volume one | volume two | volume three
Easy Tempo Vol. 1(Right Tempo Classic 813)
1996 appears to be shaping up as the year of the porn soundtrack. Erotic horror. Erotic schoolgirls. And now, erotic spies. From Right Tempo Classics in Italy comes Easy Tempo Vol. 1, a collection of Blue Note tinged crime meets porn jazz on a piazza in Rome. These are smooth soundtracks to late night deals, secret rendezvous and little murders. The films these pieces come from span the late '60s to early '70s, that swinging time of au go-go and care free sex show, though this music is uniquely Italian, all suave coolness and subtle sexiness.
The collection begins with four fairly straight ahead jazz numbers. Featuring electric guitar, Fender Rhodes piano and Hammond B3, these easily could have come from numerous West Coast jazz albums. Then, suddenly, Alberto Baldan Bembo's "La cortigiana" kicks in and you find yourself in swank '60s au go-go complete with bongos, cool strings and electric sitar. Riz Ortolani's "Notte al Grand Hotel" evokes the lush strings of Mancini. Sweat to the breathy moans and vocals of "Sessomatto". The electric sitars return with "Mara-Jat's Love" and "Sawaadi". "La gabbia" by Gianni Ferrio plays like a Euro theme from "Shaft" on acid.
Not as splashy or kitschy as other releases in the erotic soundtrack realm, Easy Tempo Vol. 1 nonetheless provides solid sounds from the jazzy side of the '60s and foreshadows the hip groove of today's acid jazzers.
The Music
Gianfranco Plenzio "Grigioperla"...Riz Ortolani "Serena e Lomunno"...Riz Ortolani "Il ricordo di Serena"...Armando Trovajoli "I giovani Benvenuti"...Alberto Baldan Bembo "La cortigiana"...Stelvio Cipriani "Mark il poliziotto"...Piero Piccioni "Blue Rhythm Festival"...Riz Ortolani "Notte al Grand Hotel"...Augusto Martelli "One Fine Morning"...Gianni Ferrio "La morte accarezza a mezzanotte"...Armando Trovajoli "Sessomatto"...Guido e Maurizio De Angelis "Gangster Story"... Alberto Baldan Bembo "Mara-Jat's Love"...Alberto Baldan Bembo "Sawadi"...Augusto Martelli "Mood"...Gianni Ferrio "Ira rhythm & blues"...Gianni Ferrio "La gabbia"...Riz Otrolani "I travestiti"
The Movies
La Gatta In Calore (1972)...Confessione di un Commissario di Polizia al Procuratore della Repubblica (1971)...La Famiglia Benvenuti (1968)...Codice d'Amore Orientale (1974)...Mark il Poliziotto (1975)...Bora Bora (1968)...Tiffany Memorandum (1967)...La Morte Accarezza a Mezzanotte (1973)...Sesso Matto (1973)...La Polizia Incrimina, La Legge Assolve (1973)...Tony Arzenta (Big Guns) (1973)
Easy Tempo Vol. 2
(Right Tempo Classic 816)
The Easy Tempo continues with The Psycho Beat. This time around, it's the strange and the psyhedellic from more obscure Italian erotic thrillers. Leaning heavily on tripped out effects, breathy female vocals and the kind of drugged out sounds Euro-hipsters dig, this collection is a must for any soundtrack fan.
Piero Umiliani "Fotomodelle" - Nino De Luca "Rapimento in Sicilia" - Lesiman "Moto centripeto" - Piero Umiliani "Essere donna" - Gianni Ferrio "Ipotesi/un giorno in piu" - The Barigozzi Group "Violets Lips" - Lesiman "Colloquio" - The Barigozzi Group "Red Face" - Gianni Ferrio "Valentina (tra la folla)" - Nino De Luca "La ragazza con la pistola" - Stelvio Cipriani "La fine di Cobb" - Lesiman "Schegge" - Gianni Ferrio "L'appartamento vuoto" - Mario Molino "Jerk Beat" - Mario Molino "Gli angeli del 2000" - Lee Selmoco Orchestra "Blue Media" - The barigozzi Group "Silver Legs" - Gianni Oddi "Geronimo" - Piero Piccioni "Il dopolotta" - Cesco Anselmo - "Hurricane" - Mario Molino "Shake psyco"
Easy Tempo Vol. 3
(Right Tempo Classic 904)
The third volume of this series finds the Right Stuff crew putting a funky Latin/Brazillian twist on things. A bit of a contrast to the first two volumes in the series, one almost would think these tracks came from South American not Italy. Still, the usual fine quality and delicious rare grroves flow through this volume. A "must have" for samba/bossa fans and well worth it for a different view of the Italian soundtrack.
Piero Umiliani "Saudade" - L.E. Bacalov "Nago" - Piero Piccioni "I Cavalli" - Piero Umiliani "Bob e Hellen" - Piero Piccioni "North Pole Penguin" - Armando Trovajoli "Frenesia" - Augusto Martelli "La Bikina" - Guido & Maurizio De Angelis "Il Libanese" - Piero Umiliani "Lady Magnolia" - Francesco De Masi "Diamond Bossa Nova" - Piero Piccioni "Amanda's Train" - Augusto Martelli "Beryl's Tune" - L.E. Bacalov "La Secuzione" - Piero Picconi "Easy Lovers" - Franco Micalizzi "Flute Sequence" - Augusto Martelli "Beryl's Tune No. 2" - Attilio 'Anthony' Donadio "Soul Samba" - Guido & Maurizio De Angelis "Casa Di Moda" - The Green Future "Honey Rhythm and Butter" - Piero Umiliani "Danza Citar Free" - Sergio Nilo "Esquetando Os Tambourinos e Cuica"