Ennio Morricone - L'Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo (aka The Bird With The Crystal Plumage) (1970 - 320kbps)

Update: You can find the soundtracks Ennio Morricone composed to the sequels in Dario Argento's Animal Trilogy below:

Ennio Morricone - The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
Ennio Morricone - Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1972)

Since we have posted several soundtracks from both Italian films and composers, I thought we were overdue for a soundtrack from one of the most famous Italian composers of the 20th century, Ennio Morricone. Morricone is perhaps best known for the soundtracks he composed for several Western and Spaghetti Western films, particularly those directed by Sergio Leone, such as For A Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), and Once Upon A Time in the West (1968). However, in the late 1960s and early '70s Morricone would deliver a series of amazing scores for giallo films directed by Dario Argento.

"Giallo", Italian for yellow, generally refers to a genre of crime-fiction with elements of horror and psychological suspense. The genre originated in early 20th century pulp fiction books, which often had yellow covers. Giallo went through a transformation in the 1960s, as a series of talented directors such as Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and Mario Bava each brought their own unique approach and style to the genre using modern cinematic techniques. Fortunately these directors had a large pool of talented composers to choose from, resulting in numerous amazing soundtracks being produced for the Italian horror and giallo films of the 1960s and '70s.

Dario Argento is frequently cited as being one of the most talented directors within the giallo genre. He made his directorial debut with "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage". He would go on to direct two more films in what has come to be called "Argento's Animal Trilogy", directing "Il gatto a nove code" (aka The Cat O'Nine tails) and "4 mosche di velluto grigio" (aka "Four Flies on Grey Velvet"), both of which were released in 1971. In what would lead to the formation of an amazing collaboration between two legendary Italian artists, Dario Argento would turn to Italian composer Ennio Morricone to compose the score to "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage". Morricone would go on to compose the score to both "The Cat O'Nine Tails" and "Four Flies On Grey Velvet" as well.

While Argento's stylistic cinematographic style enticed one's visual sense, Morricone's unique musical compositions appealed to the aural senses. Just as Argento made use of both bright and mute colors to enhance his scenes, Morricone made us of dynamic and contrasting musical compositions to compliment the on-screen action perfectly. Morricone displays his extraordinary range just as he did with Leon's western films, creating masterpieces that are equally beautiful and disturbing. His experimental style requires the use of a broad array of musical instruments, sound effects and human voices, which he weaves together seamlessly, constructing an extra dimension of depth to the films they appear in.

As I mentioned before, "L'uccello Dall Piume Di Cristallo" (aka "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage") is the first film in Dario Argento's Animal Trilogy. With my next two posts I plan to share the soundtracks Morricone composed for both "Il Gatto a Nove Code" (aka "The Cat O'Nine Tails") and "4 Mosche Di Velluto Grigio" (aka "Four Flies On Grey Velvet") The first 10 tracks on this release make up the original soundtrack. In 2008 Cinevox released this remastered and enhanced version of the soundtrack, which is currently out of print. Tracks 11-20 are bonus tracks consisting of various alternate takes.

Year of Release: 1970
Label: Cinevox
Catalog #: CD MDF 630
Genres: Soundtrack/Score, Giallo, Horror
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
1. Violenza INattesa
2. Non Rimane Piu Nessuno
3. Corsa Sui Tetti
4. Se Sei Stonato
5. Svolta Drammatica
6. Fraseggio Senza Struttura
7. La Citta Si Risveglia
8. L'uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo
9. Silenzio Nel Caos
10. Piume Di Cristallo
11. Fraseggio Senza Struttura
12. Piume Di Cristallo (#2)
13. Silenzio Nel Caos (#2)
14. Fraseggio Senza Struttura (#3)
15. Piume Di Cristallo (#3)
16. Svolta Drammatica (#2)
17. Fraseggio Senza Struttura (#3)
18. Piume Di Cristalo (#4)
19. Fraseggio Senza Struttura (#5)
20. Piume Di Cristallo (#5)

Download: Ennio Morricone - The Bird With The Crystal Plumage
Download Size: 143MB

Ennio Morricone - Controfase (Gemelli - GG.ST. 10.019) (1972 - 320kbps)

Ennio Morricone was one of, if not the, most prolific composers of the 20th century. While most people are familiar with his scores for countless films and television series, it is a lesser known fact that he also composed a handful of albums for production music libraries. Continuing with our dark and twisted library series, I'm pleased to present one of the legendary Italian maestro's darkest efforts, rivaling even some of the great giallo soundtracks he composed throughout the 1970s. "Controfase" was released on the Gemelli label in 1972. Gemelli was an Italian music library label formed in the mid 1960s, which was owned and operated by Morricone's friend and frequent collaborator, Bruno Nicolai. Ordinarily such composer-owned library labels folded upon the death of the composer. However, after Nicolai's death in 1991, Nicolai's daughter took over the Gemelli label and subsequently re-released a handful of his recordings.

