Giallo fever: part 12

Title: Indagine su un delitto perfetto (The perfect crime)

Year: 1978

Composer: Carlo Savina

Indagine su un delitto perfetto wasn’t a classical Italian giallo film with a masked killer going around killing young women, but more of a corporate thriller story where people are killed while pursuing a chairmanship. Carlo Savina’s score harks back to classic giallo progressions and moods, though explores new ideas which represent the buzzling underworld of the city of London.

Right from the start the listener is thrown into a world of mystery and murder. The track develops from the schizophrenic piano phrases to a mellow main theme tune which features the classic voice of Edda dell’Orso and some groovy bongo drums. Sadly the solo voice isn’t utilized again until the finale cue. The score is basically monothematic and it’s actually surprising how many of the cues incorporate the melody in some shape or form. This already elevates the whole score and especially the moody suspense cues to a tightly cohesive experience.

The main go-to instrument for the theme is the bass flute which has qualities fit for a 007 score. The first full reprise is heard in Seq. 3 which resolves into a dreamy and jazzy chorale for the flute and keyboards. Those same moods return briefly in Seq. 4 before it once again turns back to the chase style arrangement of the main title. However from that onwards it is mostly developed within the suspense department, such as in the impressionistic opening of Seq. 5 which later explores the keyboard suspense motif heard briefly in Seq. 2. Sparse piano chords dominate the following cue before the man theme rises again from the darkness offering a soothing, jazzy moment. The score starts to break down even more in Seq. 7 which includes floating, strangely evocative chords along with another beaten down main theme version for bass flute.

Seq. 8 is perhaps the album’s only cheerful moment written for a bar piano that has a romantic prelude. The schizophrenic phrases of the main title return in Seq. 9 which then features a reprise of the chase arrangement which cools down significantly to bare rumbles in the dark alleyways. The longest stretch of suspense, Seq. 10, is unfortunately the most boring one. The absence of the main theme is clearly noticeable this time and the leftovers are just an uninteresting bunch of moods that are not even that frightening. Compare them to Seq. 11 which is excellent especially when listened through headphones. Though the cue is quiet and sparse, what makes it so effective is the clever orchestration of woodwinds playing at their lowest range and some distant bar piano disturbed by high tinkling effects. Seq. 12 on the other hand has my favourite versions of the main theme presented in an otherworldly, dream-like way that is soothingly disturbing. The following solo piano version of Seq. 13 can almost be considered beautiful before it moves again to more macabre variations perfect for morbid discoveries.

I love how Savina crafted a score this suspenseful that features no strings and on the whole only a bare minimum of instruments needed. Though some of the moodier tracks can’t reach the desired effect on album, there are many exceptional moments that benefit from the chosen theme-and-variations type approach.

Rating: ****

Tracklist:

1. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 1 (01:51) *****

2. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 2 (01:39) ***

3. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 3 (02:04) *****

4. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 4 (01:49) ****

5. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 5 (02:03) ****

6. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 6 (02:19) ****

7. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 7 (01:06) *****

8. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 8 (01:38) ****

9. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 9 (02:48) ****

10. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 10 (04:25) **

11. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 11 (03:25) *****

12. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 12 (02:59) *****

13. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 13 (02:33) *****

14. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 14 (02:19) *****

15. Indagine su un delitto perfetto - Seq. 15 (01:15) ****