and the company released it in the November of 2003, it contains a little more music than the LP recording in fact there are four extra cues included but these only have a combined running time of 5 mins 43 secs, but I suppose its better than a straight re-issue of the original album. The first of these is just 22 secs in duration and is a romantically laced few seconds that is performed by the string section. Track number 12, is an alternative take on the scores central theme and is slightly slower in tempo and there are a few pieces of instrumentation absent but there again there are also a few little trills and stabs present that are entertaining and interesting, track 14, is also another version of the central theme, this time entitled FINALE it is again slightly different with Alessandro Alessandroni being given more whistling to carry out within the cue, and there seems to be more quirky things occurring in the background on this occasion as well. There is a story attached to this score for me personally, I was doing some work for GDI on Hammer film music and they decided maybe they should branch out and do other film music, I saw this as a chance to see if they could do an Italian score and what better composer than Morricone. I had known Cinevox before via my collecting so I just picked up the phone and got Carlo Bagnola who was gracious and very helpful.

I explained the situation and asked about this particular score, I remember he laughed and said something on the lines of GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE, he told me the CD was due for release, and he would send me a copy, so GDI never got their Italian soundtrack but Cinevox re-issued this gem (he sent me five copies). The compact disc opens with LEI SE NE MORE, which is a plaintive and emotive composition, faint piano ushers in sliding strings that are augmented and punctuated by harpsichord flourishes, the tempo is then increased as the composer adds a laid back beat to the proceedings and enters into a highly melodic but easy listening type interlude, this halts and after a brief pause continues with the laid back backing, the composer then introduces choir and syrupy romantic strings the two elements combining to create a track made in heaven and one that is pure Morricone. jumping forward to track number 3, TRAMONTO (VERSIONE 1), again a magical infusion of the style and sound that can only be Morricone, Celeste punctuated by bass guitar introduce a flawless whistling performance courtesy of Alessandroni, it is a piece that conjures up an early morning in Rome with its familiar skyline shrouded in early morning cloud and tinged with the orange and pinks of the sunrise, in other words mesmerizing and stunning.  Track number 4, ANGHINGO (VERSIONE CON CORO) is an energetic and fun piece light in its style with a jaunty background that acts as support for a pleasing choral vocal performance with a descending whistle being added in places, this is a feel good cue, filled with positive and vibrant vitality. The four cues that open the CD are in fact repeated in tracks 7,8,9 and 10. But in different manifestations, they have different instrumentation, vocals are orchestral etc etc, all in all this is a wonderful soundtrack and I am so pleased that Cinevox did re-issue it as I think if it did not get a compact disc release it might have fallen into the dusty vaults in Rome and stayed there forever. If you have not got this Morricone classic then please, please seek it out and add it to your collections, A.S.A.P.

IMPUTAZIONE DI OMICIDIO PER UNO STUDENTE

Originally released on a long playing record in 1972, IMPUTAZIONE DI OMICIDIO PER UNO STUDENTE by Italian Maestro Ennio Morricone, is probably one of the few scores that does not get mentioned a great deal from this period of the composers career, but there again even now we are being constantly surprised by the discovery of soundtracks by Morricone that still have not been issued on any format whatsoever, The album was issued by CGD records which was itself a rather obscure label, and the LP recording is something of a rarity nowadays. The Compact disc re-issue was released in 1998 under the SCREEN TRAX banner, which was an Italian recording label that was active towards the end of the 1990,s and into the early 200,s, the label which had connections with GDM music was responsible for re-issuing a number of classic Italian soundtracks and also a handful of what was advertised as definitive editions of soundtracks. The movie starred Massimo Ranieri and Martin Balsam, and was directed by Mauro Bolognini who was responsible bringing to the screen other movies such as, METELLO, THE WITCHES (Senso Civico-section), HE AND SHE and THE LADY OF THE CAMELIAS. All of which contained music by Morricone. The score which Morricone provided for the movie was somewhat typical of the music that he was writing during this period, by this I mean that it was like all of his other assignments exceptionally good and contained a fresh and original sound with many of the now common place musical trademarks, quirks of composition and orchestration that we now associate readily with the Maestro. The work contains a strong and resounding central theme on which the composer builds the remainder of his score upon, this core theme can be heard in varying arrangements throughout the work the composer giving us a stunning and highly entertaining orchestral version mid way through the score and we are even treated to a particularly catchy vocal version of the piece which is performed by the films main actor Massimo Ranieri, UN PO PER GIORNO (A LITLE DAY BY DAY) is an infectious and haunting ditty with Morricone enlisting the distinct vocalising of Il Cantori Moderni to add depth and support to the main vocal performance, that is further enhanced and supported by guitar, percussion and striking string punctuation that lifts and drives the piece forward. This theme as I have said is the foundation of the score and the composer ushers in some dark and tense musical passages throughout the soundtrack to add atmosphere and a touch of drama to the proceedings. In many ways it is a brooding and at times surprising score, with Morricone utilizing electronic sounds alongside tense and anxious sounding strings to create an atmosphere that is vexing and at times foreboding.

 

English: Ennio Morricone at the Cannes film festival Français : Ennio Morricone au festival de Cannes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The work also contains another vocal, SCAPPA FRATELLO SCAPPA (RUN BROTHER RUN); this is a protest song which is of the same persuasion of Morricone’s protest vocals from films such as SACCO AND VANZETTI and GRAZIE ZIA, maybe not in musical style but certainly in its opinion. The vocals here are provided by Maria Monti. Track number thirteen, TRISTE VISITA I think has a sound that is not dissimilar to Morricone’s opening theme for HORNETS NEST, a melancholy sounding wind instrument opens the cue and is underlined by low and subdued strings with percussion acting as a light punctuation, the central theme again raises its head this being a more emotive and sorrowful version of the composition. The compact disc is packaged well and has brief liner notes; this is probably one Morricone score that would benefit from another re-issue, maybe with extra music if it is available. It certainly fits in the classic Morricone sound category.