I recently started a new semester at school, and have picked up an additional course. I am swamped with assignments at the moment, due in part to a mistake which forced me to start the course a day late, so I'm going to have to keep my writing to a minimum for the time being. I will attempt to put up at least two to three posts a week though. Hopefully I'll be able to find my groove with the assignments within a couple of weeks, which will free up a bit more time for me. When possible I will provide an online review to provide you with more info on the release in question.

Unfortunately information surrounding this release is scarce. In fact, I couldn't even find a single review of the album online, which I find strange considering Ennio Morricone's huge following. "Controfase" was released in extremely limited numbers, with Gemelli releasing only 500 copies, making it extremely difficult to find this release on vinyl. I consider this to be a masterpiece of dark avant-garde library music. Morricone implements mysterious and dissonant jazz percussion, ominous string arpeggios, and atonal ambient electronic sounds, all in his trademark style, creating a brilliantly dark statement in the process. You can find more Morricone albums previously posted on the blog here.

Year of Release: 1972
Label: Gemelli
Catalog #: GG.ST. 10.019
Genres: Library Music, Avant-Garde, Contemporary Classical
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Controfase
A2. Tempo
A3. Soli
A4. Come Sommersi
B1. Con Ferma Ostinazione
B2. Follia
B3. Degenerazione
B4. Eclissi Seconda

Download: Ennio Morricone - Controfase (Gemelli - GG.ST 10.019)
Download Size: 67MB

Ennio Morricone - The Thing: Expanded Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1982 - 320kbps)

Happy Halloween freaks! I had hoped to be able to post several different items today, but it doesn't appear as if I'm going to have enough time now. Unfortunately my computer was accidentally unplugged, and everything I had been writing in preparation for today's posts was lost. I will try to make the best of the situation regarldess. Back in 2008 I posted Ennio Morricone's Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to "The Thing", which can be found here:

http://digitalmeltd0wn.blogspot.com/2008/10/ennio-morricone-thing-ost.html

While checking my statistics, I recently discovered that it has since become the second most downloaded album on the entire blog. Most of the traffic is coming from people searching google for "The Thing OST". I did a search of my own which resulted in my blog showing up as the number one result out of over one million different sites for that particular search, which explains the recently influx of visitors.

A fellow by the name of The Doc recently requested that I posted this soundtrack. It is the first of three bootleg soundtracks/scores for The Thing that I plan to post. Fortunately there is more information available regarding this release than the two others I possess. It was released under the title of "The Thing: Expanded Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" by a group or individual known as PROTUB. While it is a bootleg release, it was falsely labeled and circulated as a promotional release. In fact, to this day you still find this version listed and tagged as "Promo" on several different websites. It contains 19 tracks, which is nine more than what the official original soundtrack contains, with a running time of roughly 75 minutes 45 seconds.

Unfortunately there are still a few mysteries surrounding this release as well. Most importantly, I have no idea what the source is for the extra music contained on this release. In most cases, bootleg releases contain music ripped from the music of a DVD or VHS release, with the most common method being to isolate and rip the music from the 5.1 surround sound tracks contained on the DVD. My DVD of the film is over a thousand miles away, so unfortunately I can't compare the music found on this version to the music included in the film. Perhaps someone could shed some light on the origins of the various bootleg releases in circulation for this film.

In addition to this bootleg, I also have two bootleg versions that were released under the same title, "The Thing: Complete Motion Picture Score". The first is a rip containing 17 tracks which are individually named. It primarily consists of low bitrate 128kbps MP3 files. It also includes a track containing audio from the trailer. A review I found on Rateyourmusic.com claims that this version contains music composed by John Carpenter, as well as unused music cues.

