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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

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O Cafona
Various Artists
Som Livre

This Brazilian soap opera soundtrack collects vocal tracks by Brazilian pop stars of 1971. Like many soundtracks that collect a variety of artists, O Cafona can be hit and miss. The fact that everyone sings in Portugeuse can be a hinderance of sorts once you realize that not even the liner notes are translated into English. You'll just have to guess at the content, going by each singer's passionate delivery.

"Sfida All'Ultima Forchetta" from Occhio alla Penna (MP3 edit)
"Fanfara per Ettore" from Il Soldato di Ventura (MP3 edit)

Occhio alla Penna / Il Soldato di Ventura
Ennio Morricone / G & M De Angelis
DigitMovies

DigitMovies is quickly becoming the "House of Spencer & Hill" as the label continues to reissue soundtracks for films starring Terence Hill (aka Mario Girotti) and/or Bud Spencer (aka Carlo Pedersoli) — two Italian screen actors who reaped popular acclaim with a string of hits in the 1970s.

Occhio alla Penna (aka Buddy Goes West, '81) came out long after the gold rush years of the Italian western — arguably '66 to '73. When Morricone scored this picture it must have been several years after his previous spaghetti score, which was probably Trinity is Back Again ('75), starring Hill.

For Buddy Goes West Morricone provides a wide range of western moods from stoic and somber to tender and tribal with comic passages thrown in for good measure. Just one listen and you'll immediately recognize this as a latter day Morricone western score even if you can't identify the source.

Let's face it: Buddy Goes West is no Once Upon a Time in the West, but the score hits the right stylistic beats as only Morricone can considering he practically invented the style. None the less, some tracks bear the tell-tale sounds of the squonky comic keyboard treatments that were common in the early '80s — you know, the kind that wouldn't sound out of place in some Saturday afternoon nature documentary about a big lumbering bear and his shenanigans on a campground (which, in a way, evokes the big hairy Bud Spencer). Also, the primitive "tribal" numbers are a bit comic as well, relying on "savage" vocal grunts against a background of rough percussion. Let's not forget, Bud Spencer movies are usually played for laughs.

Bottom line: Buddy Goes West is an entertaining and expertly executed western platter from the master, but isn't likely to replace My Name is Nobody on your list of late era favorites.

Il Soldato Di Ventura (aka Soldier of Fortune, '76), a comic adventure set during the Middle Ages, features a lively, light-hearted soundtrack by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, who scored several Spencer and Hill flicks.

The composers evoke a "Renaissance minstrel in the gallery" flair by using fanfare brass as well as a small ensemble of primarily 6- and 12-string guitars, woodwinds, harpsichord, male chorus and light percussion.

The air of refinement suggested by such music is frequently subverted by the De Angelis brothers for farcical purposes. As the music takes a comic turn, one imagines the hero having fun at the expense of those who foolishly took him for granted. And to top it off he gets hilariously drunk with a servant girl on her master's wine. Of course, this is all conjecture. Having never seen the Soldier of Fortune I can only guess as to the scenerios that accompany such jolly music. But it's not all medieval pastiche. There are some splendid "scary" and "ghostly" cues that use theremin (or woodwinds imitating theremin), organ, Echoplex and creepy percussion.

Both of these "Bud Spencer" soundtracks capture the actor's warm humor while evoking two very different genres.

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Ocean's 11/Out of Sight
David Holmes
Warner Bros./MCA

Soundtracks for current films rarely get noticed at Score Baby (the OST for Steven Soderbergh's Traffic is an exception). The reason: Most of today's soundtracks are merely marketing-driven collections of pop/rock songs by today's artists. The tunes often have little to do with the original film -- you know it's dodgy when the cover states "Music from and inspired by..."

That said, soundtracks by David Holmes are refreshingly different. Sure, they feature music by other artists, but the bulk of the music is by the Irish DJ/producer.

