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January 2007
Bixio, Frizzi & Tempera
DigitMovies
Released last September, the excellent full-length score to one of Lucio Fulci's two personal favorite films, Sette Note In Nero (aka Seven Notes in Black or The Psychic), has finally seen the light of day.
Originally recorded in March of 1977, the fine folks at DigitMovies were not able to come up with the mixed masters of the score, so they've painstakingly reconfigured the stereo multitracks from the original sessions for our enjoyment. This labor of love was certainly worth the wait for fans of the Bixio-Frizzi-Tempera team. The trio captures the essence of the giallo as the instrumentation toggles between the light and dark aspects of the film.
The key theme, “7 Note”, is obviously the most recognizable for its importance to the storyline, but other tracks like “Tracce Sul Muro” and “Ritrovamento Del Cadavere” with their eerie Mellotron interruptions stand up on their own. It is also interesting to hear nuances that would reappear in Frizzi's later work for Fulci, namely in the brilliant scores for City of the Living Dead and The Beyond.
Released too late to capitalize on the CD jacket's cover starburst hyping it's use in Tarantino's Kill Bill, Sette Note In Nero is nevertheless worthwhile, edge-of-your-seat listening.
B+ -Mike Baronas
~ Jess Franco Triple Bill ~
Bruno Nicolai
DigitMovies
 
Digitmovies has become THE label for fans of Eurocult soundtracks in the last year, and in my opinion the three recent Jess Franco releases of Eugenie (DeSade `70), A Virgin Among The Living Dead and 99 Women are the best discs of the year. One look through their catalog and you’ll see a host of rare giallo shrieks, unbelievable spaghetti western shots and classic gothic atmospherics on show. But can any trash film fanatic NOT get down and groovy to the work of Bruno Nicolai when paired with Jess Franco? I doubt it.
99 Women is the earliest of the scores, and it takes a wide approach to one of Franco’s first women-in-prison films. Warbling between soft romantic tones and ramping up into heady action riffs that actually are more exciting than many of the scenes they accompany, Bruno Nicolai seems to be caught up in his spaghetti western motifs at times. That isn’t a bad thing at all, since he is a master of the genre. But what would a great W.I.P. film be without a hard luck song? And 99 Women has one of the best in the classic and unforgettably humworthy “On The Day I Was Born.” One of Franco’s better adventure scores, but if any criticism can be leveled it would be that the sounds are classier than the subject.
But that would be remedied nicely as Nicolai and Franco continued working together-and arguably the next two discs are the high points of their collaborations! One of the great trash film scores, Eugenie (DeSade `70), is given the truly deluxe treatment from Digitmovies. Not only do you have an incredible sounding disc of score cues, with several being longer than previously issued, but an entire second disc of alternate versions and arrangements is included for your own aural Sadian pleasure. From the languid opening tones of “Sky Scraper” and the obtuse percussive sounds of “Drug Party” into the 'ya can’t help but imagine Soledad Miranda shaking her ass' grove of “Eugenie”, this disc is super smooth and groovy. One of the key works in Jess Franco’s entire filmography, the music represents the film so well that it evokes the images just by listening. While you listen to “Maranhao” you’ll wonder how such a downbeat story could sound so happy - but then it all comes back to you - especially Miranda’s GIANT sunglasses! Especially exciting is one of the spookiest songs I’ve ever heard, the great “Psycho Meeting” which has an intriguing THREE alternate versions on disc 2. Edda Dell’Orso did vocals for some really great songs (especially for Piero Picconi), but this is my favorite. And, yes, the classic “DeSade `70” track is included in multiple versions and can hang as groove madness with the best of the Vampyros Lesbos / Devil Came From Akasava / She Was Killed In Ecstasy material by Huber and Schwab. Beautifully packaged with stunning images and text to match, this is essential...BUT, not more essential than one of the greatest scores ever recorded for any moving picture...
At last, Bruno Nicolai’s tones and tunes for A Virgin Among The Living Dead have appeared on CD, and they sound amazing! Not only is the score a haunting prog-rock syntho nightmare that alternates with slow and ethereal rythyms while sprinkling in some simple piano pieces on top, but it contains what feels like an organic presentation of the aural presence of the movie in a collage that melts the mind as an echo of the film. Now, I may be blinded since this is my favorite Franco “Horror” film, but this is a note perfect soundtrack to a film that is more an experience than a viewing for me. This little review makes it sound more esoteric than it is however, there are still rampaging bass beats and Dell’Orso moans abundant in these selections. Any fan of early industrial music should groove to the incorporation of banging metal beats over the death rock grooves as well. Truly a must have. Again, the packaging is very nice, and it even afforded me a look at a VHS cover from France I had never seen. Now THAT is cool.
Digitmovies has a huge catalog that is expanding by the day, but these three releases are all worthy of the soundtrack collector's attention - and a boon for any Franco fan that ever wished they could watch some of his best films while driving down a dark stretch of highway. Get them!
DigitMovies soundtracks are available in the US at Xploited Cinema.
A (for 99 Women) A+ (for Eugenie) A++ (for A Virgin...) -David Zuzelo
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