The second bootleg is only 15 tracks long, the majority of which are of a higher quality bitrate of 320kbps MP3. The tracks were not named, nor did it include custom album art. However, it does contain tracks which were not included on the two other bootlegs. I plan to post these two bootlegs eventually, although I plan to spend the rest of the day posting treats for those who visit this blog during the final hours of Halloween. I will try to post them within the next couple of days though. Once I do I all add all of the links to each post, and hopefully someone will be able to provide further information about the three versions. In the meantime, I present to you Ennio Morricone's Expanded Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to The Thing.

Year of Release: Original: 1982 | Expanded: Unknown
Label: PROTUB
Genres: Soundtrack/Score, Horror
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
1. Opening Credits/Main Theme
2. Humanity (Part One)
3. Humanity (Part Two) (4:12)
4. Shape (Suite One) (2:43)
5. Shape (Suite Two) (2:31)
6. Shape (Suite Three) (1:48)
7. Sterilization (3:49)
8. Despair/The Discovery (3:08)
9. The Warning Sign (3:18)
10. Bestiality (Part One) (1:57)
11. Wait (2:01)
12. Contamination (1:04)
13. Solitude (1:35)
14. Eternity (7:43)
15. Wait (Part Two) (5:39)
16. Research (0:49
17. Sterilization/Solitude (Part Two) (11:30)
18. Main Theme (Version Two) (10:01)
19. Main Theme (Alternate Take) (4:27)

Download: Ennio Morricone - The Thing: Expanded Motion Picture Soundtrack
Download Size: 173MB

Ennio Morricone - The Thing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1982 - 320kbps)

Update 10/31/2010: I regularly check my site statistics to try and get a better feel for which posts are the most popular on the blog. I noticed that I was received a lot of traffic coming from people searching google for "The Thing OST". I decided to check my download statistics also, and was surprised that this is the second most downloaded album on the entire blog. I wanted to update this post because I realized that I had posted a 128kbps MP3 version, which was all I had available at the time. Since then I have managed to acquire a version of this in a much higher bitrate of 320kbps MP3, and have replaced the old download link with the higher quality version. I am also in the process of uploading a few different bootleg versions of the soundtrack and score. Once they are complete I will update this post once again and add the link to each of those bootlegs to this post.

Considering the recent Lovecraft related albums we have posted here, it is very fitting that I post this album, but the obvious connection didn't dawn on me until after I had already uploaded the album. For those who are not aware, The Thing is an obvious tribute to H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness". However, I chose to share this album simply because it is one of the best soundtracks to a horror movie period, not because it draws it's inspiration from a Lovecraft tale. The music composed by Ennio Morricone is similar in composition to John Carpenter's score for Halloween. There is a consistent atmosphere of impending doom throughout, yet there is an absence of loud outbursts from the orchestra that one might normally find in horror music, which helps to maintain a sense of dread, making this one of the more memorable horror soundtracks in existence. This was originally released on vinyl by MCA Records in 1982, and then rereleased by Verese Sarabande nearly 10 years later on CD. It has long been out of print and is currently unavailable for purchase.

Year of Release: 1982
Label: Varese Sarabande
Genres: Soundtrack/Score, Horror
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
1. Humanity (Part I)
2. Shape
3. Contamination
4. Bestiality
5. Solitude
6. Eternity
7. Wait
8. Humanity (Part II)
9. Sterilization
10. Despair
11. Humanity (Movie Version)

Download: Ennio Morricone - The Thing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Download Size: 111MB

Halloween Countdown - Request Thread

Requests

Dan Neufeld - Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural Soundtrack
Bernard Herrmann - It's Alive (aka Baby Killer) Complete Score (Request Filled)
Claudio Simonetti - The Third Mother (La Terza madre) (Request Filled)
Various Artists - Hideaway Soundtrack (1995) (Request Filled)
James Bernard - Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) (Request Filled)
James Bernard - She (1965)
Mario Nascimbene - The Vengeance of She (1968)
Jay Chattaway - Silver Bullet (1985) (Request Filled)
Daniel Licht - Bad Moon (1986) (In 320kbps mp3 or FLAC) (Request Filled)
Ennio Morricone - The Thing - Expanded Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtracks to Hammer Films in 320kbps

I would like to thank Strange Ranger from the Motherfucker=Redeemer blog for filling the majority of these requests. Thank you so much for your help. It has certainly been appreciated.