Holmes' score for Ocean's Eleven, Soderbergh's hit remake of the Rat Pack flick, demonstrates Holmes talent for happenin' grooves. Tracks such as "69 Police" (which originally appeared in a slightly different version on Holmes' Bow Down to the Exit Sign) and "Gritty Shaker" (which originally appeared in a slightly different version on Holmes' Let's Get Killed) are sexy and funky, without sounding overally retro.

And when Holmes turns to music by other artists, his choices are dictated by taste, not by marketing schemes. For Ocean's Eleven, classic but never obvious recordings by Arthur Lyman, Quincy Jones, Elvis Presley and Percy Faith get picked. The closest thing here to 'contemporary' is hip-hop group Handsome Boy Modeling School.

Another feature of Holmes' soundtracks is the inclusion of dialogue snippets over the music. This may not appeal to every listener -- it's a distraction from the music, and frankly, the dialogue selections aren't particularly inspired. But ask yourself: Would you listen all the way through Percy Faith's non-funky "Theme for Young Lovers" without the dialogue? Probably not, unless you love Faith's penchant for lush string arrangements.

Speaking of lush arrangements, the score includes Debussy's "Clair de Lune," a wonderfully impressionistic piece of music that fits surprisingly well in the movie. Problem is, it sounds out of place on the O-11 soundtrack.

Similar to Ocean's Eleven is Holmes' score for Out of Sight, another Soderbergh film (an unintentional pattern emerging at Score Baby). Again, the score is a mix of Holmes' originals, cool classics (by the Isley Brothers, Mungo Santamaria, Dean Martin, Willie Bobo and Walter Wanderly) and dialogue snippets. This soundtrack is at least as good as the Ocean's Eleven OST, maybe even better thanks to the strength of the classic tracks. The score's real appeal, however, is Holmes' funky instrumentals. They're -- you guessed it -- 'out of sight.'

(Join us in February when Score Baby reviews David Holmes' solo work.)

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"Lifting the Building" (MP3 edit)

Ocean's Twelve
David Holmes/Various Artists
Warner Bros.

David Holmes' soundtrack work for director Stephen Soderbergh and his star George Clooney just keeps getting better and better. Like his work on Out of Sight and Ocean's Eleven, Holmes' original tracks and selections on O-12 immerses the listener in the world of hip. While the star-studded feature has become a fixture on many critics' "worst of 2004" lists, the film's ultra groovy soundtrack deserves to make all "best of 2004" lists.

Holmes takes advantage of O-12's European setting by busting out a psycho beat sound we have come to associate with vintage Italian soundtracks and French library music. Heavily reverbed electric guitars join rumbling bass lines, funky drumming, psychedelic keyboard washes and wordless backing vocals on tracks like "$165 Million." Conga breakbeats, sitar fills, slide blues guitar, warbling keyboard notes and intriguing woodwind figures give tracks like "Lifting the Building" an kaleidoscopic quality. What Holmes creates throughout is an entrancing groove where each mind-blowing sound gives rise to another bizarro touch. These tracks are as addictive as the music that inspired it.

Speaking of vintage grooves, O-12 boasts a few retro gems and a couple of welcome surprises. Roland Vincent's "L.S.D. Partie," Dave Grusin's "Ascension to Virginity" (from the Candy soundtrack) and John Schroeder's "Explosive Corrosive Joseph" bring the appropriate psyche tinge. In contrast, Piero Umiliani's "Crepuscolo Sul Mere" (from the La Legge dei Gangsters score) and Ornella Vanoni delicate Latin lounge number "L'Appuntamento" bring a more romantic feeling.

Altogether, O-12 is Holmes' best film work yet and a must-have for groovy soundtrack fans.

NOTE: A cool track that appears in the movie but not on the soundtrack -- La Caution's "Thé à la menthe" -- can be found in MP3 here. Also, a reader has informed me that there's another missing track from the movie (which I have not seen, due to bad word of mouth). The track is Giuseppe DeLuca's "Rito a Los Angeles," which is featured on Barry 7's Connectors Vol. 2.

