Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2013 February 11 • Monday

Napoli Violenta (Violent Naples), by Franco Micalizzi, is the 256th Soundtrack of the Week.

The first track, "Folk and Violence", establishes the main theme, a driving tune with horns and some touches of traditional Italian folk music. You hear it again, either the melody or the rhythmic intro (and sometimes both) in "Welcome to Napoli", "The Violence Face", "Naples' Alley", "The Garage of the Giant", "Rush for a Sign", "Betti's Investigation", "The Chase Over the Roofs", "Ten Minutes to One", "Get Down the Train", "Targeting a Killer", "The Price for a Fight", "Looking for Capuano", "Thus Ended the General" and "The Price Is Too High".

Obviously this is a score that gets a lot of mileage out of one theme. There are also a couple of songs, "Tira à Rezza o Piscatore", a Vegas lounge kind of number, and the pop/rock ballad "A Man Before Your Time" ("A friend is not a friend / Why do you feel alone / With a life to spend? / Your heart's in Napoli / Love to see the sun shine / You're just a neighbor's kid / A man before your time").

It's a nice song, reminds me of something but I'm not sure what at the moment. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is probably an influence.

The rest of the tracks are effective dramatic underscore of one sort or another. "Gennarino's Joke" makes use of both the main theme and "A Man Before Your Time."

I have to watch Violent Naples again. It was one of the first poliziotteschi movies I had ever seen and I remember it as being one of the best.