Someone suggested that I start an open request section for the Halloween Countdown, which I thought was a fantastic idea. I wish that I had started this at the beginning of October, but I suppose its better late than never. I have also been planning on posting the items that I didn't have time to post this month in December as part of a "Nightmare Before Christmas Countdown", so I will leave this post up until then, and possibly longer. Please request anything that might be considered Halloween or horror related by posting a comment here. Requests may consist of music, e-books, audiobooks etc. as long as they are Halloween or horror related.

If you are going to request a soundtrack for a movie, please ensure that one was actually released for the film. Likewise, if you are looking for a bootleg, complete/expanded score etc. please make sure one exists before requesting it. That way our list won't be full of requests that can't possibly be filled due to the fact that they don't exist. Please try to be descriptive and specific when making your request so there won't be any doubts about exactly what it is you are requesting. I will continuously update this post to add each item that is requested. Please help me out by helping to fill the requests that are posted. I'm currently working and going to school full time, and I spend what little free time I have posting content for the blog, so it is unlikely that I will be able to fill all of the requests myself. All requests that are able to be filled will be posted in the comments section of this post. Let the requesting commence...

Manuel De Sica - Cemetary Man (Dellamorte Dellamore) Original Soundtrack (1994 - 320kbps)

Continuing with my theme within a theme of Italian horror for "Halloween Countdown 2010", I present to you the soundtrack to another personal favorite, Cemetary Man, better known to some by it's Italian title of "Dellamorte Dellamore". Cemetary Man is a horror-comedy film released in 1994, based on the 1991 novel by Tiziano Sclavi. While the film wasn't a commercial success upon its release, nor were the critics kind to it, it has managed to gain a cult following over the years. It is one of the finest examples of turn of the millennium Italian gothic fantasy. Overflowing with atmosphere, dark humor and bitter romance.

I'm honestly not a big fan of horror-comedies, but Cemetary Man caiters to my sick sense of humour with its black comedy, while still managing to satisfy in the horror department as well. The protaginist of the film is Francesco Dellamorte, the caretaker of a small cemetary in Buffalora, Italy, who lives a lonely and depressing life by day. At night he faces the difficult task of exterminating the dead who rise from the grave approximately seven days after they are buried at the cemetary. He is assisted in ridding the cemetary of its zombie infestation by his television-addicted and mentally handicapped assistant, Gnaghi. While not dishing out death he suffers from a tumultuous love life, dealing with the heartbreak brought on by a series of mysterious women, each of which inevitably succumb to a tragic death.

The score to Cemetary Man was composed by Manuel De Sica, a prolific composer who has written over one hundred musical scores for television and film since 1969. His score is a curious hybrid of classic Ennio Morricone and throbbing Goblin excess, striking the perfect balance with it's catchy rhythms and delicious dark tones, offering the perfect auditory accompaniment to the film. As was common with many Italian horror films during this period, the music was created using synthesizers, although there may be a few tracks that utilize traditional instrumentation as well. It is diffucult for me to tell if this is the case though, and since there isn't much information online about the soundtrack I can't say for sure. De Sica shows off his range quiet well throughout the score, brilliantly transitioning from ominous orchestral style cues, to those with a bit more rock and funk flavor added, all the while managing to keep the foreboding atmosphere intact.

It's time for me to study so I'm going to go ahead and end this here. I'm going to try my best to put up at least one more post before the day is done, but it all depends on how well I'm able to grasp the material I'm studying. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this amazing soundtrack, and as always, please leave a comment to let me know what you thought about it.

Year of Release: 1994
Label: GDM Music (GDM 2004)
Genre: Soundtrack/Score, Horror, Electronic
Bitrate: 320kbps

Tracklist:
1. Dellamorte Dellamore
2. Buffalora's Cemetary
3. Francesco's Thoughts
4. The First "She"
5. The Making of the Skull
6. Will I See Her Again
7. The Ossuary
8. Ignis Fatuus
9. After The Fly
10. Gnachi
11. The Moon on the Island of Death
12. On Augusto's Grave
13. Ressurrcturis
14. The Run of the Death Motorbyke
15. Small Living Dead
16. Before the Earthquake
17. "She" Returner
18. The Death That Lives
19. Shoot the Living
20. Stolen Murders
21. The Life That Dies
22. Lethal Shot
23. The Death Is A Whore
24. The Rest of the World (Doesn't Exist)
25. Dellamorte Dellamore

Download: Manuel De Sica - Cemetary Man (Dellamorte Dellamore) Original Soundtrack
Download Size: 113MB