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The soundtracks for these two satirical caveman romances are lucky to have the talents of Morricone and Nicolai. As one might imagine, the music for When Women Had Tails (1970) and When Women Lost Their Tales (1972) is generally light, upbeat and playful. If you're looking for Morricone's trademark use of rubberband mouthharp and bizarre keyboard treatments, you'll find it on "Marcetta Dei Sette". A. Allessandroni augments several tracks with his choral arrangements. And there's some mock caveman grunt choruses to boot. Hearing some of the music out of context is a bit strange, but the main themes wouldn't sound out of place in a modern day romantic comedy. Not only does Nicolai contribute the sequel's score, he also conducts Morricone's original. So, the disc stays very consistant in character. Latin rhythms pop up regularly and so do sticky sweet melodies. Not the composers' greatest work, but solid nonetheless.

A remarkably American-sounding spaghetti western soundtrack, "Four of the Apocalypse" favors a mellow country rock vibe most of the time, and that's especially pronounced on the vocal tracks courtesy of the Cook and Benjamin Franklin Group. Occasionally, the score gets a less dated orchestral treatment (as on tracks like "On the Traces of Chaco" and "Slow Violence"). Sometimes it even goes for upbeat and comedic ("The Swindler of the Saloon") and something approximating progressive rock ("Chaco"). Best of all, this reissue adds more than 21 minutes to its original 35 minute running time, in the form of an outtakes suite, which turns out to be one of the strongest things on the disc.

Putting fears to rest that Easy Tempo was finished, the soundtrack subsidiary of the Right Tempo released two rare Piero Umiliani scores this year.

The '75 release La Ragazza Fuori Strada (or "The Girl from the Street") starred Zeudi Araya, who also starred in Il Corpo and La Ragazza Dalla Pelle Di Luna for which Umiliani also contributed scores reissued by Easy Tempo. Zeudi is an exotic goddess to be sure, but what of the score? As expected, Umiliani's music is a thing of groovy beauty. He often uses an orchestra augmented by a crack rhythm section, but just as often goes solo on the organ or piano, or sticks with a small combo.

Check out the crisp cymbal work, bubbling bass line and jazzy brass on "Nostalgia" -- all backed by organ and strings. Or how about that bouncing funkadelic of "Senza Tregua" with its stabbing organ lines and jangly rhythm guitar. There are 24 tracks in total, with some repetition of theme.

On the '71 release Questo Sporco Mondo Meraviglioso (possibly "This Dirty Wonderful World") Umiliani adds some folk to his groovy psychedelic sound. On a track like "Western Melody," the use of harmonica and multiple acoustic guitars is naturalistic and refreshing. But Umiliani doesn't forget to bust out the funk, as well -- like on the reverb wah-wah drenched "Dove va il Mondo". Even steel guitar and cowbell have their place on "Pepito". Male and female scat vocals also have their place on "Luna di Miele".

All told, these two scores are quiet different from one another, but both live up to the Easy Tempo standard of excellence.

In the mood for something serious -- something dripping fear and loathing -- a soundtrack for desperate times and desperate measures? Try Waldo de los Rios' score for this '70s Spanish thriller. Imagine something along the lines of Jerry Goldsmith's avant garde score for Planet of the Apes or Ennio Morricone's suspense work. For the most part, Rios sticks to "modern" orchestral pieces designed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Occasionally, he sprinkles a little tenderness in the form of love theme with variations. The "Evelyn" theme is as haunting as the rest of the score is gripping.