Title: …e
tu vivrai nel terrore! L’Aldilà (The beyond)
Year: 1981
Composer: Fabio Frizzi
Lucio
Fulci’s The beyond has developed a
cult status over the years and probably as zombie themed films and series have
become more mainstream it might continue to attract more and more viewers. The
score for the film was written by Fabio Frizzi who had already had several
experiences of scoring zombie films in the past and had developed a
recognizable style for those films. This time he composed a varied score
suitable for the cityscape but also for the roaming herd of zombies in a form
of massive choral writing.
Verso l’ignoto is a rather unsettling piece dominated by
repeated a piano figure that unfortunately gets tiresome after a while. It
slowly starts to lead the listener towards the dark atmosphere the rest of the
score is made out of. Voci Dal Nulla
introduces the most famous theme from the movie which is the one performed by a
large choir with lyrics derived from the latin doomsday hymn Dies irae. It’s a simple melody where
the basis is formed by slow moving chords with livelier soprano parts performed
on top. The second reprise of the theme (track 6) skips the introductory synth
choir and goes straight to the brutal vocal and orchestral battle with martial
snare drum rhythm. The last reprise (track 8) is more similar to the first
version though the string performance is extremely vivid and the choir is at
its most powerful and diabolical mood (I’ve always thought that the choir
sounds like a bunch of zombies singing, though I don’t know if that was the
intention or if the singers are just having a bad day). It also includes a
gorgeous interlude for just the piano and flute solo that is the album’s
highlight moment for me. The theme gets an acapella version at the beginning of
Sequenza coro e orchestra. The second
part of the track shows some fully orchestral thriller like scoring with almost
jazzy harmonies.
Suono aperto and Oltre
soglia are both very urban sounding ques where the orchestra is joined by
funky basslines and pop music inspired percussion section. The problem I have
with both of the tracks is the same as with the opening track: that they only
seem to have a short melodic motif that is repeated endlessly with only a
little of instrumental variety. The reprise of Suono aperto is more orchestral and filled with lovely flute solos.
Giro di blues is a source piece of
sleazy lounge jazz. The last track is probably the most dated sounding track on
the album but nevertheless it is really cheeky, fun piece with groovy rhythms
and some really creative synth sounds that fit in perfectly to the urban
atmosphere. And though this track loops the same melody heard in Oltre soglia again and again, this time
it is varied enough to keep the listener’s interest.
I would
have loved to give the score a higher rating but even though it’s flawlessly
performed and the melodies are strong, it doesn’t manage to raise any emotions
in me besides during the introduction and interlude of Voci dal nulla. The 1995 Beat records album has enough material and
I actually think having more would actually hurt the listening experience.
Overall it’s a nice combination of 1980s synth sounds with more traditional
orchestral and choral writing even though it doesn’t work quite that well
without the accompanying picture.
Rating: ***1/2
Title: Quella
villa in fondo al parco (Ratman)
Year: 1988
Composer: Stefano Mainetti
Clearly the
first score on this ‘twofer’ was the reason for my purchase but because the
album has a second score, let’s review that one as well. This time we’re
travelling further into the 80s with the score for a strangely translated film
titled Quella villa in fondo al parco aka
Ratman. The composer Stefano Mainetti
has only a few released scores mostly from the 1980s though he has had projects
well into the 2010s.
The bleak
opening track Synodia begins with
horrendous 1980s synth effects before developing into a decent menacing
keyboard melody which is the score’s only returning thematic idea. It’s
followed by Persequor which begins
with nighttime scenery before turning back to unlistenable synths. Coniectrix follows in the same vain
though this time the synth effects in the middle depict some creature moving
around in the gutters which suits the English language title of the film. Egomet is the best track this far
reprising the keyboard melody from the opening track with synth choir excerpts.
The
following tracks unfortunately develop more towards the unlistenable territory.
Vesaevus has some obnoxious ‘action’
writing that makes you want to turn off the CD player. Necator has the main theme but it too is ruined with sound effects.
Esus reprises the main theme, the
terrible synthetic action and the choral effects of Xuthus. Phitia is the
most listenable track on the album, because it’s just a plain piano solo without
any synth rendering. The melody hasn’t been heard anywhere else on the album
but sounds surprisingly fresh after all the horror heard in the previous
tracks.
This score
is mostly very unpleasant to listen to because of the horrendous synth effects which
represent some of the worst the 80s had to offer. It also lacks melodies and
development I’m craving from a film score. I’m not familiar with Mainetti’s other film compositions but unfortunately after listening to this
score I’m also not eager to find out more.
Rating: **
Tracklist:
“…e tu
vivrai nel terrore! L’Aldilà”
1. Verso
l'ignoto (03:58) ***
2. Voci dal
nulla (02:57) *****
3. Suono
aperto (01:24) ***
4. Sequenza
coro e orchestra (04:32) ****
5. Oltre la
soglia (04:01) ***
6. Voci dal
nulla (04:26) ****
7. Suono
aperto (03:58) ****
8. Voci dal
nulla (04:18) *****
9. Giro di
blues (02:21) ***
10. Verso
l'ignoto (03:22) ***
11. Sequenza
ritmica e tema (04:23) ****
“Quella
villa in fondo al parco”
12. Synodia
(01:09) **
13. Persequor
(02:00) **
14. Coniectrix
(01:42) **
15. Egomet
(01:26) ***
16. Temulenter
(00:31) *
17. Vesaevus
(02:49) *
18. Xuthus
(00:41) **
19. Necator
(01:44) **
20. Esus
(03:19) **
21. Daemonicola
(01:07) *
22. Phitia
(02:16) ***
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