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"Connery"

OK Connery (Operation Kid Brother)
Ennio Morricone & Bruno Nicolai
Digitmovies

OK Connery (aka Operation Kid Brother) is a pretty weak novelty act of a '60s spy movie. Starring Sean Connery's real brother Neil and several James Bond regulars (like Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell), it is among the most brazen attempts to cash in on the Bond craze and one of the least successful. The soundtrack by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai, however, is among the best non-Barry spy scores ever.

First off, it was unusual for Morricone and Nicolai to share a co-credit for composing, but they did so whenever working on an Alberto De Martino film (they did at least four others between '67 and '74). It meant, at least in the case of OK Connery, that two brilliant composers delivered big time.

The uptempo main theme, "Man for Me," builds like a Bond theme, but with its big band rock feel, staccato rhythm and background vocal chorus make it sound distinctively Italian, despite the English vocal by Christy.

On one of the cues called "Connery" the composers employ a counter melody that obliquely quotes John Barry's "James Bond Theme."

Aside from the rocking yeah-yeah dance number "Allegri Ragazzi" and a couple of lush "love themes," most of the score is jazzy, rhythmic, intriguing and action packed. Clocking in at nearly an hour, with very little redundancy among its 28 tracks, OK Connery is a must have for fans of spy scores, Morricone and Nicolai.

The liner notes feature reproductions of the movie's poster art from around the world, movie stills and informative liner notes.

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The Omega Man
Rob Grainer
FSM Silver Age Classics/Warner Bros.

100% Cotton
Peter Thomas
Crippled Dick Hot Wax

100% Cotton collects tracks by Peter Thomas for the Bond-like Jerry Cotton action movie series of the 60s (eight flicks in all, with up to three made in a year!). It's a double disc, packed with PT's brand of swinging crime jazz, often enhanced by scat vocals and sound effects (explosions, bomb ticking and gun fire). Thomas, like Esquivel and Mancini, is as brilliant an arranger as he is a talented composer, whose sound style is both distinctive and cinematically effective. Although some of the other Crippled Dick reissues have a greater following (see Schoolgirl Report), Thomas is probably the best film composer in their roster, not to mention other European record labels.

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The Oranj Album
Oranj Symphonette
Ryko

Orchestral Party Act 2
Various Artists
Saint Germain des Pres

Orgy of the Dead
Anonymous
Strangelove

"Bagarre a Bangkok" (MP3 edit)

OSS 117
Michel Magne
Univesal

It seems a few years late for the retro spy revival, but who's complaining? Here is the long-awaited compilation of OSS 117 soundtracks by French soundtrack chameleon Michel Magne.

OSS 117 is the code name for Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, a free-lancing American secret agent of French origin. The character originated in paperback novels during the '50s, but didn't receive a successful film translation until the early '60s when spy fever swept the globe. In fact, the actor who provided the voice (but not the physical embodiment) of OSS 117 (Jean-Pierre Duclos) also provided the voice for the French dubbed Bond films. In terms of cinematic thrills, the OSS 117 films fall somewhere between Cubby Broccoli's big budget 007 films and the fly-by-night copy-cat spoofs made in Italy.

Four films were released between '63 and '66 and all featured Michel Magne's playfully imaginative scores befitting such settings as Thailand, Japan and Brazil. Along the way there are trad crime jazz cues, pop vamps with scat vocals, brassy big band jams, cacophonous carnival numbers, furious samba dances and stately oriental overtures. Plus, there's a remix by Roudoudou featuring sitar.

The OSS 117 scores aren't likely to remind anyone of John Barry's 007 work or Jerry Goldsmith's Flint scores. They're more in keeping with the comical Italian spy sound, but not to the point of mimicry. Magne is his own man, which makes any of his work (such as Fantomas and Compartiment Tueurs) worth hearing.

In Like Flint / Our Man Flint
Jerry Goldsmith
Varese Sarabande