"Squadra Antigangsters" (The Gang that Sold America) is one of over ten films produced in the '70s and '80s in which the actor Tomas Milian plays the role of Police Marshal / Inspector Nico Giraldi, probably the most famous character from the Italian detective films of that period, These were Giallo** movies with a strong comedy component. The film is set in the USA, and the soundtrack sounds very American, starting from the first two songs, interpreted by the warm voice of Asha Puthli, an Indian singer who is also an actress in this movie; "The Whip" and "The Sound of Money" seem to belong to one of the many Stax productions from those years, only that they're played by... Goblin! The Roman band, whose line-up consisted of Claudio Simonetti (keyboards), Agostino Marangolo (drums), Fabio Pignatelli (bass) and Carlo Pennisi (guitar). Goblin were very prolific in these years and wrote and produced a number of high-quality film soundtrack releases. In fact, the film soundtrack goes through various genres - disco music, country, funky, soul, samba ...with concessions to some typical 'Goblin' progressive rock moments. This reissue is a Record Store Day 2018 exclusive by AMS Records and distributed in the UK exclusively by Bella Casa Music; it's the first ever re-release in LP format for over 20 years, with new artwork, two bonus tracks and manufactured in 180gr. coloured vinyl.
R**R
Goblin for hire ; less than seminal, but necessary for serious fans.
On this fairly unfamiliar soundtrack outing for Goblin, Italy's premiere progressive-filmscore band, the lineup of the group is as follows:Claudio Simonetti: KeyboardsAgostino Marangolo: DrumsFabio Pignatelli: BassCarlo Pennisi: GuitarOriginal guitarist Massimo Morante has gone and Pennisi, who is probably more familiar to Goblin fans due to his presence on "Contamination" and "Amo Mon Amo", has arrived and, quite frankly, Goblin have gone downhill. Pennisi is more than adept - he's probably more versatile than Morante on funk, latin and bluegrass picking styles, but he can't rock like Morante and lacks the latter's slicing, hard-edged psychedelic tones and incisiveness. Pennisi is gentle, more light than shade, while Morante is darker, though more than capable of fine detail as his work on "Roller " shows.So why did Morante leave? No doubt Italian fans know, but I don't. What is clear is that by this point (late 70s), disco music has hit Italy in a big way and Pennisi is more suited to this shift in commercial direction Goblin clearly felt they had to follow to stay viable in the marketplace. This is a shame, as they'd have been better adopting a more New Wave/Eurocentric New Romantic sound (which they arguably did on "Tenebrae", which some feel has disco elements due to the presence of a drum machine). However, they might not have got so much work in films, as Italian popular cinema is often trend-following despite its often flaky originality of tone. Hence the more disco-lite shadings of this work, "Squadra Antigangsters" and funky moments like 'Bikini Island' from "Contamination".First up are two disco numbers with a female vocalist. While the first track isn't too offensive, the second is dreadful, with trite, clichéd lyrics that I suspect even uncritical soul-philes will wince at. 'Banoon' has a reggae-esque groove and Pignatelli, never afraid to get funky, complements Pennisi's laid back groove nicely here - it's fairly forgettable on first listen, but grows on you and is reminiscent of the Caribbean-textured moments on Fabio Frizzi's soundtrack for "Zombi 2" (aka "Zombie Flesh Eaters" aka "Zombie") - and of course Pignatelli moonlighted on that soundtrack, along with Maurizio Guarini (additional keyboardist on "Roller" and Simonetti's eventual replacement for the likes of "Volo").'Stunt Cars' begins by sounding vaguely Gothic for a few bars, then Pennisi gets all bluegrassy on guitar - this will remind fans of the redneck zombie-hunt track from "Dawn of the Dead", but here it doesn't sound remotely authentic as Americana as it's played on electric, not a banjo. As I've not seen the film, I have no idea how the music suits the movie, but I've no doubt it hit the notes the makers wanted - it looks like a light crime caper despite the presence of the often off-the-chain Tomas Milian ( whose appearance in spaghetti western 'Face to Face' makes it an essential buy for fans of the genre, even especially discerning ones, while his evil if absurd turn in Umberto Lenzi's 'Almost Human' is a must-see-once affair).The next track, 'Welcome to the Boogie' is more appalling disco with a male vocalist. Lyrics of cringeworthy dreadfulness abound. Were Goblin only in this for the money? No doubt!'Trumpet's Flight' is MUCH better. Uptempo, highly rhythmic, textured, this almost jazz-rock - albeit lite jazz rock (we're not talking Corea's Return to Forever or John McLaughlin here, or even the heights of 'Snip Snap' from "Roller"), but Pennisi plays some lovely fluid guitar lines here that fans of the "Contamination" soundtrack will enjoy. Excellent musicianship, but shame they don't go into a cheese-clothy, psychedelic improv section. There is some wild trumpet soloing - possibly played with a harmon mute of the type Miles Davis sometimes used and this took me back to my holiday on Capri in 2010, when my girlfriend and enjoyed a DJ set of Campania House music with live horns played over the top at a great 70s-themed niteclub called 'Be My Baby'. It was great fun, but we wanted Goblin really!Next up is the lovely jazz-samba 'Sicilian Samba', a super-smooth silky cut of the Getz-Gilberto bossa nova type.- not a patch on real latin jazz of the 1960s of course, but it's enlivened by a gorgeous liquid trumpet that isn't overplayed. 'Disco China' is disco, but more Shakatak than Bee Gees (phew, the relief). There are no vocals and it's kind of bland, but there's the novelty of marimba or vibes, presumably played by Marangolo.The album climaxes with two takes of 'Squadra Antigangsters' - the first is heavy, mildly churchy string synth/organ chording, rather unremarkable for a composer of Simonett's status. The second take is, quite frankly, a totally different piece of music, funky and rather pointless, though it undoubtedly has its uses as an incidental cue in the film. Both are over within 90 second, so it's not too painful. Finally a second version of 'Trumpet's Flight' appears and we're done.Allowing for the fact that this is a soundtrack album and must be judged as such, it is still a disappointing record compared to what has come before it. 'Banoon', 'Trumpet's Flight' and 'Sicilian Samba' are obvious favourites and wouldn't have been too much out of place on "Contamination", but this is such a different sound to that of the band on the famous Argento soundtracks that many will balk. You have been warned!According to the discography in the CD of "Suspiria", there is another soundtrack for a related film, "Squadra Antimafia" which I'm yet to track down. A review of this will also follow when I can find a copy...
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